Tag Archive for: Amiloc

Connections opt to miss the King George with Amiloc

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There will be no Ascot repeat for Amiloc, who will be a notable absentee from the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.

The Ralph Beckett-trained three-year-old enhanced his reputation with a fifth straight win in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot, but a return to the scene of his finest hour is now off the cards, with the track’s midsummer Group One feature deemed to be coming too soon for David and Vimy Aykroyd’s unbeaten gelding.

“It’s a training decision and Ralph felt he could just do with a little bit more time having had a hard race at Royal Ascot,” said the Aykroyds’ racing manager Patrick Cooper on the decision to miss the weekend highlight.

“The real racing for this horse will be in the autumn time and Ralph thinks it’s a little too quick after his last race, it’s nothing more than that and nothing untoward.”

Amiloc was a general 10-1 chance for the King George, which could see Coronation Cup one-two Jan Brueghel and Calandagan renew rivalry, and holds entries for both the Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes at York (August 20) and the Curragh’s Comer Group International Irish St. Leger (September 14) later in the summer.

However, connections appear undecided on their next move at this stage, as they anticipate heading overseas in search of valuable prizes before the year is out.

Cooper added: “We’ll hopefully go on the road with him in the autumn time, we haven’t overly thought about it, but the big-money races are at the end of the year.

“All those races in Hong Kong, Australia and America are all on the radar and I suspect we will be on the road at some stage.”

Pride Of Arras team ‘entitled to keep dreaming’ as second Derby date looms

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Pride Of Arras could continue David and Vimy Aykroyd’s brilliant summer when he bids for Classic redemption in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh on Sunday.

The Yorkshire-based owner-breeders have been making their presence felt this term, with Pride Of Arras claiming the Dante to ignite Derby dreams in May, while Amiloc maintained his unbeaten record in style to give connections a day to remember at Royal Ascot.

Trained by Ralph Beckett, Pride Of Arras may have subsequently disappointed when sent off at 4-1 at Epsom following his Knavesmire heroics, but his team are refusing to be downbeat ahead of a trip to Ireland this weekend and a second shot at Classic glory for the talented son of New Bay.

Pride Of Arras was well held at Epsom
Pride Of Arras was well held at Epsom (Adam Morgan/PA)

“He’s come out of Epsom well, we’re just still scratching our heads why he ran so badly,” explained Patrick Cooper, the Akyroyd’s racing manager and also the nephew of David Aykroyd.

“It’s a bit of a mystery, he obviously didn’t handle the hill and Rossa (Ryan, jockey) was easy on him once he knew he couldn’t participate in the finish, but we still don’t know truly what went wrong, so we can go to the Curragh and hopefully find out more there.

“We have to take the defeat and the kicking when you get one and it is just one race, albeit perhaps the greatest race of them all, and you have to move on to the next one.

“Hopefully we get the horse back who showed us how good he was in the Dante, he was impressive that day and we’re entitled to keep dreaming.”

Connections also have further big days to look forward to with the exciting Amiloc after he took his unbeaten record to a perfect five out of five in last week’s King Edward VII Stakes.

Amiloc thrived once again at Royal Ascot
Amiloc thrived once again at Royal Ascot (John Walton/PA)

Rated just 1lb inferior to his stablemate in the owners’ pale blue and white quarters after his victory at the Royal meeting, the gelded son of Postponed is being lined up for a return to Ascot and a step into even deeper waters for the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes on July 26.

“The handicapper only has a pound between them and he doesn’t have rose-tinted spectacles like the rest of us and that’s how he sees it,” continued Cooper.

“With Amiloc we just don’t know where his ceiling is and he just keeps pulling out more every time we run him.

“We’re sort of aiming at the King George which would be another step up and we’ll see closer to the time. It’s next door, the race is worth a fortune and he’s a course and distance winner, so it’s kind of obvious.

“He’s a gelding so he will lose his unbeaten record at some point. Hopefully it’s not King George day, but we’ll just try to go one step further and if we have to step back in grade afterwards then so be it.”

Amiloc holds off Zahraan in ‘Ascot Derby’

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Amiloc obliged favourite-backers to remain unbeaten and give Ralph Beckett his first victory at this year’s Royal Ascot courtesy of the King Edward VII Stakes.

An impressive winner of Goodwood’s Cocked Hat Stakes, the fact the son of Postponed is a gelding meant he had to bypass the Derby at Epsom for the race often referred to as the ‘Ascot Derby’.

Ryan Moore tried to slip the field on eventual third Galveston, but Rossa Ryan aboard the 11-8 market leader never let that duo too far out of his sights and after sending Amiloc to the front with a furlong to run, had enough in reserve to hold off Johnny Murtagh’s Zahraan by three-quarters of a length.

Beckett said: “He did it the hard way a little bit, we thought Galveston would probably go forward and it did work out like that.

“I didn’t really want to run him, to tell you the truth. I didn’t think he’d like the ground, but I was wrong about that.

“I don’t think we’ve ever had one win five straight, well I can’t think of one! I wasn’t confident because of the ground. We haven’t had a great week.

“Rossa was great, he rode him with plenty of confidence and it set up well for us, I will say that, but sometimes it just does.”

Amilco halved in price for the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes and asked about future plans, Beckett said: “I think ground will dictate, I wouldn’t be afraid to take anybody on with him on slower ground, so he is in everything.

“He’s going to take a bit of getting over today by the look of him; if it came up soft next month (for the King George), or with a bit of juice, I’m sure we’d be here.”

Of Zahraan, who runs in the colours of the late Aga Khan, Murtagh said: “He lost nothing in defeat. Ben (Coen) just said they quickened up from four out and just had him off the bridle a little bit earlier than ideal. I’m not saying he wants soft ground, but a little bit more juice in it would help him travel a bit longer.

“Finishing second here is definitely more frustrating as a trainer than as a jockey! It’s more nerve-wracking beforehand, and it’s gutting – you know how hard it is to win here. You see all all the people come with their best horses, and we thought we had one and we still do, but he just wasn’t good enough today.

“You’d love to think he might be an Arc horse one day, and the connections would love that race. He’s a bit to go to get there, but he might.”

He added: “I was really privileged to ride in these colours and you forget what a privilege it is until you go last week and see the Derby, which is the greatest race in the world and was run in honour of His Highness the Aga Khan, and for me to deliver now we have to find the winners on the big days.”