Tag Archive for: Brigadier Gerard Stakes

Royal Rhyme eases to Brigadier Gerard success

Royal Rhyme ran out a ready winner of the Chasemore Farm Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown under a confident ride from Clifford Lee.

Karl Burke’s charge justified his position as the 1-2 favourite by coming through late on to see off Certain Lad by a length.

After making it five wins from nine starts, the four-year-old remained unchanged at 20-1 with Coral for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Frederick Larson surged well clear on Miss Cantik in the early stages of this Group Three contest over 10 furlongs and must have been 10 lengths ahead turning for home.

But first Certain Lad picked off the pacesetter approaching the furlong pole and then Royal Rhyme timed his charge well enough to ease past and take top honours.

Lee said: “I always knew I was going to get there. I got the leader quite easily, it was more the second horse.

“My lad was only beaten five lengths in a Champion Stakes and can run like that in his first race of the season.

“Possibly (Royal Ascot), we’ll just see how he comes out of the race. I’m sure Karl and Sheikh Mohammed Obaid will have a plan.

“We’ve got plenty of good horses and with a horse like him, like I say he was only beaten five lengths in a Champion Stakes. He’s entitled to go for a good race, it just depends where.”



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King Of Steel looks set for Sandown seasonal debut

Sandown’s Brigadier Gerard Stakes has emerged as the favourite option for King Of Steel’s seasonal reappearance, with Roger Varian aiming to return his Champion Stakes hero to Royal Ascot in peak condition.

The son of Wootton Bassett has a phenomenal record at the Berkshire venue, following up a narrow second to Auguste Rodin in the Derby with victory in the King Edward VII Stakes at last year’s royal meeting, when comfortably accounting for subsequent St Leger hero Continuous.

He returned to the track to finish third in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes during the height of summer, before providing Frankie Dettori with the perfect send-off when delivering a telling blow on British Champions Day.

The Carlburg Stables handler is now aiming the four-year-old at the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot this term and although the Tattersalls Gold Cup in Ireland remains an option, Sandown’s Group Three a few days earlier appears the preferred choice.

Varian said: “I need to speak to Kia (Joorabchian, owner) and really firm up plans, but I think it’s likely he will be here for the Brigadier Gerard.

QIPCO British Champions Day – Ascot Racecourse – Saturday 21st October
King Of Steel (right) wins the Qipco Champion Stakes (John WAlton/PA).

“He looks great at home, is training lovely and we’re looking forward to that.

“The Tattersalls Gold Cup is not off the table – I really need to speak to the owner and he’s in both and we’ve made no firm decisions.

“Royal Ascot is his big target and do we need to travel to Ireland beforehand? We will have to see.”

Meanwhile, Varian is still keen to put Matsuri in a Derby trial over the coming weeks, having missed the Sandown Classic Trial at the 11th hour on account of a dirty scope.

The trainer continued: “On Thursday, he cantered perfectly fine and looked a picture but he threw in a cough in between his first and second canter.

“Thank God he did, because we scoped him and he was dirty, he had mucus in his trachea, so I’m glad we found out on the gallops and not the racecourse.

“He’s a lovely horse and hopefully he can be out in a couple of weeks in another Derby trial of some description. I think he’s a horse with a bright future.”



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Hukum denies Desert Crown in tremendous Brigadier Gerard battle

Hukum overcame his own lengthy absence to deny last year’s Derby winner Desert Crown in the Racehorse Lotto Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown.

Trained by Owen Burrows, Hukum is now six and his career looked over after he picked up what looked a career-ending injury in winning the Coronation Cup 12 months ago.

The decision was taken to keep him in training and that now looks inspired, as Jim Crowley – who briefly looked boxed in – got Hukum flying late on to win by half a length in an enthralling battle up the Sandown hill.

Desert Crown had been kept off the track by his own injury – for 355 days to Hukum’s 356 – after his famous Epsom success on what was just his third ever outing.

Following his tried and tested route with his top-class older horses, Sir Michael Stoute was looking for a 12th win in the race and connections were happy going into the Group Three feature.

Settled in fifth by Richard Kingscote as stablemate and pacemaker Solid Stone led at a steady gallop, he was set something of a test but breezed into the lead a furlong out only to be reeled in late on by the 5-1 winner.

While Stoute will no doubt be left scratching his head his former assistant Burrows will be dreaming of a big summer.

Betfair cut Hukum – who is a full-brother to the brilliant Baaeed – to 14-1 from 25s for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with Desert Crown now the same price from 8s.

Burrows said: “He feels a bit quicker this year and he must have developed a bit of speed from somewhere.

“He needed a couple of gallops last week because he is so well that I didn’t want him to become too fresh.

“It has worked out brilliantly. This was a prep run for the Hardwicke (at Royal Ascot), but it is vital he does have good ground, the fast side of good, we’d have to have a think.

“I’ve always said he’s not a slow horse. He’s win over a mile and six, he’s always shown speed at home, but until you see it on the track.

“We will have to have a bit of a rethink maybe. I don’t see the plans changing too much.

“We were only a pound behind him (Desert Crown) on ratings.”

Reflecting further, he said: “Plenty have come back from an injury like his, but he was a five-year-old that had just won a Group One and I didn’t think it would be in the realms that he could come back. Sheikha Hissa very sportingly said if his rehab goes well we will send him back to you.

“To get a Group win over a mile and a quarter adds to his CV as he probably got pigeon-holed a bit as a slow horse. As Jim mentioned, it is vitally important there is nice good safe ground and credit to Andrew (Cooper, clerk of the course, he has produced that for us today.

“It was important to get a run into him today as there are not a lot of options left before Royal Ascot and as I touched on he has been so well and full of it. He is not a hooligan, but he is so bullish. He was ready to go and it was important to get that run into him.

“He was my first Royal Ascot winner. He went to Dubai and won on Super Saturday which was massive for us. He was my first Group One winner. I will find it hard to replace him when the time comes when he does head off to stud. He has been a star for the whole team and is an absolute legend.”

An impressed Crowley said: “I’ve been riding him work at home and said to Richard (Hills) and Owen, that’s the best he’s ever been. To say that about a six-year-old, who had been showing a bit of speed at home, who, don’t forget, had won over a mile and six and a mile and a half, that was a very good performance tonight.

“We thought he was finished. Owen has brought him back, it is a hell of a training performance and everyone at Shadwell has done well to get him back. He is just a proper horse and hopefully he can add to his Group One tally.

“To beat a Derby winner, who got first run on me, it was a mile and quarter, things were not really in our favour, but I think when he goes back to a mile and half, he will be as good, if not better. It was nice to see him win like that.

“I’d love to see him in a King George in the summer, a wet King George, as I think that would be his thing. It is nice to get him back.”

“It is amazing. When he gets that toe in a bit, he’s a machine.”

Desert Crown was beaten for the first time
Desert Crown was beaten for the first time (Simon Milham/PA)

Meanwhile, Stoute said of Desert Crown: “He is a little ring-rusty. He looked like he had his race won and then he just tied up in the closing stages. He has been a year off – it has been a long time.”

Pointed out that the winner had also had a year off, he responded: “Has he? Well, he’s run better than me.”

Asked if he was still on course for the King George, he added: “I don’t know. It will be the two races he’s in (King George and Prince of Wales’s Stakes) – I’m not going to make any decisions now.”

Bruce Raymond, racing manager for Desert Crown’s owner Saeed Suhail, said: “I think he did everything right. It is not for me to say, but I thought he was fitter than that. It has been a long time since he ran, as it was with the winner. He probably needed it, because he’s had a good blow.

“He was smooth and I felt he did everything right. Obviously he didn’t know the winner was stuck in behind, but I felt he did everything right.

“Obviously he is going to improve.”

Kingscote told Racing TV: “He was great, he moved well, in a nice rhythm, he moved up well and picked up well.

“He did everything perfectly, but a good horse came and ran him down.

“Before today they both proved they were very good horses and both had been off all but a year.

“It was a very good run, I’d have liked to have won but I’m very happy, he’ll come forward from it.

“Critics will say I was there too early, I probably would myself but the winner didn’t have a smooth passage and still came and got us.

“He looked very fit the other horse and well done to connections.”



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Expectations high as Desert Crown hits the comeback trail

Desert Crown is all set for his highly-anticipated comeback in the Racehorse Lotto Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown on Thursday evening.

The Sir Michael Stoute-trained Derby hero has been seen just three times in his career, but has made a huge impression regardless.

He won a maiden on debut and then took last year’s Dante at York en route to a memorable victory in the premier Classic itself.

Injury curtailed his season after his two-and-a-half-length victory in the blue riband, however, and Sandown’s Group Three event is his first run since that memorable day last June.

Despite an absence of 355 days, Bruce Raymond, racing manager to owner Saeed Suhail, is expecting the Nathaniel colt’s unbeaten status to be maintained.

Desert Crown won the Dante before heading to Epsom
Desert Crown won the Dante before heading to Epsom (Tim Goode/PA)

He said: “I’m more than hopeful. It would be a huge upset were he to be beaten.

“Of course, they can all be beaten, but I don’t expect him to be.

“Michael is definitely 100 per cent happy with him, he’s fine, he’s working good and while there’s enough improvement to come, he’s fit enough to do himself justice.

“He was so impressive in the Derby. The race was over two out.”

Stoute, too, expressed his satisfaction at how his star has done in the build-up to his return.

He said: “Desert Crown has progressed well over the last few weeks, and it will be good to get him back to work.”

The same owner and trainer will also be represented by Solid Stone, a Group winner in his own right who will set the pace for his stablemate.

“We’ve got a pacemaker in Solid Stone to make sure it’s not a crawl,” said Raymond.

Solid Stone winning previously at Sandown
Solid Stone winning previously at Sandown (Megan Ridgwell/PA)

“He leads him in all his work and he didn’t run at Chester recently just so he could run in this.”

Also on the comeback trail is Owen Burrows’ Hukum, an impressive winner of the Coronation Cup at Epsom last season before injury struck.

His career looked to be in jeopardy but he has been rehabilitated and returned to training, with the Sandown contest coming nearly a year since his last run.

But Burrows is mindful of the conditions in Esher and if the ground is too quick, Hukum will not be risked ahead of his Royal Ascot target, the Hardwicke Stakes.

“We’ve been really pleased with him, obviously it’s a very tough race!” said Burrows.

Hukum and Jim Crowley
Hukum and Jim Crowley (John Walton/PA)

“Timing-wise it really works out, it slots in well with the Hardwicke at Royal Ascot as a prep run.

“Fingers crossed he can show his old enthusiasm, run a nice race and get his season on track.

“Myself and Richard Hills (of owners Shadwell) are going to walk the track beforehand, I’ve been liaising with Andrew Cooper, the clerk, and he normally does a great job.

“I just don’t want to run him for the first time in the year on fast ground and it’s an evening meeting, so there’s plenty of time throughout the day for it to dry out.

“We’ll just be taking a look to make sure we’re happy.”

Adding further spice is David Simcock’s Cash, who was just a short head behind Westover in the Classic Trial over course and distance last year, while Jane Chapple-Hyam’s Claymore is a Royal Ascot winner and Keith Dalgleish’s Chichester was last seen finishing second at the All-Weather Championships at Newcastle on Good Friday.



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Desert Crown faces five in Brigadier Gerard return

Last year’s Derby hero Desert Crown will make his eagerly-awaited return to action after 355 days on the sidelines in Thursday’s Racehorse Lotto Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown.

Trained by Sir Michael Stoute, the Saeed Suhail-owned colt is unbeaten in three racecourse appearances.

A Nottingham maiden win at two was impressive by any standards, but he stepped up on that to win the Dante at York on his first outing at three and he looked to have the world at his feet when toying with the Derby field at Epsom.

Richard Kingscote was on board that day and maintains the partnership on a horse who has been off the track since due to injury.

Nursed along by Stoute, he is now ready to return in a race which the trainer has traditionally used as a starting point for his best middle distance horses such as Pilsudski, Notnowcato and Workforce.

Stoute won the Brigadier Gerard last year with subsequent Champion Stakes winner Bay Bridge
Stoute won the Brigadier Gerard last year with subsequent Champion Stakes winner Bay Bridge (John Walton/PA)

Stoute also runs Solid Stone, in the same ownership, who will be ridden by Ryan Moore.

Desert Crown faces far from a penalty kick as another long-absent star returns to action in Hukum. Trained by Owen Burrows, he was last seen winning the Coronation Cup at the Derby meeting but in doing so he picked up an injury which has kept him off the track since.

Jane Chapple-Hyam’s Royal Ascot winner Claymore, David Simcock’s Cash and the Keith Dalgleish-trained Chichester returns complete the field.

Frankie Dettori has the ride on Enemy in the Racehorse Lotto Henry II Stakes. Nate The Great, Roberto Escobarr, Sleeping Lion and Princess Anne, trained in France by Hiroo Shimizu, are the other contenders.

Blue Storm stretches clear to beat Cuban Thunder and Hackman on debut
Blue Storm stretches clear to beat Cuban Thunder and Hackman on debut (Tim Goode/PA)

Some very highly rated juveniles go to post for the Racehorse Lotto National Stakes, led by James Tate’s Blue Storm.

The Newmarket race he won on debut could hardly have worked out any better, as Tate explained: “Blue Storm was very taking up at Newmarket. He has been very natural at home and has showed up well all winter.

“We gave him one piece of work just before the Craven meeting, which he showed up nicely in before winning at Newmarket.

“Generally speaking my two-year-olds come on a lot from their first run to their second and if he follows that rule, we have every reason to be excited.

“What is even better is that the second, third, fourth and fifth have all won since, so the form looks great.

“There are not too many negatives and lots of reasons to be optimistic.”

Richard Hannon’s Dapper Valley, Hugo Palmer’s Chester winner Hackman and Charlie Appleby’s On Point all carry tall reputations into the 10-runner contest.



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Ground will be crucial to Hukum running in Brigadier Gerard

Owen Burrows will walk the course at Sandown on Thursday before deciding whether or not to allow Hukum to run in the Racehorse Lotto Brigadier Gerard Stakes.

Hukum is set to face a field that includes Desert Crown, last year’s Derby winner – who is similarly due to make his return from a long absence – in a mouthwatering renewal of the 10-furlong Group Three contest.

However, the Lambourn trainer hinted that if there is not enough moisture in the ground, he could withdraw his six-year-old, who is scheduled to make his comeback after an injury which has sidelined him for 11 months.

Burrows went from the high of winning the Coronation Cup, a first Group One success at Epsom in June, to despair in the space of a few hours, when Hukum was found to be lame after returning home.

A year-older full-brother to the brilliant Baaeed, Hukum picked up a hind leg injury which required three screws to be inserted and it seemed likely he would be retired to stud.

However, he has made a remarkable recovery and Burrows is keen not to take any unnecessary risks with Sheikha Hissa’s Shadwell-owned colt.

“Hopefully he can get back on the track,” said the handler. “He seemed to have improved again from the year before and then he got that injury. It was hugely disappointing, but it doesn’t do to dwell on things.

“It was a pretty straightforward injury. If he was a two- or three-year-old, then he would definitely have come back. There would have been no issue.

“But with him just winning a Group One, my automatic thought was that he would head off to stud.

“But Sheikha Hissa quite sportingly said that if there was a good chance of getting him back, then she’d be happy to give him a chance. Touch wood he’s had plenty of time and we have had a nice preparation with him.”

Though a winner of over £630,000 and successful in nine of his 15 starts, any plans to defend his Coronation Cup title on his first outing of the season were scratched.

Yet Burrows is well aware of the task Hukum faces on his return, which is a stepping stone to a potential run at Royal Ascot.

“We thought it was probably a bit strong to go straight back into a Group One, so this is going to definitely be a prep run.

“He needs to get out now. It is slightly concerning that we are drying up so quick, though.

“I wouldn’t risk him on proper fast ground. Sandown’s clerk of the course, Andrew Cooper, normally does a great job producing safe ground.

Hukum and Jim Crowley celebrate their Coronation Cup victory
Hukum and Jim Crowley celebrate their Coronation Cup victory (Steven Paston/PA)

“I’ll get there sharp and I said to Richard Hills (Shadwell’s racing manager) this morning that we will have a walk of the track and all being well, if we are happy, then he will take his chance

“It’s pretty obvious the task we face, though. Desert Crown was a pretty impressive Derby and Dante winner last year. There doesn’t appear to be many chinks in his armour.

“He looks a relaxed horse who looks pretty solid, so it is a massive ask, but it is all about getting our fella on the track and getting a run into him.

“The Hardwicke would probably be the next plan, but I wouldn’t be risking him on fast ground through the summer, so the back-end races and an autumn campaign could be on the agenda.”



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Desert Crown remains on course for Sandown return

Last year’s Derby hero Desert Crown will make his long-awaited comeback in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown on Thursday week, connections have confirmed.

The unbeaten son of Nathaniel has not been seen since defeating Hoo Ya Mal at Epsom in June, having suffered an ankle injury.

However, the unseasonably wet spring has caused problems for many trainers, with Sir Michael Stoute unable to use Newmarket’s grass gallops.

The Saeed Suhail-owned Desert Crown will still take his chance in the 10-furlong contest, however.

Bruce Raymond, racing manager to the owner, said: “He runs in the Brigadier for sure.

“We have tried to get him on the grass, but everywhere is closed, so we might have to use something on Racecourse Side, I don’t know. I can’t think it will be any issue.

“But he is in good shape, the horse looks good and all has gone to plan, from what I have been told.”

The Brigadier Gerard is a race Stoute has farmed over the years, winning it 11 times – most recently with Bay Bridge last year, who went on to land the Champion Stakes.



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Claymore primed for Brigadier Gerard return

Royal Ascot winner Claymore, off the track since July, will make his return in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown on May 25, with the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe a potential long-term target.

The Jane Chapple-Hyam-trained colt could face last year’s returning Derby winner Desert Crown in what is shaping up into a mouthwatering renewal of the 10-furlong Group Three race.

Claymore defeated the highly-touted Reach For The Moon in the Hampton Court at Royal Ascot in June, but suffered a setback after finishing fourth to Sir Busker in the York Stakes the following month, and was not seen thereafter.

Chapple-Hyam said: “Claymore is going for the Brigadier Gerard. He just got very jarred up at York.

“We got him ready to run at the Arc meeting and then it went bog-soft everywhere. It went from one extreme to the other, so we decided to pull the pin and have a lovely four-year-old for this year.”

A son of New Bay, Claymore finished runner-up to subsequent Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Native Trail in the Craven on his first outing last year before a wide draw and very soft ground scuppered his chances in the French Guineas.

Should all go well at Sandown, Chapple-Hyam will likely return to Ascot and raised the possibility of an Arc bid.

She added: “We will see what we do in the Brigadier Gerard, but he is in the Hardwicke at Royal Ascot and I don’t know, is he a 50-1 shot for the Arc?

“The entries were on Tuesday and we’ve put him in – there’s no harm. You just don’t know if he’ll make the cut, but better to be there than having to supplement.”

Meanwhile, the Peter Harris-owned Mill Stream could head straight to the Commonwealth Cup.

The Gleneagles colt was narrowly defeated by subsequent Gimcrack scorer Noble Style in a Newmarket novice last season, before going on to finish fourth to this season’s 2000 Guineas winner Chaldean, over seven furlongs, in York’s Group Three Acomb last August.

However, his trainer believes he is a sprinter and will send him straight to the Royal meeting.

Chapple-Hyam said: “We are dropping him back to six furlongs. He could go straight to the Commonwealth Cup. I don’t think there is a race available for him, so he’ll probably tootle off for a racecourse gallop somewhere.”

Jane Chapple-Hyam/Ascot
Jane Chapple-Hyam is targeting the Royal meeting again (Simon Milham/PA)

Royal Hunt Cup runner-up Intellogent will bid to go one better in the same race next month and will have his prep run in a Newbury handicap on Saturday week. The eight-year-old was fourth to Ottoman Fleet on his return in a nine-furlong Group Three contest at Newmarket last month.

“He just got tired in the Earl of Sefton,” said the trainer. “He’s probably not a Group horse any more, but he likes these big fields.

“He did well at Ascot and was then third in the John Smith’s York. He’ll do the Hunt Cup and John Smith’s again.”

Meanwhile, the full-brother to Chapple-Hyam’s Group One winner Saffron Beach, who was sold for 3.6million guineas at the end of last season, arrived with the Newmarket handler on Tuesday morning.

Granger Bay, who fetched €450,000 at the Goffs Orby Sale, will run in the colours of Fiona Carmichael, having been in pre-training with Malcolm Bastard.

Saffron Beach won two top-class races for the trainer, who will also condition her full brother
Saffron Beach won two top-class races for the trainer, who will also condition her full brother (David Davies/PA)

“I am a very lucky lady to be given the honour to train him,” said Chapple-Hyam. “He was bought from the Goffs sales and sent to Malcolm to be broken in.

“We felt we didn’t want to rush him into a training yard in January or February as is the normal time slot, we said wait until after the Guineas, so he arrived on Tuesday morning.

“Fiona also has Intellogent and Aplomb in the yard. It was really nice to get the call and I’m very happy with the squad I’ve got this year.”



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