Tag Archive for: Crimson Advocate

Gosdens to be boosted by new Royal Ascot Advocate

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Crimson Advocate will join John and Thady Gosden ahead of her bid for back-to-back Royal Ascot victories later this month.

The daughter of Nyquist gave American handler George Weaver one of the biggest days of his career when blazing a trail to deny Relief Rally in a thrilling Queen Mary Stakes in 2023 and is now on course for the King Charles III Stakes over the same track and trip on the opening day of the Royal meeting.

Although put in her place by Ascot rival Big Evs at the Breeders’ Cup, she will attempt to turn the tables on Mick Appleby’s star sprinter when the flying filly returns to Berkshire looking to emulate Wesley Ward’s Lady Aurelia by doing the same double.

At Ascot, she will be a part of Qatar-based owners Wathnan Racing’s burgeoning team for the summer showpiece and she will soon arrive at her new Newmarket home, having come through her final preparations Stateside by claiming Gulfstream’s Roar Stakes last month.

Wathnan’s US representative Case Clay said: “So much credit goes to George Weaver for what he has done with the filly so far, even training her up to going to England. But once we get to England, it sure is nice to be involved with John and Thady.

“She had her final breeze on Saturday morning at Keeneland in preparation for the King Charles III and she is going to fly to England on June 11.

“Royal Ascot is the top tier of racing and she proved herself worthy last year for connections, so hopefully she can do what Lady Aurelia did when she won the King’s Stand as a three-year-old filly.”

John Gosden, along with son Thady, will train Crimson Advocate this summer
John Gosden, along with son Thady, will train Crimson Advocate this summer (John Walton/PA)

Despite proven form over the course and distance, Crimson Advocate is a general 16-1 shot to strike for the second year running at the Royal meeting.

However, following her relocation from the States to Clarehaven, owners Wathnan Racing are hoping she can be a force on the European sprinting scene throughout the summer, with races like the Nunthorpe also on the agenda for later in the season.

“There are more important five-furlong sprints in England in the summer and fall than there are in America,” continued Clay.

“So, whether that is the Nunthorpe or the King George (at Goodwood), there is just more of them over there, so we thought let’s keep her over there for a little while and see what unfolds.”



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Big Evs and Mick Appleby ready for big day in California

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Big Evs will carry British hopes on his broad shoulders when he attempts to blast his way to a famous victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Santa Anita.

Mick Appleby’s youngster has been one of the season’s star juveniles and will attempt to bring his stellar season to a fitting end in the shadows of the San Gabriel Mountains on Friday.

The Royal Ascot scorer will be his trainer’s first runner at the showpiece event and after his one disappointment this season in the Nunthorpe, the son of Blue Point was back to his brilliant best when blazing a trail in the Flying Childers Stakes at Doncaster.

The Rutland-based handler is thrilled to be in California with his star performer, who he believes has proven he is more than capable of handling top talent.

“I’ve never really had the right ammo in the two-year-old division, but I think with this horse I’ve proved I can do it,” said Appleby.

“After Goodwood we thought about coming here and as to his blip in the Nunthorpe it came just two weeks after a hard race in soft ground and we put a line through it. In hindsight we shouldn’t have run at York, it was way too soon.

“Doncaster was a most impressive win and if he reproduces it he will take a lot of beating.”

Tom Marquand was in the saddle when registering a breathtaking all-the-way success on Town Moor in September and will once again be aboard the speedy youngster whose blistering starts have been a hallmark of his campaign.

“He absolutely flew out of the gate this morning and should be as good at it as any of the Americans,” said Appleby.

“My main concern is going round a bend, but Tom breezed him yesterday and said he coped with it really well. The ground will ride on the quick side which is fine for us.”

American trainer George Weaver saddles a three-strong hand in opposition, with Royal Ascot heroine Crimson Advocate the headline attraction alongside stablemates No Nay Mets and Amidst Waves.

The Queen Mary winner will be a first runner at the Breeders’ Cup for Qatar-based Wathnan Racing and she will appear for the first time in their increasingly-familiar silks when stepping out in the hands of John Velazquez.

“We’re excited and it will be an exciting day,” said Case Clay, Wathnan’s racing adviser in the USA.

“This is the Breeders’ Cup so it will be very tough competition. We’re just hoping for a nice clean break and the nice thing about the turf sprint is it is just get out and go – once the gates open it is going to be just that.

“We’re really happy to have John Velazquez on board, especially with his great experience at Ascot, and that is reassuring. We are just very excited.

“Olly Tait (senior Wathnan representative) has given me instruction to look for quality and she is the first purchase and hopefully there will be some more.”

Others from the home team to watch for include John Saddler’s Slider who claimed the Speakeasy Stakes over track and trip last month and Steven Asmussen’s Committee Of One, who accounted for Weaver’s Amidst Waves in the Indian Summer Stakes.

Asmussen said: “It was a breakthrough race last time. Obviously, at five-eighths on the turf (in stall 12), you need to get lucky with the trip. He’s a horse that likes to come from a little off of it, so hopefully a good trip will open up.”

There is a strong Irish challenge which features shock Royal Ascot winner Valiant Force, a first runner for Adrian Murray at the end-of-season spectacular, while the hat-trick-seeking Tiger Belle is just a second runner at the meeting for Adrian McGuinness.

Jessica Harrington’s Middle Park fourth Givemethebeatboys and Aidan O’Brien’s Cherry Blossom are the others making the trip from Ireland, while Frankie Dettori will get the leg-up aboard Ralph Beckett’s Starlust.



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Weaver aims talented trio at Juvenile Turf Sprint

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Royal Ascot scorer Crimson Advocate will lead George Weaver’s three-pronged attack on the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Santa Anita.

Crimson Advocate provided her American handler with a first winner at the Royal meeting when blazing a trail in the hands of John Velazquez before showing real guts to hold off William Haggas’ Relief Rally in a thrilling finish to the Queen Mary Stakes.

That form has been boosted by the runner-up who is unbeaten in two starts since and having been freshened up over the summer months, Weaver is confident his daughter of Nyquist can dominate once again when returning to the track in California next month.

Crimson Advocate winning the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot
Crimson Advocate winning the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot (David Davies/PA)

“She is breezing great and hopefully she can get a good trip and show us what she can do,” said the handler.

“I wanted to give her a break when she came back (from Ascot). She had a busy campaign and is not an overly big filly – she’s an April foal. It just seemed like a good time (to take a break) and there wasn’t anything lucrative for her over here in the summer. I just wanted to freshen her up and have her right for the big race.

“She’s doing as good as she ever has, so we’re looking forward to it.”

Joining Crimson Advocate on the teamsheet for the $1,000,000 contest are stablemates No Nay Mets and Amidst Waves.

The former, who is owned by baseball star Alex Bregman, disappointed when the mount of Frankie Dettori in the Norfolk Stakes but has since displayed his class on home soil with victories in both the Tyro Stakes at Monmouth Park and the Rosie’s Stakes at Colonial Downs.

Meanwhile, Amidst Waves has won three of her five career starts and, having secured black-type victories at both Monmouth and Saratoga, earnt her place in the line-up with a fine run to finish a nose second to Committee Of One in Keeneland’s Indian Summer Stakes earlier this month.

“All three of them are going for the race,” continued Weaver.

“At Ascot, that wasn’t No Nay Mets, that wasn’t him. I don’t know if he needed to be ridden differently or it was the ground – Frankie said he wasn’t in the right part of the turf course – but he is better than that and he has shown it since he has come back here.

“They are all legitimate contenders, it’s not like only one of them is a legitimate contender and the others just hopefuls. All three of them have put together resumes that make them look good in this race.

“I hate to run horses against each other, but I guess I would rather have three for one race than none.”



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Crimson Advocate flies the flag for America in the Queen Mary

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Crimson Advocate and John Velazquez claimed the narrowest of victories in a thrilling climax to the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot.

A field of 26 juvenile fillies went to post for the five-furlong opener on day two and the George Weaver-trained Crimson Advocate made a rapid start in the hands of his Hall of Fame pilot.

The 9-1 shot, a winner at Gulfstream Park in Florida last month, led her rivals a merry dance for much of the way and it was just a question of whether she would hold on racing inside the final furlong.

Relief Rally, unbeaten in two previous starts for William Haggas, came at the leader hard as the post loomed and was in front just before and just after the line – but the judge confirmed Crimson Advocate was a nose in front where it mattered. Beautiful Diamond, the 11-4 favourite, finished third.

Kentucky-born Weaver had saddled just one previous runner at the Royal meeting, with the Velazquez-ridden Cyclogenisis finishing down the field in the 2015 Commonwealth Cup. He was quick to pay tribute to his wife, Cindy, who was badly injured in a riding accident at Saratoga in July last year.

Weaver said: “My wife is a tremendous horsewoman, she knows more about horses than I’ll ever know.

“She took a fall, she had a dramatic brain injury and it was a very scary time, it’s been a tough year for all of us. It’s a miracle. It’s almost a year ago it happened. At some points we didn’t know if she’d live or have any quality of life. This is her first trip away from home since.”

Crimson Advocate was a Florida winner previously
Crimson Advocate was a Florida winner previously (David Davies/PA)

Weaver admitted that while he had high hopes for Crimson Advocate, he was not certain she could make her mark.

He said: “You come to a new country, a strange place – I have so much respect for the horses over here. It always seems like the European horses are better grass horses than what we have over there, but I knew our filly was very talented and I was hoping that she would be able to get the job done.

“Don’t get me wrong, the way she won at Gulfstream, I was very excited about her, but like I said, I have tremendous respect for the trainers and horses that are over here.

“I came here eight years ago with a horse that wasn’t good enough. I thought it would be great if I could ever come back with something that was, and we did.”

Weaver has another live chance with No Nay Mets in Thursday’s Norfolk Stakes and added: “When you try to plan things, you try to buy horses for Ascot, it never works out. It’s just – things come together, and this year we’ve got two nice horses to bring over here.

“Royal Ascot is Royal Ascot, what can you say? You can feel the electricity when you’re here and how special it is, and it’s a beautiful feather for us to have in our cap.

“It’s not the biggest purse I’ve ever won – Vekoma was a tremendous racehorse and I won the Dubai Golden Shaheen early on in 2005 (with Saratoga County). I’ve had some great moments, but this ranks right up there.”

John Velazquez gives the thumbs up following his Ascot win
John Velazquez gives the thumbs up following his Ascot win (David Davies/PA)

Velazquez – who was riding his fourth Royal Ascot winner – said: “I knew she was going to be fast, it was all about if she handled the turf here. It’s a little bit better than yesterday, it was a bit soft for the Americans yesterday, but she handled it very well and held on.

“It’s very hard when they come from America, there’s also the second hill close home they have to handle. On firmer ground it just helps them and that’s what happened today.

“She’s so nice, she handled everything nicely, in fact she was so calm I had to take her away from the others to wake her up a bit! She was a little too quiet, but behind the gates she was very nice.

“She was going so well and in hindsight I almost messed up the race by going too soon. I should have waited longer with the second hill in mind, but she handled it.

“That’s the first time I’ve ridden her, I knew she’d be pretty fast. Every year I try to come back here to get another winner, now I’ve got one it feels great, I’ll be coming for as long as I can.”

He added: “It’s great for George and his wife. A year ago she had a really bad accident and they didn’t think she would walk again so for her to be here is amazing.”

A philosophical Haggas did not have a lot to add to the obvious.

“We were in front before and after the line, but not on. There you go, that’s the way it is, she’s run a great race and made up a lot of ground in the last furlong. She’s run a fine race,” he said.



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