Tag Archive for: Epic Poet

Epic Poet gets it all right in Old Borough Cup

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Epic Poet secured the big-race victory he has promised all season in the Betfair Exchange Old Borough Cup at Haydock.

Bought out of Freddie and Martyn Meade’s yard for 48,000 guineas last autumn, the five-year-old had run with credit on each of his first four starts for David O’Meara, notably picking up second place in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes at Royal Ascot before placing fifth in the John Smith’s Cup and fourth in the Ebor York.

The son of Lope De Vega was sent off an 11-2 shot to claim the lion’s share of £100,000 on Merseyside and after travelling ominously alongside Waxing Gibbous inside the final two furlongs, he saw out the one-mile-six-furlong trip well to get the better of that determined rival by a neck.

O’Meara said: “I’m delighted with him. He’s had a very good season without winning.

“He ran a cracker at Royal Ascot and I think he was the only horse with a high draw to get in the frame in the Ebor, so he deserved to win a big one – it’s not before time. It was a great ride from Danny as usual and it’s great to get his head in front.

“I’m not sure where we’ll go now, but I wouldn’t be put off trying him in a Pattern race – I think he’s good enough.

“Long-term, I wouldn’t mind looking at the Red Sea Turf Handicap in Saudi Arabia, which is obviously worth a lot of money.”

Master Builder and William Buick in full flight at Haydock
Master Builder and William Buick in full flight at Haydock (Mike Egerton/PA)

Master Builder came from last to first to claim top honours in the Betfair Plays Different Handicap.

David Menuisier’s grey was a couple of lengths behind the rest of the field racing down the back straight, but was still travelling well after the home turn and quickened up smartly under a well-judged ride from William Buick to secure a two-and-a-quarter-length success as the 3-1 favourite.

“I’m delighted. He did something really nice in the Melrose (at York, finished third) and we were quite confident that with a bit of cut in the ground he would improve again,” said Menuisier.

“The question mark was it was only two weeks since he ran, but we didn’t do a lot between York and here and William made it look easy really!

“The horse switches off very easily and very quickly. They went very fast early on, so I wasn’t too worried when he was behind.

“Turning in, you could see that he was picking up the bridle and was travelling better than anything else, so I thought we would be unlucky not to win from that point onwards.

“I don’t really have any plans at the moment. We have to enjoy this one and then make plans.”

Mick Appleby and Oisin Murphy combined to land the Betfair Be Friendly Handicap, with 9-4 favourite Shagraan lunging late to get up and beat Jer Batt by half a length.

“That was good, he was drawn on the wrong side really, but luckily we knew Night On Earth would go pretty quick and tow us into it, which he did. It all worked out well,” said Appleby.

“The ground was on the softer side for him, but he’s done the job well and I think he’s still improving.”

Considering future plans, the trainer added: “Oisin wants to go in the sun somewhere! We’ve thought about it and Bahrain would be right up his street, five furlongs there, but there won’t be that many races out there for him.

“We’ll have a look and see where we’re going to go. I’m sure there’ll be more suitable opportunities for him this year before we put him away.”



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Hipop hooray for masterful Mullins again in the Ebor?

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Hipop De Loire bids to follow in the hoofprints of Absurde when he lines up in the Sky Bet Ebor for Willie Mullins.

Famously now the champion British jumps trainer alongside his perennial Irish crown, Mullins again has his sights on the Knavesmire as he seeks a third Ebor after collecting 12 months ago, thanks in no small part to a magical Frankie Dettori ride on Absurde.

Mullins – who first struck in the big handicap with Sesenta in 2009 – could again have bookmakers running for cover with German recruit Hipop De Loire, who was second over hurdles on his stable debut at Galway and will have the assistance of Colin Keane in the saddle.

The son of American Post does have Flat credentials, having taken Listed honours when trained by Michal Borkowski, and assistant trainer Patrick Mullins is confident the seven-year-old will be competitive.

Willie Mullins looks on as Frankie Dettori celebrates Ebor glory
Willie Mullins looks on as Frankie Dettori celebrates Ebor glory (Mike Egerton/PA)

“His work at home is very good, he ran very well in a hurdle race for us at Galway. He was beaten by another highly-rated Flat horse in Jackfinbar,” he said.

“Absurde got beat in a hurdle at Galway before winning the Ebor last year, so that’s not a bad prep! He’s run on good ground on the continent, so we are hopeful he will go on it.

“He’s been given a mark of 102, which obviously says his form is strong, and like I said, his work has been good, so we feel he is competitive off that mark and having the Irish champion (jockey) Colin Keane is a big plus.

“There’s huge prize-money, people aim for it and obviously the stamina of the race opens up to jumps’ trainers as well with the mile and six around York.”

Burdett Road running in the 2023 JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle
James Owen has targeted the Sky Bet Ebor Handicap for Burdett Road (Nigel French/PA)

Burdett Road has been targeting this race since a setback ruled him out of the JCB Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham.

The four-year-old, who was a winner at Royal Ascot when trained by Michael Bell before switching to James Owen, made his reappearance on the level in the John Guest Racing Handicap at the King George meeting, finishing less than four lengths behind the winner in fifth.

Owen is sure there is improvement to come from that reappearance and said: “He’s great, I couldn’t be happier with him. I was pleased with his comeback run at Ascot, he settled well and stayed on well at the line.

“He looks to have come on massively for that, he had a racecourse gallop last week which has hopefully put him spot on. I’m happy with the draw, very happy with that, and it’s all systems go. I can’t wait for Saturday. He’s entitled to improve a lot from the Ascot run.

“This has been his target since we had that minor setback and he had a nice break. The Gredley family (owners) wanted a crack at the Ebor, it’s good prize-money and they want to support it, and hopefully try to win it.”

My Mate Mozzie’s handler Gavin Cromwell hopes to add his name to what has been a growing list of Irish-trained winners in recent years, with five of the last 10 renewals going to runners from the Emerald Isle.

My Mate Mozzie jumps over a fence in the My Pension Expert Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices' Chase at Cheltenham
My Mate Mozzie is another who has transitioned to the Flat at York (Mike Egerton/PA)

“I think he will be reasonably suited to the race and hopefully there’s a steady pace in it,” the Danestown trainer said.

“A little bit of rain would be no harm to take the sting out of the ground. As expected, it is a very competitive race, but I hope he will be competitive in it.

“I suppose I would have probably preferred to have a lower number (drawn 13), but it is what it is and we will have to leave it in the hands of Gary Carroll (who was successful aboard Sesenta). He knows him, he’s ridden him plenty, so it’s definitely a positive.”

Runner-up to the rapidly-improving Crystal Black at Royal Ascot, Epic Poet will be attempting a mile and three-quarters for the first time and trainer David O’Meara admits the trip will be an unknown for the five-year-old, who is drawn in stall 16.

Crystal Black, centre, wins the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes at Royal Ascot
Epic Poet, right, came second behind Crystal Black, centre, in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes at Royal Ascot (John Walton/PA)

“He’s in good form. I think it does (draw make an impact), if you’re wide you have to decide to go forward and hope to get in, or take back and maybe end up too far back, so I do think it will make a huge difference,” said O’Meara, whose charge was last seen finishing fifth here in the John Smith’s Cup.

“I hope he stays the trip. It’s more of an unknown than a concern – if it works, brilliant, and if it doesn’t, then we know.”

O’Meara has a second representative through Iron Lion, while Aidan O’Brien has booked James Doyle for Queenstown and Yorkshireman William Haggas looks to Naqeeb to give him what would be a cherished first Ebor.

Also of note is Brian Ellison’s Northumberland Plate winner Onesmoothoperator aiming to emulate Sergeant Cecil in adding the Ebor to his victory in the ‘Pitmen’s Derby’ at Newcastle.



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