Tag Archive for: Futurity Trophy

Jessica Harrington hoping it will be Hotazhell at Doncaster

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Jessica Harrington is excited about the prospects of Hotazhell in the William Hill Futurity Trophy at Doncaster on Saturday.

The Too Darn Hot colt has won three of his five juvenile starts thus far, must recently claiming Group Two honours in the Beresford Stakes at the Curragh.

Having already proven his stamina over a mile and with soft ground not expected to be a problem, Harrington is hopeful Hotazhell can sign off for the year with a Group One victory on Town Moor.

Jessica Harrington with Hotazhell
Jessica Harrington with Hotazhell (Brian Lawless/PA)

“Everything is looking all right, he came out of his last race very well, he’s had plenty of time and we’re happy with him,” she told Sky Sports Racing.

“I was delighted with him (in the Beresford Stakes). He got a bit of hassle from the (Aidan) O’Brien horses, but he didn’t turn a hair getting bumped coming down the hill. When he turned into the straight it looked for a second that he was slow to pick up, but when he did pick up he stayed on very strongly.

“He’s been very good to us. He was unlucky not to win the first time, he got trapped on the rail at Leopardstown and couldn’t get out, but in a way it probably was a great thing as it taught him to relax and his head has been very good ever since.”

She added: “He wears a red hood in the parade ring and going down to the start, but that’s just to keep him relaxed. I think he’d probably be all right without it now, but it’s a big day on Saturday at Doncaster and there’ll be a fair buzz going on, so I think we’ll keep it on him.

“It’s a big, wide, galloping track. He’s won at the Curragh and I think he’ll be fine. I think the ground will be grand for him as it’s going to be soft.

“I think he probably will stay a mile and a quarter at three, but we’ll start him off over a mile. He’s got an entry in the English and the Irish Guineas and it will just depend how he is in the spring.”



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Delacroix to mount Futurity challenge for O’Brien

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Aidan O’Brien is set to rely on Delacroix in his bid for a 12th victory in the William Hill Futurity Trophy at Doncaster on Saturday.

The Ballydoyle handler has dominated the final Group One of the British Flat season in recent years, with High Chaparral (2001), St Nicholas Abbey (2009), Camelot (2011) and Auguste Rodin (2022) among those on the roll of honour.

O’Brien left six horses in the race at Monday’s confirmation stage, but Delacroix appears to be the chosen one, with the Dubawi colt poised to turn out just two weeks after winning the Group Three Autumn Stakes at Newmarket.

“The horse that won in Newmarket, Delacroix, will run and I’d say he’s probably going to be the only one,” the trainer said the Curragh on Tuesday.

“He’s tough and he’s hardy and has been taking his racing very well. Ryan looked after him the last day, thinking of going to Doncaster. He’s a hardy, strong horse and handles an ease in the ground.”

O’Brien confirmed Delacroix is likely to have company on the trip to Doncaster, with impressive Naas scorer Bounty an intended runner in the William Hill Prospect Stakes on the same card.



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Nebras supplemented for Doncaster’s Futurity Trophy

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Newmarket winner Nebras has been supplemented to join the likes of Wimbledon Hawkeye and Hotazhell in the William Hill Futurity Trophy at Doncaster on Saturday.

The John and Thady Gosden-trained colt, a half-brother to Nashwa, created a big impression when making a successful debut on the Rowley Mile earlier this month and has now been added to the field for the final Group One of the British Flat season at a cost of £17,500. The Gosdens could also run dual all-weather winner Detain.

Nebras is owned by Imad Al Sagar and his racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe said: “We were all impressed at Newmarket and in John’s mind he always wanted to run him twice, if he could, this year.

“At the time we were pleased that he won so well, so then it was just a question of how he came out of the race and how he was up until this morning when the decision was made.

“He ticked all those boxes but it is going to be a big ask, no question, especially having had just the one race. But the key thing is he comes into it in really good form, we think he’ll handle the soft going, which we’d expect it to be, and we thought it worthwhile having a try at it.”

Wimbledon Hawkeye winning the Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket
Wimbledon Hawkeye winning the Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket (Mike Egerton/PA)

Wimbledon Hawkeye is the likely favourite for James Owen, having proven his runner-up finish to The Lion In Winter in York’s Acomb Stakes was no fluke by landing the Royal Lodge at Newmarket a month ago.

Jessica Harrington looks set to send Futurity Stakes victor Hotazhell from Ireland, while Aidan O’Brien has left in Delacroix, Isambard Brunel, Mississippi River, Monumental, Serengeti and Trinity College.

Joseph O’Brien also has a couple of contenders in Apples And Bananas and Tennessee Stud, Anno Domini could put his unbeaten record on the line for Charlie Appleby and Ralph Beckett may saddle both Matauri Bay and Seacruiser.

Royal Playwright (Andrew Balding) and Seaplane (Paul and Oliver Cole) also feature among 19 confirmations.



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Detain camp keen to see rain stay away from Doncaster

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Heavy ground may prevent Detain from running in the William Hill Futurity Trophy at Doncaster next week.

Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the half-brother to St Leger runner-up Arrest has made the perfect start to his career.

He made a winning debut at Kempton in August and recently returned to the Sunbury venue to score under a penalty by seven lengths.

While soft ground would not be too much of a deterrent to connections, should it turn heavy, they would likely have second thoughts about running him.

Barry Mahon of owners Juddmonte said: “Doncaster is under consideration for Detain, as long as he’s fit and well.

“One thing that might prevent him is the going. John and Thady have said they wouldn’t like to run him on heavy ground at this stage of his career.

“Obviously, he’s won on the all-weather twice, so we know he likes a good surface, but being a brother to Arrest, I’m sure a bit of cut in the ground won’t be a problem.

“I just don’t think we’d want to run him on heavy ground at this stage of his life.”



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Detain’s dominance puts him into Futurity Trophy equation

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Detain emerged as a real live player for the William Hill Futurity Trophy at Doncaster on October 26 with an authoritative win at Kempton on Wednesday.

The John and Thady Gosden-trained juvenile had won by two lengths on his debut at the Sunbury venue in August and was conceding a 7lb penalty in the second division of the seven-furlong novice stakes.

Kieran Shoemark wasted no time in sending him into an early lead and despite the race being won with a furlong to run, the jockey rode his mount out to see what was under the bonnet and he powered to a seven-length success.

As a result, the sponsors cut him to 7-1 from 20s for the final Group One of the UK season.

Speaking to Racing TV after the race, Shoemark said of the Doncaster entry: “He’s got the right profile going into a race like that. It’s likely to be soft ground on the day, he’s a half-brother to Arrest and he likes soft ground.

“He’s half the size of Arrest, who is large, wants a mile and a half, probably further, and has a big, long stride, whereas he’s a lot neater, a lot tighter and he’s got more speed.

“I’m not sure we beat a whole lot there but he’s a proper stakes horse. I wouldn’t like to say too much but he gave me a good feel.”

Lee Phelps, a spokesman for William Hill, said: “The Juddmonte team are flying at present after they won the Arc with Bluestocking at the weekend, and they look to have another very useful horse on their hands in likely William Hill Futurity contender Detain.

“The Wootton Bassett colt remained unbeaten in stunning style at Kempton on Wednesday night, and as a result we’ve cut him into 7-1 from 20-1 for the final Group One of the UK Flat season.”



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Ancient Wisdom sparks Classic dreams with Futurity win

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Ancient Wisdom showed an abundance of spirit and stamina to land the Kameko Futurity Trophy Stakes at Doncaster.

Charlie Appleby’s charge made the running early on but was headed by Devil’s Point and Dancing Gemini when the pace quickened three furlongs out.

However, Ancient Wisdom got a second wind in the latter stages and galloped on strongly to outstay Devil’s Point by a length and three-quarters.

William Buick’s mount was sent off the 5-4 favourite, while God’s Window stayed on to finish a head behind Devil’s Point in third. Aidan O’Brien’s Diego Velazquez faded out of contention.

Ancient Wisdom, supplemented for the race on Monday, was cut to as short as 6-1 with Betfair and Paddy Power for next year’s Derby, while Coral offered 8-1 for him to win the Epsom Classic.

The start of the race was delayed by a nasty incident when Battle Cry reared up in the stalls and fell backwards, unseating jockey Ben Curtis in the process.

That forced the O’Brien-trained outsider to be withdrawn but both horse and jockey were thankfully able to walk away.

Buick, winning the race for the first time, said: “I’ve had a few goes at this and never been able to win it, so I’m delighted to win it this year.

Ancient Wisdom with winning connections
Ancient Wisdom with winning connections (Richard Sellers/PA)

“I was delighted it was on, the talk of it being abandoned earlier in the week wasn’t great, but they’ve done a great job. The ground is very soft, but we’re racing on it and this is a very important race for next year.

“I was delighted with Ancient Wisdom. He put in a big performance only two weeks ago at Newmarket and Charlie and the team were very happy to supplement him for today.

“The plan wasn’t necessarily to make the running, but it fell right, he pricked his ears and he’s just a horse who is very uncomplicated. That goes a long way in this ground.

“You go through the list of two-year-olds that have won this race and it bodes well for next year. I’m very much looking forward to him and delighted with what he did there.”

Alex Merriam, Appleby’s assistant, said: “Charlie purposely gave him a break through the summer to come back for the Autumn Stakes. He was very pleased with the way he came out of that and he showed he handled the soft ground so I think Charlie just thought why not give him a shot?

“I think we were probably expecting to follow the Aidan O’Brien horse (Battle Cry), so it was slightly Plan B to make the running, but Will gave him a great ride. They got racing a long way out, but Will didn’t panic, he said it took him a while to get through the gears but once he got rolling he saw it out well.

“It’s nice to have a horse to look forward to for next year.”

On Ancient Wisdom being the team’s first Group One winner in Britain since Modern Games landed the Lockinge at Newbury in May, Merriam added: “It’s been a bit bleak, but it’s nice to see we’ve got some nice two-year-olds for next season. We can go into the winter dreaming anyway.”

Looking towards next season Merriam said: “It was obviously very soft ground out there and he lengthened rather than quickened.

“It’s a long old winter so we’ll see where we are. It looks like there’ll be quite a good one to beat in the Guineas (City Of Troy)! We’ll leave that to Charlie and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed to decide.”

O’Brien said: “There was a few incidents, wasn’t there? When horses get upset like that in the stalls, their heart can go through the roof and usually it goes out the window then.

Ancient Wisdom had them strung out
Ancient Wisdom had them strung out (Ricard Sellers/PA)

“He (Diego Velazquez) got upset after what happened to the other fellow. When that happens, their heart rate can go through the roof and they can only do that once.

“That’s the way it is. Take nothing away from the winner.”

David Menuisier said of Devil’s Point: “I’m delighted. He came to win the race and then he kind of flattened out and maybe stayed on a bit, but it’s a Group One and to finish second in a Group One is absolutely marvellous.

“He was travelling absolutely great on the ground. We’ll speak to Oisin (Murphy) and see what he thinks, but he’s pretty special really.”



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Doncaster given go-ahead following inspection

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Doncaster’s Kameko Futurity Trophy meeting will go ahead as planned this afternoon.

While day one of the weekend fixture on Friday fell foul of waterlogging in places, hopes were reasonably high the card featuring the final Group One of the domestic season would survive after the movement of rails to avoid troublesome areas.

A precautionary inspection confirmed that view after a dry but misty night, meaning an intriguing main event will see a highly-anticipated clash between Charlie Appleby’s Arabian Crown and the Aidan O’Brien-trained Diego Velazquez.

No problems are reported over jumps at Cheltenham and Kelso, where Grand National winner Corach Rambler returns to action in the Edinburgh Gin Chase. At Cheltenham, the star attraction could be Flooring Porter, as the dual Stayers’ Hurdle hero goes over fences for the first time in the William Hill Lengthen Your Odds Novices’ Chase.



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