Tag Archive for: Juddmonte International

International hero Mostahdaf marks another record for retiring Dettori

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Mostahdaf provided Frankie Dettori with a fifth domestic Group One of the season and in the process helped him become the most successful jockey in the history of the Juddmonte International at York.

In drawing away from Lester Piggott with a sixth win in York’s best race, Dettori created yet another record in a career that is set to end later this year.

But when you see him at his best, as he was once again from the front on John and Thady Gosden’s five-year-old, you have to wonder why he is retiring at all.

Yes, he has achieved almost everything in the game, but on the big occasion and when it matters the most, there really have been very few better.

Up against the potential Horse of the Year in Aidan O’Brien’s Paddington, who had beaten Dettori and Emily Upjohn in the Eclipse, he was determined his younger rival was not going to have things all his own way.

Mostahdaf (centre) holds off Nashwa (right) and Paddington
Mostahdaf (centre) holds off Nashwa (right) and Paddington (Mike Egerton/PA)

In a complete change of tactics from Ascot, when Mostahdaf had been so impressive in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, Dettori bounded out of the stalls into an early advantage and it was one he would not relinquish with the Italian hailing him as the best 10-furlong horse around.

With his Ascot partner Jim Crowley suspended for his winning ride in the King George, Dettori for once was in the role as super-sub.

He still held a two-length lead two furlongs out but it was then a matter of what was left in the tank, however, by then Paddington was also beginning to paddle and it was the winner’s stablemate Nashwa closing in.

There might not have been much in the locker at the finish, but as he so often has in his storied career, Dettori had ridden the perfect race.

“He’s run over a mile and a half, so he stays a mile and a quarter really well. The key was to get the fractions right, not too slow and not too fast and thankfully after 36 years I got it right,” said Dettori.

“I knew I had got it right because when I looked round I still had two lengths rope, I expected them to be on my quarters and when they weren’t I knew it would take a good horse to catch me now.

“This is my last Ebor meeting, my wife has come along and to be the first jockey to get six Juddmonte Internationals, beating Lester, I couldn’t ask for more.

“This was a real team effort. I have to thank Angus Gold and Richard Hills (Shadwell’s racing managers), Sheikha Hissa for giving me the ride and John and Thady – and especially Jim, it’s his ride. We all came up with a plan to beat this great horse Paddington. We wanted to bully the race from the beginning. It takes a good horse to do that and he was.”

Owner Sheikha Hissa has enjoyed a phenomenal runs of success
Owner Sheikha Hissa has enjoyed a phenomenal runs of success (Mike Egerton/PA)

Connections of Mostahdaf had admitted in the build up to the race that his achievements had somewhat gone under the radar, his Ascot performance looked too good to be true and yet he backed it up again.

“What he did at Ascot, people thought it was put on a plate for him but today he did it on his own,” said Dettori, who, when asked about his impending retirement replied: “I’ve got seven weeks and three days left – not that I’m counting!

“We were having to give 7lb to the favourite, but for a reason – we are an older horse and stronger, but that is valuable weight and quite an advantage. Because of that I didn’t want to have to chase him, when you are giving a horse weight you want them chasing you, not be chasing them.

“There’s a limit you can go, you don’t want to go too fast but at the same time you can’t go too slow.

“He’s a super horse, he showed that at Ascot. Because we know he stays a bit further, we wanted it to be a test and I could be aggressive.”

Dettori has ridden greats like Halling, Swain, Sakhee and Authorized to success in this great race and he feels Mostahdaf sits comfortably in their company.

“Undoubtedly he is the best mile-and-a-quarter horse around after this performance. I suspect John will find some good races for him at the end of the season but unfortunately for me, I’m not likely to be on him, but I’ll just take it as it comes,” he said.

“Equinox beat this horse a good few lengths over a mile and a half, which isn’t his best distance while it might be for Equinox. This lad is right at home over a mile and a quarter.

“To be the first jockey to win this six times means a lot.”

O’Brien points to tough campaign after Paddington eclipse

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Aidan O’Brien blamed himself for pulling “the elastic band too long” with Paddington after his star colt’s remarkable winning run came to an end in the Juddmonte International at York.

The son of Siyouni has arguably been the star of the season so far, winning each of his previous six races including Group One triumphs in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, the St James’s Palace, the Coral-Eclipse and the Sussex Stakes.

As was the case at Goodwood three weeks ago, Paddington Bear was in attendance on the Knavesmire as his namesake aimed for a fifth top-level success in the space of three months.

Ridden by Ryan Moore, the 4-6 favourite did his best to keep tabs on the front-running Mostahdaf and Frankie Dettori.

But try as he might, he could never quite get on terms with with John and Thady Gosden’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes hero and in the end he was pipped to the runner-up spot by the winner’s stablemate Nashwa.

“He ran a great race, he had a tough race the last day and maybe it was a race too many for him,” O’Brien said afterwards.

“Maybe I just pulled the elastic band too long – that’s the reality. He had a tough race in Goodwood on soft ground. He had to fight twice in Goodwood and it just told today.

“He was just a little bit down in himself. Maybe I should have waited and gone to Leopardstown (for the Irish Champion Stakes) to give him a bit more time.

“He’s only a baby three-year-old and Ryan felt he was just a little bit flat. He was in good form and obviously we were happy to come here, but you don’t really know until the speedometer goes to red.

“Frankie went evenly strong all the way and Ryan said he didn’t travel with his usual fluency, but he still ran very well.”

Considering future plans, he added: “We’ll see how he is – everything’s a possibility.

“He definitely won’t go to the Irish Champion after that and it will depend what the lads want to do.

“He is only a baby three-year-old and we have fairly given it to him – we backed him up fairly tough and he did have a tough one the last day.

“I would have to say maybe I shouldn’t have ran him, but that’s the way it is.”

Connections of Nashwa consider her performance a career best as she came home a length behind the winner.

Nashwa (left) coming home behind Mostahdaf in the Juddmonte International
Nashwa (left) coming home behind Mostahdaf in the Juddmonte International (Mike Egerton/PA)

Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to owner-breeder Imad Al Sagar, said: “We were always confident she was going to run a big race and she really did.

“Everything went pretty smoothly in the race, she absolutely put it to them, and what a race for York and for racing and everybody.

“Nashwa has really been exceptional and I’m sure today was a career-best. If you beat Paddington, you’d have to say it is.

“I think in the back of our minds the Queen Elizabeth II is where we’d like to end up, most probably, as it’s most likely to be on soft ground. She gets a mile and a quarter well, but a mile on soft ground would probably be more her thing.

“Really and truly, you’d have to be really pleased with her today.”

York officials raring to go on one of the big weeks of the year

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York’s flagship meeting has plenty in store as the racing world descends on the city for the Sky Bet Ebor Festival.

The headline race on the opening day of the four-day event is the Juddmonte International, a Group One contest that is one of the highlight of not only the Ebor fixture but of the whole Flat calendar.

This year’s race has attracted a field of just four, but among them is arguably one of the best and most popular horses in training in Aidan O’Brien’s Paddington.

The colt has won a string of Group One events that includes the Irish 2,000 Guineas, the St James’s Palace Stakes, the Coral-Eclipse and the Sussex Stakes and now aims to add a fifth success at the top level to an already stellar CV.

He will face John and Thady Gosden’s Mostahdaf, a four-length winner of the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot, plus his stablemate Nashwa and Andrew Balding’s Dante hero The Foxes.

“It looks a fascinating renewal, Paddington is seeking a fifth successive Group One and he’s taking on Mostahdaf, who was so impressive at Royal Ascot,” said William Derby, York’s chief executive and clerk of the course.

Paddington winning the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot
Paddington winning the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot (David Davies/PA)

“I think they’ve won something like 14 Group races between them and the filly, Nashwa, adds a different dimension and of course The Foxes was so impressive in the Al Basti Equiworld Dante – it’s an interesting shape to the race and it’s filled with quality.”

On Thursday there is a superb race in prospect in the Pertemps Network Yorkshire Oaks, with 10 high-quality fillies declared including Irish Oaks heroine Savethelastdance and Bluestocking, runner-up at the Curragh.

Al Husn, successful in the Nassau Stakes, joins the fray, as does Ribblesdale Stakes winner Warm Heart and Middleton Stakes victor Free Wind.

“I’m delighted, especially as it’s Pertemps first sponsorship of the Yorkshire Oaks and it’s such a fascinating contest,” said Derby.

“The first two in the Irish Oaks take on the older horses, it looks really exciting. Al Husn is a Group One winner from Goodwood and it looks a real highlight of Ladies Day at the Ebor Festival.”

Savethelastdance flying home in the Cheshire Oaks
Savethelastdance flying home in the Cheshire Oaks (David Davies/PA)

The Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup promises to be a compelling renewal as many of the Goodwood Cup cast reassemble on the Knavesmire, including runaway winner Quickthorn and the Ascot Gold Cup champion Courage Mon Ami.

“It could be a Goodwood Cup rematch! I’m delighted that we have the Gold Cup winner from Royal Ascot looking like he’s coming, that division looks really open post Stradivarius so it will be interesting to see how it shapes up,” Derby said.

“Quickthorn did a similar job in the Lonsdale last year as he did at Goodwood so it will be interesting to see if they let him get an easy lead this time around.”

On the same day the five-furlong Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes is a race worth anticipating, with John Quinn’s locally-trained supermare Highfield Princess bidding to retain the title she won 12 months ago.

She is joined by a host of Northern-based rivals including the two-year-old Big Evs, Mick Appleby’s Royal Ascot and Goodwood star who was supplemented for the race following the latter of those triumphs.

Highfield Princess winning the Coolmore Nunthorpe 12 months ago
Highfield Princess winning the Coolmore Nunthorpe 12 months ago (Mike Egerton/PA)

Derby said: “In the Coolmore Nunthorpe Highfield Princess is a real local favourite, she’s trained 10 or 12 miles from the track and she won it last year as part of a hat-trick of Group Ones.

“The interesting addition is the two-year-old Big Evs, with a huge weight advantage, who tries to be the first two-year-old since Kingsgate Native in 2007 to overhaul his elders.

“It looks a really interesting race with lots of Yorkshire strength as well as the rest of fastest horses in the country.”

The final day of the meeting is the home of the valuable City of York Stakes and the namesake of the fixture, the Sky Bet Ebor Handicap, a wide-open contest held on what will likely be a final visit to York for the retiring great of the game that is Frankie Dettori – who also happens to be last year’s winner.

“We’ve got the Sky Bet City of York Stakes as well for £500,000, it is the most valuable Group Two and we’re really trying everything to see if that can be upgraded to Group One status,” said Derby.

Frankie Dettori after winning the Sky Bet Ebor aboard Trawlerman last year
Frankie Dettori after winning the Sky Bet Ebor aboard Trawlerman last year (Mike Egerton/PA)

“The Sky Bet Ebor is really open, as you’d expect for such a high value, highly-rated handicap. Twenty-two runners and each you could make a case for!

“It’s Britain’s richest Flat handicap and it looks really interesting as to whether Real Dream for Sir Michael Stoute can make amends for us all missing out on poor Desert Crown – that would be an amazing end to the week.

“It will also probably be Frankie Dettori’s last raceday at York so we’ll be looking forward to celebrating that. There’s a great deal to look forward to.”

Paddington headlines select Juddmonte International line-up

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Paddington and Mostahdaf will face off as a field of four go to post for Wednesday’s Juddmonte International at York.

The Aidan O’Brien-trained Paddington will be seeking a fifth successive Group One triumph, having landed the Irish 2,000 Guineas, St James’s Palace Stakes, Eclipse and Sussex Stakes on his last four runs, cementing him as the cream of the three-year-old crop.

He will clash with Prince of Wales’s Stakes winner Mostahdaf as he moves back up to 10 furlongs, with the Ballydoyle team opting not to field Point Lonsdale in support.

Mostahdaf’s trainers John and Thady Gosden also run Nashwa, winner of the Falmouth Stakes, while Andrew Balding’s The Foxes completes the line-up.

Sir Michael Stoute did not declare Bay Bridge, leaving him without a runner after last year’s Derby hero Desert Crown sustained a season-ending injury on Sunday.

The Gosden-trained Gregory headlines five in the Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes, with the Queen’s Vase winner seeking to underline his St Leger claims in this traditional trial.

Castle Way is Charlie Appleby’s contender having won the Bahrain Trophy last time with O’Brien relying on King Edward VII Stakes runner-up Continuous.

Gordon Stakes third and fourth, Canberra Legend and Artistic Star, represent James Ferguson and Ralph Beckett respectively.

Six go to post for the Tattersalls Acomb Stakes headed by Richmond second Ballymount Boy, whose form got a huge boost when his Goodwood conqueror Vandeek won the Group One Prix Morny on Sunday.

Naas maiden winner Edwardian is O’Brien’s pick with Cogitate, Hot Fuss, Indian Run and Loose Cannon the other Group Three runners.

‘Amazing’ Paddington all set for International mission

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Odds-on favourite Paddington is all set to bid for a fifth successive Group One win this season in Wednesday’s Juddmonte International at York.

Aidan O’Brien’s new superstar will step back up in trip to an extended 10 furlongs having won the Eclipse at Sandown over a similar distance.

He proved his versatility last time out by dropping down to a mile for the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood where he made all the running.

From a humble beginning this season in a Naas handicap, he is now the best of his generation by some distance.

“He’s an amazing horse really and is progressing from run to run, that’s all he has done all year,” O’Brien told Sky Sports Racing.

“We thought he was a very good two-year-old, he went to Ascot first time out but he got stage fright and just never performed so we gave him a good break. He went to the Curragh after that and won very easily.

“Because of that we left him alone. He was trained for the Classics in the spring but we started as low as we could because we had a lot of horses to get out.

“Ryan (Moore) was very impressed with him, as you know Ryan doesn’t say much but he was very impressed with him in the Sussex. He would have preferred a lead but there was nobody else prepared to so that was why he went on.

“John (Magnier) always felt on pedigree he would get a mile and a half. He went to the Eclipse for his first run over a mile and a quarter so this is a little bit further on a flatter track. It will be interesting to see and we’ll take it race by race with him at the moment.”

Paddington, Mostahdaf and Desert Crown all feature among eight confirmations for what promises to be a blockbuster contest.

Mostahdaf bolted up at Royal Ascot
Mostahdaf bolted up at Royal Ascot (David Davies/PA)

Prince of Wales’s Stakes hero Mostahdaf heads the opposition for John and Thady Gosden.

The five-year-old was a four-length winner at Royal Ascot and he is set to be partnered for the first time by Frankie Dettori, as regular rider Jim Crowley serves a 20-day whip suspension.

Last year’s Derby hero Desert Crown was forced to sidestep the Prince of Wales’s due to a late setback, but he is in the mix following a satisfactory piece on work on Wednesday morning.

He could be joined by fellow Sir Michael Stoute-trained runner Bay Bridge, who finished fifth behind Mostahdaf at Ascot.

The Gosden have a second contender in Nashwa, winner of the Falmouth Stakes and third in the Nassau last time out, while the Mostahdaf colours of Shadwell are also represented by Alflaila, although it is unlikely both their horses will run.

O’Brien also has Point Lonsdale in contention while the prospective field is completed by The Foxes, who finished second in the Belmont Derby for Andrew Balding last time out.

Gregory won the Queen's Vase at Ascot for Frankie Dettori
Gregory won the Queen’s Vase at Ascot for Frankie Dettori (John Walton/PA)

St Leger hopes will be on the line in the Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes, with the Gosden-trained Gregory the key name following his Queen’s Vase verdict at Royal Ascot.

“We’re all looking forward to seeing him back,” said Richard Brown, racing adviser for owners Wathnan Racing.

“He did it the hard way at Ascot – he was very game. The big aim for him has always been the St Leger, so the Voltigeur is an obvious stepping stone, but it’s a very prestigious race in its own right and it’s exciting to have a colt going there who we think will have a good chance.”

Godolphin rely on the Charlie Appleby-trained Castle Way after his narrow Bahrain Trophy success over Tower Of London.

That colt again features for O’Brien, who has five potential runners out of a list of 10, with Adelaide River and Continuous also confirmed.

Derby fourth Sprewell could represent Jessica Harrington, with Gordon Stakes third and fourth, Canberra Legend and Artistic Star, possibly crossing swords again.

York set to start with a bang as big three stand ground

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Paddington, Mostahdaf and Desert Crown all feature among eight confirmations for what promises to be a blockbuster Juddmonte International Stakes at York on Wednesday.

The Aidan O’Brien-trained Paddington has won each of his six starts this term, with his last four victories at Group One level in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, St James’s Palace Stakes, Eclipse and Sussex Stakes.

He is set to return to the Eclipse trip of 10 furlongs on the Knavesmire, where Prince of Wales’s Stakes hero Mostahdaf heads the opposition for John and Thady Gosden.

The five-year-old was a four-length winner at Royal Ascot and he is set to be partnered for the first time by Frankie Dettori, as regular rider Jim Crowley serves a 20-day whip suspension.

Last year’s Derby hero Desert Crown was forced to sidestep the Prince of Wales’s due to a late setback, but he is in the mix following a satisfactory piece on work on Wednesday morning.

He could be joined by fellow Sir Michael Stoute-trained runner Bay Bridge, who finished fifth behind Mostahdaf at Ascot.

The Gosden team also has a second contender in Nashwa, winner of the Falmouth Stakes and third in the Nassau last time out, while Mostahdaf’s owner Shadwell also has another possible in Alflaila, although they have indicated it is unlikely both their horses will run.

O’Brien also has Point Lonsdale in contention while the prospective field is completed by The Foxes, who finished second in the Belmont Derby for Andrew Balding last time out.

St Leger hopes will be on the line in the Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes, with the Gosden-trained Gregory the key name following his Queen’s Vase verdict at Royal Ascot.

Godolphin rely on the Charlie Appleby-trained Castle Way after his narrow Bahrain Trophy success over Tower Of London.

That colt again features for O’Brien, who has five potential runners out of a list of 10, with Adelaide River and Continuous also confirmed.

Derby fourth Sprewell could represent Jessica Harrington, with Gordon Stakes third and fourth, Canberra Legend and Artistic Star, possibly crossing swords again.

Desert Crown on target for International duty

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Last year’s Derby winner Desert Crown remains on course for a sizzling clash with Paddington and Mostahdaf in next week’s Juddmonte International having come through his latest gallop in good style.

The four-year-old was put through his paces by Ryan Moore, who will be on Aidan O’Brien’s Paddington on the Knavesmire, in a spin on Wednesday morning.

Desert Crown has only been seen once since his Epsom victory, when he lost his unbeaten record in finishing second to Hukum in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes in May.

He was then a late absentee from the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes, with familiar adversary Hukum taking home the Ascot showpiece.

“Desert Crown worked this morning, he worked nicely and everybody was happy with him,” said Bruce Raymond, racing manager to owner Saeed Suhail.

“He’s not a great worker, as has been stated before, but everyone was very happy with him this morning and everything went as well as expected.”

William Buick had been announced as his jockey in the King George before he was ruled out, but he is expected to be aboard next week.

“William didn’t ride him. Ryan Moore rode him this morning. He’s ridden him a lot of times at home and Sir Michael just sometimes likes a different opinion,” Raymond went on.

“It’s really shaping up into a great race. One thing I can definitely tell you is this horse needed it badly at Sandown, it wasn’t said at the time but Michael was quite surprised how much he was blowing afterwards.

“He had worked on the grass but nowhere near as much as we would have liked as it kept on pouring down.

“Having spoken to Richard Hills (assistant racing manager for Shadwell, owners of Hukum), their horse had been working really, really well for a long time, so we met a very fit horse that day and he’s gone on to prove again he is a very good horse as he’s one of the favourites for the Arc.

“We’re looking forward to next week. Where else could you take a horse like that? He’s got to go somewhere and when you are in his class, there are only certain races you can run in.”

Cumani recalls fantastic campaign with International star Falbrav

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Even for Luca Cumani it is hard to believe 20 years have passed since the fabulous Falbrav landed the Juddmonte International during a solitary but sensational season on British soil.

Described by his trainer as “the Muhammad Ali of the racing world”, Falbrav had already proven himself a top-class performer by the time he joined the Bedford House maestro, having won two Group Ones in Italy and the Japan Cup under Frankie Dettori the previous year.

That international success at Nakayama proved to be his last for Cumani’s fellow Italian Luciano d’Auria as Falbrav moved to Newmarket for what proved to be his final campaign.

Falbrav enjoying a spin in Newmarket during his build up to the Juddmonte International
Falbrav enjoying a spin in Newmarket during his build up to the Juddmonte International (PA)

“It doesn’t feel like 20 years ago at all, it feels more like five or six years,” said Cumani.

“The owner had raced him for three years in Italy and he thought it was time to see what he could do on the international circuit.

“I think he came to me in around February of his five-year-old year and we started from there.”

The 74-year-old revealed that while Falbrav’s ability did not immediately shine through, it did not take him long to realise he had something special on his hands.

He added: “It wasn’t immediately obvious how good he was as he was a very laid-back horse who didn’t show you much when he was just cantering, but from the first time he galloped and did a piece of work, you could see that he had instant acceleration and was very powerful.”

Luca Cumani enjoyed a fantastic year with Falbrav
Luca Cumani enjoyed a fantastic year with Falbrav (Nigel French/PA)

Falbrav headed back to the continent to make his first couple of starts for his new trainer, finishing third in the Prix Ganay in April before securing further Group One glory in the Prix d’Ispahan the following month.

He could finish only fifth behind Nayef in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot, but turned the tables to win a humdinger of a Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.

Another defeat at Ascot in the King George followed, but Cumani never lost faith.

He said: “His run in the Ganay was a good start – he showed that he belonged, but he needed to improve. And sure enough he improved on his second start when he won the Prix d’Ispahan.

“He won the Eclipse in very good style and the mile and a half and the softer ground didn’t really suit him in the King George, but I remember there was some sort of bonus on offer, otherwise we probably wouldn’t have run him.”

Dropping back in trip on a quick surface at York the following month, hopes were high that Falbrav could again bounce back from disappointment in the Juddmonte International.

Always travelling well in the hands of Darryll Holland, Cumani’s ace kicked in the turbo to propel himself two lengths clear of Magistretti, with his old rival Nayef back in third.

Cumani said: “I was certainly hopeful going to York. In the whole of my career, I’ve never been confident as you never know what might happen in a race. My favourite saying was when it comes to horses and women – never confident, always hopeful!

“It definitely was one of his best performances. He sat behind the pace and when Darryll asked him to quicken with three furlongs to go, he put the race to bed immediately.

“Once Darryll gave him a bit of rein he showed a good burst of speed, got to the lead and held on to the line and won by a couple of lengths.”

Following his success on the Knavesmire, Falbrav was beaten a neck by High Chaparral in the Irish Champion Stakes. Connections attempted to have the result reversed on appeal following interference, but were unsuccessful.

Cumani’s charge gained some compensation in the QEII at Ascot, after which he was again trumped by High Chaparral in a Breeders’ Cup Turf for the ages at Santa Anita, before fittingly rounding off his career with an eighth Group One success in the Hong Kong Cup.

“The Irish Champion Stakes was slightly controversial as I think Mick Kinane rode two horses that day – he was riding High Chaparral and Falbrav!” Cumani recalled.

“He held Falbrav tight in a pocket against the rail and Darryll could never really get down to ride the horse properly and we were beaten a neck, so he was a bit unlucky.

“It was fantastic, that win in Hong Kong again showed what a good horse he was. He did it very easily and showed his trademark turn of foot with a couple of furlongs to run.”

Falbrav after winning the QEII at Ascot
Falbrav after winning the QEII at Ascot (Rebecca Naden/PA)

Falbrav ran in 10 top-level races in the space of eight months for Cumani, winning five.

The trainer feels his overall record of eight Group One wins achieved in five different countries is testament to the horse’s class and constitution.

He said: “He had an amazing year with all the travelling he had to do, going to America and back and Hong Kong after that.

“He was a bull of a horse – I always used to say he was the Muhammad Ali of the racing world.

“He would definitely have to be one of the best horses I trained.”

‘Excited’ Dettori hoping to serve it up to Paddington with Mostahdaf

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Frankie Dettori expects Mostahdaf to offer up a stern test for Paddington when the duo clash in the Juddmonte International Stakes at York on Wednesday week.

The weighing-room legend will deputise for the suspended Jim Crowley aboard Mostahdaf on the Knavesmire, and is relishing the opportunity for a final success in the 10-furlong highlight ahead of his retirement at the end of the year.

Mostahdaf took his form to a new level with a four-length triumph in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and Dettori has been acquainting himself with the son of Frankel at John and Thady Gosden’s yard.

Mostahdaf in full flight at Royal Ascot
Mostahdaf in full flight at Royal Ascot (David Davies/PA)

He told Nick Luck’s Daily Podcast: “I rode him the other morning and he is a beautiful specimen of a horse. He’s strong and has got a lovely stride. He doesn’t overdo himself in the mornings, but we know exactly what he can do and I’m excited.

“What he did in the Prince of Wales’s, I was pretty taken, so he’s going to be there with every chance.”

Mostahdaf will provide a fresh challenge for the Aidan O’Brien-trained Paddington, who has emerged as this year’s leading three-year-old.

The Siyouni colt has won each of his six starts this term, graduating from a handicap victory to Listed success before reaching new heights in claiming the Irish 2,000 Guineas, St James’s Palace Stakes, Eclipse and Sussex Stakes.

Having won on ground from heavy to good and shown his stamina for 10 furlongs and speed for a mile, Paddington seemingly has few chinks in his armour and Dettori is well acquainted having finished behind him a couple of times.

Paddington is carrying all before him this season
Paddington is carrying all before him this season (Andrew Matthews/PA)

However, he is backing Mostahdaf to put up a bold challenge, with his mount an 11-4 chance with Betfred, while Paddington is the 11-10 favourite.

Dettori said: “He’s a good horse. The Sussex was a non-event, but Paddington is still good – he put Chaldean to bed in the St James’s Palace, when I was second, in good style and he beat Emily (Upjohn), so he is the best three-year-old around at the moment.

“But I think this is his test now, he’s taking on a four-length winner of the Prince of Wales’s. It’s going to be a different race to what he’s faced (before), but I have no doubt he is a good horse because it looks like he only does what he has to do and he looks like he’s still got something in the locker.

“We will give him a race and see what happens.”

No immediate return in sight for sidelined Dane O’Neill

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Dane O’Neill is making progress from injuries sustained in a fall at Wolverhampton earlier this month, but looks set to miss the rest of the domestic season.

The veteran rider was unshipped from the Charlie Hills-trained Eagle Eyed Tom in the extended nine-furlong Sky Sports Racing Sky 415 Handicap on July 11, just after the stalls had opened.

The race was abruptly halted and voided, while O’Neill was attended to by paramedics on the track before being stretchered off and taken to Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Shadwell’s number two rider suffered a fractured thoracic vertebra and broken ribs, and is “frustrated” according to Angus Gold, racing manager for Sheikha Hissa’s powerful racing and breeding operation.

O’Neill’s misfortune has been exacerbated by Shadwell’s number one rider Jim Crowley incurring a 20-day ban for overuse of the whip aboard Hukum, when winning a thrilling King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.

Crowley will be ruled out of the Juddmonte International at York in a fortnight’s time and with O’Neill sidelined, the plum ride on the John and Thady Gosden-trained Mostahdaf is now up for grabs.

Gold said: “Mostahdaf, as far as I know, is well, although I haven’t spoken to John yet. We’ll get Goodwood out of the way first.”

Asked if either Frankie Dettori or William Buick may be considered for the ride, Gold added: “I’m not being perverse, but I’ve not even mentioned the subject. Obviously those are two possibilities, but we have literally not had a chat about it.”

Dane O’Neill is recovering after a horror spill at Wolverhampton
Dane O’Neill is recovering after a horror spill at Wolverhampton (Mike Egerton/PA)

O’Neill is on the mend, but he is not likely to return to the saddle in the immediate future.

Gold added: “Dane is mending. I spoke to him on Tuesday. It is frustrating, it’s a long process. Seven ribs (broken), he’s obviously very uncomfortable, poor man.

“Obviously, A – there’s the physical side and then, B – it is fantastically frustrating for him, when the whole point of being second jockey, when the first jockey is hurt or suspended, you want to make the most of the opportunity.

“But the poor fellow is not going to be able to be in a position to capitalise on it. It is very frustrating.

“I doubt he will be riding again this season. I haven’t asked him the question.

“It is the beginning of August and it is going to be another month mending them. I don’t know. He might be able to ride in early October, but that’s when he heads off to Dubai normally. I doubt he will be back here (this season).”

Monday Musings: Lies, Damned Lies, and…

/in /by

Don’t look now, but York starts on Wednesday and every year for me that means the beginning of the end of summer, writes Tony Stafford. The nights start to draw in; evening race meetings begin at 4 p.m. and if they want to stage ten-race cards as they have been doing recently, they’ll need to be over by 8 p.m. at the latest, except on all-weather.

I’m still not going racing, instead waiting for the day that, like the French, the British (and Irish) public can attend. Harry and Alan are going up to York and have got a great deal in the Marriott at the mile and a half gate. All they need now are some of the highly-regulated owners’ badges to go their way. Wednesday looks good apparently, but some of the other days are more questionable. It might be a case of watching on the hotel telly.

There’s been a fair amount of goalpost-moving lately. I’m delighted that I can get back from today to ice-rink chauffeuring. In the end Mrs S and her skating chums didn’t have to resort to chaining themselves to the Downing Street railings like latter-day suffragettes to get their pleas heard. Now she needs to see if she can still skate after six months off since her latest leg operation.

But the biggest movement, and one more than relevant to someone who has meticulously – as you all will be aware – kept the Covid-19 UK daily death figures since mid-March, immediately after the conclusion of the Cheltenham Festival, is how they are reported.

Spikes and the now seemingly-defunct “R” number have kept us all in check – bar the odd quarter of a million on Bournemouth, Brighton or Southend beaches when it got really hot. But in the middle of last week, suddenly the Government finally proved that there really are “three kinds of lies - lies, damned lies and statistics” as commonly attributed to the American writer Mark Twain, though whose true origin may predate that great wordsmith.

Back in mid-April, in the week to April 12 there were 6,425 recorded Coronavirus UK deaths, an alarming figure that mercifully began to reduce steadily. By mid-July we were in the realms of below 500 a week and still falling. During the same period, testing was increasing exponentially from the starting point of barely 10,000 tests – in other words, at that time people were really only tested when it was obvious they had the virus. But, by July, between 100,000 and 200,000 tests were available every day.

Then suddenly last week, the Ministry – amid renewed local lock-downs where clusters of positive tests were revealed – concluded it would no longer count as Coronavirus deaths, anyone tested as having the virus but who died more than 28 days afterwards.

So from July 31, when the brave new world came in, and when positive tests were going back up again to 1,000 plus each day the daily deaths in the UK were not. Starting on the last day of July the number of deaths has been 5, 1, 18, 14, 18, 12, 3, 5, 17, 14, 20, 18, 11, 3 and 5. Those numbers are probably smaller than many other routine causes of deaths in a population of 60 million. In all honesty, if that is the basis by which it’s judged, shouldn’t we be getting back to normal?

If they don’t yet have a vaccine ready, shame on them. There have been plenty of people willing to act as paid guinea-pigs, especially if their jobs have disappeared. You might even say if the figures can be presented thus, what’s all the fuss been about?

To the racing. It’s expected to be fast ground at York – amazing news for anyone who has been waiting for the action to start at the Test match at Southampton over the past few days, and they are the conditions I prefer to see on the Knavesmire. Frankie Dettori won’t be there but as the great man approaches his 50th birthday in December, he is showing a rare facility for making correct choices.

While the racing goes on at York, he’ll be staying in Deauville having had the news on Friday that the newly-re-imposed 14-day self-isolation period for people returning from France and some other countries has been modified for elite sportsmen. They, it seems, need only face a seven- or eight-day spell under specific conditions in self-isolation at home before resuming full activity.

Frankie was anxious not to miss either Mishriff, the French Derby winner, impressive again at Deauville last Saturday, or the unbeaten St James’s Palace hero Palace Pier in yesterday’s Prix Jacques Le Marois. That fast-improving colt came through to beat Alpine Star with the older horses led home by Circus Maximus, and best of the home team, Persian King, well beaten off. He is now being lined up for the QE II Stakes at Ascot in the autumn.

Alpine Star had been narrowly pipped in the French Oaks by the Donnacha O’Brien-trained Fancy Blue who went on to take the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood with authority. Jessica Harrington trains Alpine Star, and the two Irish fillies – along with the Aidan O’Brien-trained Peaceful – comprise a formidable trio of mile/ten-furlong star sophomores.

None of them will be at York, but the best of the lot among the Classic generation of females will be.

Potential opposition to Love in Thursday’s Yorkshire Oaks again seems to fall principally on Frankly Darling, who disappointingly failed to provide much of a test at Epsom for the Coolmore filly as she added the Oaks to her 1,000 Guineas honours in spectacular style. The four-year-old Manuela De Vega is smart but conceding lumps of weight? Hardly! Dettori’s absence from York – he’s staying en France an extra week – tough! – to wait for a Wesley Ward runner in next weekend’s Prix Morny.

That will still give him time for the requisite eight and a few more days before teaming up with Enable in Kempton’s September Stakes, a cleverly-thought-out target from John Gosden which obviates the need to tackle Love before the Arc. Enable won the September Stakes two years ago as a prelude to her second win in Paris in October. How they would cherish a third as a six-year-old after the shock of being caught close home by Waldgeist last year.

The York meeting opens with another Gosden star, Lord North, the major loss this week for Dettori judged on the four-year-old’s upward-mobility this summer. Winner of six of his nine career races with two seconds and a luckless eased last of eight in the other, Lord North has progressed from a laughably-easy Cambridgeshire winner to outclassing his Prince Of Wales’s Stakes opponents at Royal Ascot. James Doyle is the beneficiary, as he was at Ascot when Dettori rode Mehdaayih. Who’s to say Lord North cannot progress enough to beat Ghaiyyath, as well as the 2,000 Guineas winner Kameko and possibly Magical in the Juddmonte International?

We won’t have Saturday’s Ebor Handicap runners until around 1 p.m. today and I can’t wait to see which potentially top-class horse Messrs Gosden, Haggas or Varian will have lined up to win it. Even though the total prize pool has been slashed from £600,000 to a relatively frugal £250,000 I’m sure there will be enough horses to fill the 22 available stalls. It would be great if a hard-knocking horse from the North could see off the aristocrats from Newmarket.

Another race that I’m looking forward to is Friday’s Nunthorpe Stakes, not least because Wesley Ward is bringing a lightly-raced but clearly talented juvenile to tackle Battaash, Art Power and A’Ali. His Golden Pal, runner-up after making the running to The Lir Jet in the Norfolk Stakes will be going there as a maiden with form figures of 22, having earlier been beaten when favourite for a Gulfstream Park maiden in the spring.

He will be echoing to a large degree the pre-Nunthorpe record 13 years ago of the John Best-trained juvenile Kingsgate Native, a 66-1 debut runner-up in the Windsor Castle Stakes and then second again in the Molecomb at Goodwood.

Backed down to 12-1 (among many, by me!), Kingsgate Native easily beat Desert Lord with future stallions Dandy Man and Red Clubs the next two home. I note the weights will be unchanged from then, so Battaash carries 9st11lb; three-year-olds Art Power and A’Ali 2lb less and Golden Pal only 8st1lb. He will have Andrea Atzeni, who rode him at Ascot, back on board.

I know the other three are highly-talented, and it would be another feather in the Charlie Hills cap if Battaash could win a second Nunthorpe, but I’d much prefer Wesley’s undying love for British racing to get a reward after a couple of less than wonderful years. He certainly seems to have all his ducks in line this time.

So in conclusion, I say enjoy York, if you are, like Harry and Alan, fully documented-up. If not, the wonderful coverage – free and flourishing on ITV though I still doggedly stick to Racing TV – deserves watching for all four days. Please then, start taking off the restraints, Mr Boris. Five months using only two tanks of fuel has been sacrifice enough.