Tag Archive for: Kevin Philippart de Foy

Cathedral hunting Atalanta honours for Kevin Philippart de Foy

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Kevin Philippart de Foy is excited to see Cathedral run for the first time in his name when she heads to Sandown for the BetMGM Atalanta Stakes on Saturday.

Despite not adding to her impressive debut success from last autumn, the high-class three-year-old has caught the eye many times in defeat for previous handler Ralph Beckett – including when fourth in the Coronation Stakes – and reverts to a mile on her first outing for Amo Racing’s principal trainer.

“She’s a smart filly and I think she got a bit stuck in the ground in France with the trip a little bit far, so conditions on Saturday should suit her better, providing we don’t get too much rain,” said Philippart de Foy.

“The filly arrived in very good shape from Ralph and we have just kept her ticking along.

“She has some good form and ran a great race at Royal Ascot in the Coronation Stakes. She is definitely an exciting filly for the future.”

The likely favourite is Andrew Balding’s Blue Bolt, who brought up a hat-trick when landing the Listed Coral Distaff over course and distance in July, and will be partnered once again by Colin Keane from a wide draw in stall 11 as she now steps up to Group level.

“She’s been very progressive all year and has had a little break since her win the last day,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owners Juddmonte.

“She appears in good form, Andrew’s happy with her. It’s probably not the greatest of draws out in 11, so she’ll have to overcome that, but she’s in a good space and the team at Kingsclere are happy, so we’re hopeful she’ll progress from here.”

Blue Bolt is joined in the line-up by another Juddmonte-owned contender, with the Beckett-trained Skellett also bringing course-and-distance form to the table having won the Fortune Stakes last autumn.

Mahon added: “She’s had a bit of a frustrating season with a few niggly little hold-ups. It’s obviously two and half months since we saw her last when she was disappointing at Epsom and Ralph is happier with her now, she’s in good form and any rain they get at Sandown would probably be beneficial to her.

“She is a filly that is capable of turning up in a race like this, but she might just need a bit of rain to show her best.”

Meanwhile, Roger Varian is intrigued to see how the unbeaten Lady In Spain gets on in her belated seasonal return, as she makes her first appearance at both Group level and on turf in Esher.

Varian said: “There’s a lot to look forward to with Lady In Spain, she’s really talented.

“We met a setback with her after she won at Deauville in December, so we’ve had to be patient, but she’s training really well now and she’s a lovely filly.

“Although she’s a four-year-old, she’s only had the four lifetime starts and I think she’s training and looking better than ever.

“We’re really excited about her heading into the autumn and who knows, maybe next year as well.”

Of the remainder, Ollie Sangster’s 1000 Guineas runner-up Flight drops in grade after three runs at the highest level this term, while John and Thady’s Gosden’s impressive Epsom scorer Spiritual was also seen at the top-table in her most recent outing and is now reverting to slightly calmer waters.

Hollywoood Treasure takes starring role at Newbury

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Kevin Philippart de Foy secured his biggest success since being installed as principle trainer for Amo Racing when Hollywood Treasure came out on top in a blockbuster finish to the Sequoia Hair & Spirit St Hugh’s Stakes at Newbury.

An impressive winner at Wolverhampton on debut for Amo’s previous Freemason Lodge incumbent Raphael Freire, the daughter of Gregorian was sent off 16-1 to double her tally in the Listed event, with fellow Amo-owned contender and Queen Mary runner-up Flowerhead the even-money favourite.

Rowan Scott was aboard the perceived Amo second string and while both runners in the silks of Kia Joorabchian’s racing organisation were involved at the finish, it was Hollywood Treasure who finished strongest to edge out Eve Johnson Houghton’s Palmeira by a neck, with Flowerhead a further head adrift in third.

Philippart de Foy was thrilled to see the filly continue her progress and said: “I’m delighted and Raphael did a brilliant job with the filly at the beginning of the season and then I’ve taken over and kept on doing the good work he started.

“She showed a lot of ability first time out and she showed the turn of foot once again there. I’m delighted for connections and obviously it’s great to win a good race like this for Amo Racing.

“It’s always easier when you have good ammunition and we inherited a great bunch of horses. This is the level we want to be targeting and the kind of races we want to be winning, so it’s a good start and hopefully we can keep building on this.”

Hollywood Treasure looks a smart prospect
Hollywood Treasure looks a smart prospect (Jonathan Brady/PA)

On future plans, Philippart de Foy added: “Hopefully she will have a bright future and we don’t have a huge amount of options between now and the end of the year.

“I want to keep her over five furlongs and she will need some decent ground. We will have to sit down and see what there is and it could all depend on ground conditions over the next couple of months.”

Ghostwriter to fly the flag for Philippart de Foy

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Kevin Philippart de Foy is keen to make new recruit Ghostwriter a “high-profile flagbearer” in his role as principal trainer to Amo Racing.

The Belgian handler replaced Raphael Freire in the Freemason Lodge hotseat for Kia Joorabchian’s operation and could have the ideal candidate to help make his mark after the Hardwicke Stakes third was transferred from Clive Cox to the training centre that is the former home of Sir Michael Stoute.

Last seen when rearing over and subsequently being withdrawn from the Princess of Wales’s Stakes at Newmarket, Philippart de Foy is eager to show patience with the high-class four-old and said: “Ghostwriter is a really exciting horse, Clive has done an excellent job with him and now we just need to carry on that work.

Trainer Kevin Philippart De Foy has plenty to look forward to
Trainer Kevin Philippart De Foy has plenty to look forward to (Mike Egerton/PA)

“There will be some exciting winter targets and he is a horse that is probably going to be travelling over the winter and into next year as well.

“The idea for him is to become that high-profile flagbearer for the yard. We’re just going to let him settle in and get used to surroundings and take our time with him.

“He’s a highly-talented horse and we want to do everything right by him and once he tells us he’s ready to run, we’ll get him to the races.”

As well as Ghostwriter, Philippart de Foy has also seen some other high-profile Amo names join him at Freemason Lodge, including Coronation Stakes fourth Cathedral and the unraced two-year-old Partying, who have both been switched from the care of Ralph Beckett.

Kia Joorabchian has installed Kevin Philippart de Foy as his trainer at Freemason Lodge
Kia Joorabchian has installed Kevin Philippart de Foy as his trainer at Freemason Lodge (Mike Egerton/PA)

Cathedral will have her first outing for her new trainer in Sandown’s Atalanta Stakes later this month.

“She’s a filly which will probably go to Sandown for the Atlanta at the end of the month, then we will take it from there,” said Philippart de Foy.

“She showed she is very good over a mile in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot and then might not have stayed the extra furlong in France last time when the ground was a bit slow that day.

“We’ll bring her back to a mile on faster conditions and she has arrived in great shape.”

Partying, who is a Frankel filly out of Royal Ascot winner Aljazzi, was the most expensive yearling sold at the prestigious Tattersalls Book One sale last October and brought the hammer down at 4.4million guineas.

She is envisaged to begin her racing career later in the year, when Philippart de Foy hopes she will live up to her name and give connections cause for huge celebration.

“She’s a very exciting filly to be training,” he continued.

“She comes with a big price-tag, but she’s a great-moving filly and has a very good mind.

Partying was sold for 4.4million guineas at Tattersalls
Partying was sold for 4.4million guineas at Tattersalls (Tattersalls)

“We’re not asking too many questions at the moment, but it’s so far so good and she’s a really exciting filly going forward.

“We’ll look to get her on track towards the back end of the year and hopefully she can deliver and prove to be another exciting prospect for Amo.”

On his move across Newmarket to his new home, Philippart de Foy added: “I couldn’t be happier and you can’t complain when you are training out of Freemason Lodge.

“Training for Amo Racing is a real privilege and I’m delighted with how things have started. It’s been a smooth transition and hopefully it’s going to be an exciting couple of months coming up.

“When you start training these are the type of horses you are always targeting training and when I started five years ago I could only dream of training these types, so I’m obviously delighted but I have just got to deliver now.”

In-demand Philippart de Foy looking for notable jumps success

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Kevin Philippart de Foy has been in the news of late ahead of his move to the famous Freemason Lodge Stables in Newmarket, yet he is hoping to land one of the biggest prizes of the summer jumps season at Market Rasen.

The Belgian has an intercontinental background given his mum was a trainer in France and he worked for John Oxx in Ireland, Criquette Head-Maarek in France, Christophe Clement in America and James Fanshawe in Newmarket.

While his future is going to be largely Flat-based as the principal trainer for Amo Racing at Sir Michael Stoute’s former yard, he has shown his versatility by winning three in a row with D Day Arvalenreeva, who heads for the Unibet Same Race Multi Summer Handicap Hurdle.

“She’s in very good shape, delighted with the filly. She’s done very little wrong since switching to handicaps,” said De Foy.

“This race has been a target for a long time and the faster (the ground) the better for her.

“Obviously she’s a course and distance winner, it’s a big step up in grade, but I couldn’t be happier with the way she’s going into the race.”

Olly Murphy’s Sir Galahad has an even better record, winning four out of four since joining from James Ferguson.

“He’s been trained for the race, he needed the extra run to qualify, but he’s in good form, looks progressive and he’s got an unusual profile,” said Murphy.

“He’s on an upward curve and is full of confidence. He’s taken to hurdles really well, he’s got confidence since taking a hurdle and with a bit of luck, he’ll run very well.”

Fergal O’Brien’s Castel Gandolfo won the race last year and got back to winning ways over course and distance last month.

“We went more or less the same route. I think he’s run in it the last four years so it was always a plan to run it,” said O’Brien.

“We ran him at Bangor and Johnny (Burke, jockey) said ‘he’s just a totally different horse going right-handed’, especially right-handed with a rail, so he said he feels much better at Market Rasen than he does anywhere else. Right-handed around Rasen does suit him.”

O’Brien also runs Oslo off bottom weight, the mount of Liam Harrison.

“Oslo is fine. I’d like him to take a step forward, he’s been running very well for us on the Flat, he got brought down at Bangor last year and I’m not sure if he’s got over that yet when it comes to jumping hurdles,” he said.

“We’d like to see him to finish off his races a bit better, and if he does, he could be a player as well.

“They are both good, they will try their best and fingers crossed.”

Philippart de Foy makes Amo switch to Freemason Lodge

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Kevin Philippart de Foy has been chosen by Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing to replace Raphael Freire as retained trainer at Freemason Lodge in Newmarket.

The Belgian, who already trains in the town, will move to one of the most historic stables in the country, which Joorabchian recently purchased upon the retirement of Sir Michael Stoute.

The news comes at the same time as the completion of an extensive refurbishment and will see Freire return to his previous role as Amo’s private trainer.

“First, I’d like to welcome Kevin Philippart de Foy as our new trainer at Freemason Lodge,” said Joorabchian in a statement posted on Amo’s X account.

“Kevin is a fantastic horseman who understands our goals and shares our ambition. Having known and worked with him for several years, it makes this transition even smoother. We know his character fits and our ideas align perfectly.

“We believe he’s the right person to take the operation to the next level, and we’re excited about what’s ahead with him leading the team at this historic yard.

“At the same time, I want to say a big thank you to Raphael for stepping up and doing such a brilliant job getting Freemason up and running. His work over the past few months has been crucial, and he’s laid a solid foundation for the future.”

He added: “Raphael has been a big part of Amo Racing’s journey so far, and he continues to be an integral part of our team moving forward.”

Philippart de Foy said: “I am deeply honoured to have been entrusted with the responsibility of taking over at Freemason Lodge and training such an exciting string of horses for Amo Racing.

“This is a major milestone in my career, and I’m incredibly grateful to Kia and the team for the opportunity.

“Amo Racing’s investment and ambition in the sport are truly inspiring, and I look forward to playing my part in what I hope will be a very successful journey together.”