Tag Archive for: Lillie Langtry

Free Wind seeking to return to winning ways at Goodwood

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Free Wind looks to put defeat at Royal Ascot behind her in the Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes at Goodwood on Saturday.

A winner at Group Three and Group Two level in 2021, the daughter of Galileo made just one competitive appearance last season, claiming another Group Two prize in the Lancashire Oaks at Haydock.

She made a successful comeback in the Middleton at York in May and having seen the runner-up Rogue Millennium go one better in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes, Free Wind was a hot favourite to claim a Royal Ascot success of her own in the Hardwicke.

Supporters of John and Thady Gosden’s mare were ultimately left counting their losses, with the five-year-old beaten three lengths into fifth place by the popular winner Pyledriver – but hopes are high that she can get back her head back on track with plenty in her favour.

Thady Gosden said: “She won the Middleton over a trip below her optimum on her first run of the year and then she found the ground a little too fast for her by the Saturday of Ascot.

“Obviously we’ve had rain at Goodwood this week and there’s more forecast. Hopefully it doesn’t get too deep, but she seems to be in good form.

“She has course form and we’re looking forward to running her.”

Connections of Time Lock began the year with high hopes after the Frankel filly pushed fellow high-class Juddmonte-owned filly Haskoy close in the Galtres Stakes at York last summer.

Time Lock goes into the starting stalls ahead of the Lancashire Oaks
Time Lock goes into the starting stalls ahead of the Lancashire Oaks (Nigel French/The Jockey Club)

She kicked off her campaign with a runner-up finish to Luisa Casati in a Listed race at Goodwood and has since finished fourth in both the Pinnacle Stakes and the Lancashire Oaks at Haydock.

Having expected the prevailing quick ground on Merseyside to suit the four-year-old, Juddmonte’s racing manager Barry Mahon is now looking forward to seeing her return to an easier surface.

“She’s in good form and we think a mile and six (furlongs) will bring out a bit more improvement in her,” he said.

“It’s similar opposition to what she’s met so far, apart from Free Wind.

“I think we’ve got her wrong ground-wise. Last year one of her most impressive performances was on quick ground at Newmarket and she looked to skip off it, but Ryan (Moore) felt she really didn’t like it at Haydock.

“Looking at her we always thought she wanted soft ground, but that performance at Newmarket had us thinking we were wrong.

“Over a mile and six with a bit of cut in the ground, I’m not saying she’ll win, but I think she’ll be competitive.”

Luisa Casati beat Time Lock at Goodwood in the spring, but finished a length behind her when fifth in last month’s Lancashire Oaks.

Luisa Casati at Haydock
Luisa Casati at Haydock (Nigel French/The Jockey Club)

Her trainer Tom Ward also expects a return to softer ground to yield an improved performance.

“She’s in good shape and I thought she ran well the other day at Haydock, although she got back in a slowly-run race on slightly quicker ground than ideal,” he said.

“A step up in trip and slower ground should really suit her, so she’s going there with a nice chance on Saturday I hope.

“She likes the track, it’s not a big field and Richard (Kingscote) knows her well, so fingers crossed.”

River Of Stars is a leading contender for Ralph Beckett, having backed up a York success over Free Wind’s stablemate Mimikyu with a narrow defeat in a French Group Two three weeks ago.

Gosden second string Ghara, Roger Varian’s Peripatetic, Paul and Oliver Cole’s Sumo Sam and Divina Grace from Rae Guest’s yard complete the field.



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Casati team saddling up for Goodwood glory

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Luisa Casati has brought together aficionados of two differing types of saddles and will aim to do her connections proud in the Lillie Langtry Stakes at Goodwood.

The Vadamos mare is trained in Lambourn by Tom Ward, a keen cyclist who shares his passion with the syndicate that own the bay – Velocity Racing.

The group was put together by former trainer Harry Dunlop when he held a licence of his own, and upon his retirement from the training ranks he wanted to maintain his involvement with the partnership.

Each member pays £1,000 for the year and the usual benefits of shared ownership are combined with cycling trips, some of which Dunlop hopes will coincide with European runs later in the season.

Before then there is a target closer to home as the five-year-old holds an entry for the Group Two Lillie Langtry Stakes, over a mile and six furlongs.

A mile and a half has been Luisa Casati’s trip so far this year, a distance over which she was a gallant third when beaten just a neck in the Listed Prix de la Porte de Madrid at Saint-Cloud in March.

Following that run she headed to Goodwood for a Listed event on home turf, this time winning the Daisy Warwick Fillies’ Stakes ahead of Juddmonte’s well-regarded Time Lock.

That success was the biggest of Ward’s career, but connections are hopeful there are more big days to come after her fifth-placed run when last seen in the Group Two Lancashire Oaks at Haydock.

The race was a steep step up in grade and the filly looked to be running on towards the line, suggesting an increase in distance will be appreciated when she returns to Goodwood.

“We have about 20 members and they are like-minded souls, they buy a share of the horse and then we put on cycling trips,” Dunlop explained.

“We’ve just come back from a trip to France, which was the Normandy battlefields, and then we went to Versailles and to the Grand Prix de Paris on the Friday night.

“We’ve got a mixture of fun things for people and Luisa Casati has been an amazing horse for us.

“I started it about four years ago and a lot of the members have become friends because they’ve stayed with us, which is great.

“I’m helping Tom a little bit anyway, he’s training a couple of my ex horses and he’s pretty enthusiastic about his cycling too, which is quite important!

“The Goodwood win for us was very special, a lot of the partners were there and we went into it hopeful of a nice run but certainly not to go and win like that.”

Now a Goodwood return is in the diary, the syndicate can plan a day out at the meeting before looking further afield in the latter stages of the season.

“She ran well the other day, things went a little bit against her, including the ground, but we’re hopefully going to aim for the Lillie Langtry at Goodwood on Saturday,” Dunlop said.

“Tom’s keen as she has won at the track already and that should mean it will suit well.

“Everyone will certainly try to be there, most people are based in Berkshire and Hampshire, there are a few more who are based further up north as well, but I’m sure there’ll be a big presence.

“Tom has mentioned a possible trip to Baden-Baden which we’re likely to do later in the year, similarly I think there are some options in France too.

“I think she is going to be a better autumn filly as the ground might be softer for her so hopefully we can keep going.”



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