Tag Archive for: Michael Owen

Michael Owen on the scoresheet with It Ain’t Two

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Michael Owen is dreaming of bigger days having seen his homebred It Ain’t Two get on the scoresheet in the bet365 EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes at Newmarket.

Trained by Hugo Palmer, her half-brother Balon D’Or hit the target at the first attempt last season, but odds of 18-1 perhaps told the true tale of expectation as the daughter of Calyx showed plenty of ability in the five-furlong event.

Balon D’Or would go on to run at the former England international’s beloved Chester May Festival and It Ain’t Two could now follow suit.

Michael Owen cut a delighted figure at Newmarket
Michael Owen cut a delighted figure at Newmarket (Bradley Collyer/PA)

Owen said: “Her brother won first time out at this time last year and we’ve obviously come to a trickier place in terms of quality, but you would have to be delighted with that, it’s a nice surprise.

“Lots of horses were fancied before the race, so we weren’t that confident, just because of what people were saying about theirs, but she’s a homebred filly and you have to start thinking of black type now. It will be interesting and a nice surprise and it will have us thinking in a different way.

“Normally with one of mine, I’m thinking maiden, Lily Agnes and Ascot. That’s the dream passage but we’ll see and, as she is a homebred and I have the mare at home, we may have to think of something else. It’s nice problems to have.”

The “something else” the former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker references could be the Marygate Stakes at York, with It Ain’t Two’s trainer eyeing an immediate step up into Listed company.

“We took her for a racecourse gallop at Wolverhampton about a month ago and she got lapped, so I thought I best run her as soon as possible,” said Palmer.

“We came here for some nice ground, as it was going to get called off at Redcar!

“Now she’s a winner, I guess we will go to York and try and finish in the top three in the Marygate.”

The Each Way Extra At bet365 EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes has been won by some useful operators over the years and Kevin Ryan’s Bolsena could have more to come after opening her account at the fourth attempt in the hands of Ryan Moore.

Bolsena was a three-length winner in the hands of Ryan Moore
Bolsena was a three-length winner in the hands of Ryan Moore (Bradley Collyer/PA)

Moore was also in the saddle aboard Juddmonte’s Kalpana, who showed a clean pair of heels to surge clear of her rivals in the Price Promise At bet365 Handicap.

The Andrew Balding-trained 11-2 winner could now have a return to the Rowley Mile on her agenda, before connections consider even bigger assignments in the future.

“She has had two very good runs and the horse who beat her the last day of Kevin Ryan’s (Inisherin) could be potentially a very, very good horse,” explained Barry Mahon, European racing manager for the owners.

“We were a bit disappointed that day, but today’s performance shows we probably bumped into a very good horse.

Kalpana impressed in the final race of the day
Kalpana impressed in the final race of the day (Bradley Collyer/PA)

“Andrew has liked her all the time and we thought a step up to 10 furlongs (next time) might bring about improvement and Ryan just said there, she might be a filly who could get 12 furlongs later in the season. We were hopeful of a good run and she definitely did well.

“We will maybe look at the Pretty Polly. She handled the track well and Ryan thought she would be versatile enough ground-wise, so we will look at that if she comes out of this one well.

“We’ll take small steps and if she showed up well in the Pretty Polly, we could consider the Oaks, but we’ll go small steps and see how we go.”

The opening race of the day went the way of Richard Hannon’s Dark Thirty, with the versatile operator proving as consistent as ever when notching up his fourth career success.

“He’s a genuine Saturday horse and one that is very useful. He will win us races every year and it gives us a lot of pleasure.” said Hannon.



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Roman Dragon strikes for Michael Owen in Bahrain

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Michael Owen emulated his old Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson by welcoming home a winner in Bahrain as Roman Dragon surprised connections in the Hawar Cup.

Ferguson saw Spirit Dancer continue his rise through the ranks in November when winning the Bahrain International Trophy and while Roman Emperor was not winning at that exalted level, it clearly meant just as much to the former Liverpool and England striker.

While Roman Dragon is far from the best horse Owen has owned, the fact that he also bred him means he has a soft spot for the sprinter, who before this had only ever won at Chester.

Ridden by Ebrahim Nader, he came with a powerful late run to beat John and Sean Quinn’s Brazen Bolt by half a length.

“We’re absolutely delighted. He has got speed to burn but we often think he’s better round a turning track than a straight track, so today is a lovely surprise,” said Owen.

“We thought beforehand Box To Box (unplaced in the Anchorman Cup) would be in the first three and this horse (Roman Dragon) would be in the last three, but it happened the other way round!

“Me and Nick (Hughes) own the horse; I bred him and we’ve owned him all his life.

“It’s my first time here and I am really enjoying it. My old boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, was stood here not so long ago having won the big race, the Bahrain International Trophy, so it’s clearly a lucky spot.”

The Listed His Royal Highness Prince Salman Bin Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa Cup went to George Scott’s Isle Of Jura, ridden by Callum Shepherd.

“He’s a lovely horse and he’s clearly improving,” said Scott.

“He’s bred to be a good horse and the sky is the limit with him, although we will just enjoy today first.

“It’s well documented that His Highness Shaikh Nasser (owner) has been a huge supporter of mine and to repay him in this way is so exciting.”



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Hackman leaves Owen purring after Chester victory

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Michael Owen cut a delighted figure in the Chester winner’s enclosure when Hackman surged to an impressive victory in the British EBF Ruby Anniversary Maiden Stakes.

The former England international famously relishes winners at his home track and had his first success on the Roodee with Treble Heights in 2002.

Trained by Hugo Palmer, Hackman was the 11-8 favourite in the hands of James Doyle and having bounced out of the stalls, made every yard to register an easy one-and-three-quarter-length victory.

Hackman returns after winning at Chester
Hackman returns after winning at Chester (PA)

It is a race Owen has tasted plenty of success in over the years and with the precocious son of Mehmas fittingly winning the race his sire landed in 2016, connections are now dreaming of a trip to Royal Ascot later in the summer.

“His work at home suggested he’d come on a bundle for his debut,” said Palmer.

“I was nervous would he get the five furlongs, but he saw it out well. We are now dreaming of the Norfolk Stakes and maybe Sandown at the end of the month.”

Owen added: “He’s a really good horse and he’s very fast – he’s five furlongs through and through.

“This place means a lot to me and to win here means a lot. It’s an important meeting and we’re on the board with what we thought was our best chance of the week. He’s a nice horse and we’ve always thought Royal Ascot with him and I don’t think he’s changed our minds there.

“I really wanted to win that one. I’ve been fortunate to win plenty of races around the world and Group Ones and people might be thinking ‘a poxy little maiden round Chester’ but I wanted to win that one.

“He is just everything you want in an early two-year-old, he jumps quick and he’s a little bull of a horse. He’s great and I love him.”



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Balon D’Or aiming to hit Agnes target for Owen

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Hugo Palmer’s highly-regarded Balon D’Or has a wide draw to overcome in the Caa Stellar Lily Agnes Conditions Stakes on the opening day of the Boodles May Festival at Chester.

The Kodiac colt is owned and was bred by Michael Owen – and named as a nod to the revered annual football award he won in 2001, the former England striker saying he hoped he had “saved a special name for a special horse.”

Balon D’Or made his debut in early April and was a taking winner when coming home a neck to the good, especially considering he was carried markedly right by another horse the moment he left the stalls.

His Chester draw in stall 11, widest of all, does not help his cause but some of the field could defer to a maiden event on Thursday and so he could find himself more handily placed come post time.

“He did really well on debut and I think he’s come forward for it, but he’s got a terrible draw,” Palmer said.

“He’s been given a mountain to climb but that is the luck of the draw, he’s well and we’ll just have to see how we go as there might be some non runners which would help.”

Palmer has a second runner in the contest in Tierney, a Mehmas filly out of a four-time winning mare called Madam Macie who makes her debut in the race.

“She’s a nice filly. Like all of ours, she will come forward and improve for her debut but she’s a nice speedy filly that we like.”

Curragh-based trainer John O’Donoghue is set to have his first Chester runner in debut winner Parkside Boy.

The Kuroshio colt is out of top racemare Carry On Katie, a Group One heroine who won both the Lowther Stakes and the Cheveley Park in 2003.

He ran for the first time in a Dundalk maiden in mid April and duly won by half a length under Ronan Whelan, with this Chester contest then quickly identified as his next target.

“He’s been trained for this race since he won at Dundalk, we feel that a sharp, turning five furlongs is very much his forte,” O’Donoghue said.

“Thankfully we’ve got a bit of luck with the draw in stall four, so we’re looking forward to getting him out again.

“He’s precocious and we didn’t waste any time between when he was broken and pre-trained and then sent to us. Hopefully he’s as effective as his frame and his pedigree suggest at this time of year as a two-year-old.”

Middleham Park Racing own the first two horses in the market in Ziggy’s Phoenix and Ziggy’s Dream, trained by Richard Hannon and Alice Haynes respectively.

Ziggy’s Phoenix was beaten a length on her debut at Kempton in April, after which she headed to Ripon for her first run on turf in a five-furlong novice.

There she was a comfortable winner, crossing the line a length and three-quarters ahead of her nearest rival under Joe Fanning as the 11-4 joint favourite.

Ziggy’s Dream has only one run under her belt but it was a winning performance at Doncaster, where she landed a five-furlong maiden by a length and a quarter on soft ground.

“They’re both named by the same person (co-owner) Simon Woods, it’s a privilege to have two runners in this prestigious race,” said Tim Palin of Middleham Park.

“We won this in 2011 with Lily’s Angel and these are two really nice fillies, we didn’t want to run them (against each other) but both trainers were keen to run so we declared them.

“They’ve both got soft ground form, any rain that falls shouldn’t hinder them – it might even just enhance their chances a wee bit because both horses will stay further.

“They’ll both get six furlongs in time. I think the reason Ziggy’s Phoenix is favoured by the betting market is just that she’s drawn in that pole position, she’s drawn one whereas as Ziggy’s Dream’s (stall six) form is just as good I think, the Racing Post say 3lb better and Timeform say four.

“They’re two nice fillies and hopefully after the first 100 yards they’ll be in the first wave and may the best Ziggy win, may the best horse in the race win.

“We’re there with our two fillies, we think they’re nice and hopefully they’ll be involved in the finish.”



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