Tag Archive for: My Cloud

My Cloud makes eagerly-awaited return at Deauville

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My Cloud puts his growing reputation on the line when he heads to Deauville for the Barriere Prix Quincey on Saturday.

Roger Varian’s four-year-old made it four wins on the bounce when landing the Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot. Held in the highest regard by connections, with an entry for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes later in the season, he faces the acid test of his big-race credentials in France.

“He’s a nice horse and a horse we’re very excited about moving forward through the autumn and also looking ahead to next year,” said Varian.

“It’s a Group Three and I’m delighted with how he’s training and looking forward to seeing how he gets on.”

Connections have had to remain patient since the son of Blue Point struck at the Royal meeting in June, but they are taking encouragement from some of the season’s other stars that My Cloud can take the required next step in his career.

Varian explained: “We never mind waiting if there is a reason to wait, you can’t get too frustrated and he’s a horse with a big future who will be very important for us – if we could have run since Ascot we would have done.

“I think he will take us to some nice races, he has a huge engine and we’ve seen the likes of More Thunder and Never So Brave start off in handicaps before moving on to bigger things this season.

“William Haggas’ horse (More Thunder) all but won the Wokingham and Andrew Balding’s (Never So Brave) won the Buckingham Palace at Royal Ascot and they have both gone on and proven themselves in Pattern company. Hopefully My Cloud can follow their lead, starting at Deauville on Saturday.”

Kevin Ryan’s Volterra, the Charlie Hills-trained Cicero’s Gift and David Menuisier’s Devil’s Point are other British-trained hopefuls in the Group Three event, while Menuisier will also be represented on the card by Sunway in the Lucien Barriere Grand Prix de Deauville.

The Group Two is also the next step for Henri-Francois Devin’s Derby fourth New Ground, who was last seen finishing third in the Grand Prix de Paris.

Barry Mahon, racing manager for owners Juddmonte, said: “It’s a nice opportunity, with not many runners. He’s been in Deauville for the last week and has settled into the environment well and seems to be enjoying himself.

“It’s a nice opportunity for him to stake his claim and tell us whether he’s ready for something big in the autumn or not. He’ll need to settle a bit better than he has on his last couple of starts and a small field in Deauville should give him an opportunity to do that.”

The other Pattern-race action on the card is the Group Three Barriere Prix de Meautry where Ed Walker’s Balmoral Lady and George Boughey’s Pontefract Listed Winner Rosy Affair represent the British raiders.

Goodwood and Deauville under consideration for My Cloud

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Roger Varian’s Royal Ascot winner My Cloud has further Group-race targets after being ruled out of the Summer Mile.

The four-year-old was the winner of the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot in June, prevailing by three-quarters of a length in a field of 30 to remain unbeaten this season.

He was due to return to the same track to step into Group company earlier this month, but an unsatisfactory scope put paid to that plan and he was withdrawn.

Alternative aims are now likely to be at the latter end of next month, with races both in England and across the Channel in France pencilled in.

“We had to take him out of the Summer Mile because he scoped dirty and he’s had treatment for that,” said Chris Wall, racing manager to owners KHK Racing.

“He’s still not quite ready to race yet, we had hoped he’d be ready to run in a Listed race at Pontefract this weekend, but that’s not going to be the case.

“We’re looking at races at the end of August, we’ve got in mind the Celebration Mile at Goodwood and the Prix Quincey at Deauville at about the same time.

“We hope he’ll be ready for one of those and then we’ll take it from there.”

My Cloud pencilled in for step up in Summer Mile

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My Cloud could step into Group company back at Ascot after his impressive Royal Hunt Cup triumph.

Trained by Roger Varian for KHK Racing, the Blue Point colt took the one-mile handicap by three-quarters of a length having won another contest over the same course and distance in April.

He has clearly taken a liking to the track at Ascot, and may now move out of handicap company in a third start at the Berkshire track – this time at Group Two level.

“We were very happy with his performance, it was an obvious target for him from back in the spring and we were very pleased that Roger and his team were able to execute the plan,” said Chris Wall, racing manager for Shaikh Khalid’s operation.

“We had the right horse at the right weight and the right draw, everything went according to plan.

“He’s a talented horse, we haven’t settled on a target as such but we’d like to test the water in stakes company.

“The first opportunity to do that would be in the Summer Mile at Ascot, where he’s now won two nice races.

“It would be on the round course, not the straight course, but nevertheless I think Ascot suits him well and we’ll map out the rest of his season from there.”

The KHK team also enjoyed another Royal Ascot winner, with Adrestia taking the five-furlong Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes in good style under Oisin Murphy.

She too could be due to set to graduate to more exalted company for trainers Simon and Ed Crisford.

“She won very nicely and was another horse we had Ascot in mind for from a long way back,” said Wall.

“She’s another one where you’re asking ‘do we stay in handicap company for another race or do we move her up to stakes company?’.

“She is probably a stakes filly, it’s just a case of finding the right opportunity to do it.

“We need to have a conversation, Simon, Ed, Shaikh Khalid and myself. We don’t have a firm plan for her at the moment, but we’ll work something out in the coming days.”

Staya brought home some money from the meeting, too, finishing fifth in the Group Two Queen Mary for trainer George Scott to leave connections pondering a step up in trip.

“She ran a nice race, we were very happy with that,” said Wall.

“On that day there was a strong bias towards horses drawn on the stand side and unfortunately we were drawn low on the far side.

“I don’t suppose that cost her a win, I think the O’Brien filly (True Love) won very nicely, but it probably cost her a place because we were only beaten a nose and a short head for third.

“We came away thinking she might stay six furlongs and so if everything is OK, we’ll be thinking of running her in the Duchess of Cambridge at the July meeting.

“If that comes a bit quick then something like the Princess Margaret might be on the agenda, or even the Prix Robert Papin out in France.”

My Cloud overshadows the rest in Royal Hunt Cup

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My Cloud scooted up the stands side rail to justify favouritism in the Royal Hunt Cup.

Roger Varian’s charge was sent off the 3-1 market leader for one of the betting highlights of the week and was ridden with plenty of confidence by Silvestre de Sousa.

The 30-strong field split into three groups and while My Cloud was clearly in front on his side of the track, Bullet Point was running him close on the other side, with the favourite edging in front of the 11-1 second by three-quarters of a length, with Bopedro taking third at 50-1.

My Cloud had won over the course and distance on his penultimate start and Varian said: “The horse likes it here and we all do, we all enjoy winners at this meeting.

“Patience has been key and he had a few niggles as a young horse. We couldn’t get as busy as we would have liked on the racecourse aged two and three and he only really got going late last year.

“He’s done well this year which is a great team effort at home. There’s a lot of people to thank but mainly his owner who has been the most patient of everyone.

“I was at pains to tell Silvestre not to be in a rush with him, as races on the straight mile can develop late, and this is a horse with a lot of class who moved through the race well.

“We will have to hope he keeps improving and progressing and that was a mighty performance for an inexperienced horse. We hope he could progress out of handicaps one day, but there won’t be a rush to do so.

“He’s had three races now so I think we will regroup, enjoy today and then work out a plan.”

The Windsor Castle Stakes brought day two of the meeting to a close and for the second time the Listed prize went to Eve Johnson Houghton, this time with Havana Hurricane (7-1).

The Oxfordshire-based trainer saddled Chipotle to strike gold 2021 and her latest contender was prominent in the market after supplementing a successful debut at Goodwood with a runner-up finish behind Maximized in the Woodcote at Epsom less than a fortnight ago.

Ridden by Charles Bishop, the Havana Gold colt quickened up smartly to grab the lead inside the final furlong and was well on top at the line, with Dickensian best of the rest in second.

Johnson Houghton’s thoughts immediately turned to her late father, Fulke, who died in February this year at the age of 84.

She said: “I’m missing my dad, he’d have been proud. He’d be the first person I’d ring.

“Didn’t he (Bishop) give him a beautiful ride? He got slated for his ride at Epsom, unfairly, and he gave him an absolute corker; couldn’t be more proud of my jockey.”