Tag Archive for: Never So Brave

Osborne relishing Ascot opportunity for Stoute

Saffie Osborne has described riding the fancied Never So Brave in the Jersey Stakes for Sir Michael Stoute as a “massive privilege”.

Osborne’s career has been one of steep progression in recent seasons and while her father Jamie provided her with a large proportion of her winners in her early days, her biggest victories have come for Ed Walker, Harry Fry and Clive Cox.

However, a Group Three winner for Stoute on the biggest stage of all would be another level entirely and in Never So Brave, a horse who won easily at Chester’s May meeting, she has a live chance.

“He’s obviously put two wins to his name and is a very nice horse,” said Osborne.

Never So Brave has progressed rapidly this season
Never So Brave has progressed rapidly this season (Martin Rickett/PA)

“It’s an honour to be riding for Sir Michael at the Royal meeting. It’s a pretty deep race with lots of horses with good form, but hopefully he can run well.

“It’s a massive privilege to ride for Sir Michael. He is someone I have grown up watching train so many big winners all around the world and to be consistently riding for him now is really special.”

With his form boosted by stablemate Rosallion earlier in the week, Haatem is out to bag his own big race sporting his new colours of Wathnan Racing.

Third in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and only just reeled in by Rosallion in the Irish equivalent, Haatem is dropping down in trip and class for the seven-furlong Group Three.

He was bought by Wathnan following the Irish Guineas but with a 3lb penalty for his Craven Stakes win, he may not have things all his own way.

“He’s going to have to carry a penalty, which is never easy to do, but he’s a big, strong horse. Physically it looks like the penalty shouldn’t hinder him too much,” said Wathnan’s Richard Brown.

“He’s a top-class horse and has proven it this year. He was a very impressive winner of the Craven and has gone on to prove it in two Classics.

“He’s not short of speed, but we know he’s going to stay. In the Jersey you have to be a strong stayer and you don’t win the Jersey if you don’t stay.

“I think he will be a good candidate in what is shaping up to be a very hot race and we’re looking forward to seeing him in the Wathnan colours for the first time.”

Ralph Beckett’s Task Force was a top-class juvenile, finishing second in the Middle Park. He has only run once this season when seventh in the 2000 Guineas.

Task Force was a Listed winner at Ripon last term
Task Force was a Listed winner at Ripon last term (Ripon Racecourse)

“We haven’t seen him since the 2000 Guineas but he came out of it in good shape,” said Barry Mahon, racing manager for owners Juddmonte.

“We just felt he was maybe a little bit weak at that stage and with him being a May foal, he had only just turned three when he ran in the Guineas and he was probably just going through a bit of a growth spurt and looked a little on the weak side in the parade ring.

“Ralph has been happy with him since and the drop back to seven furlongs I don’t think will be an inconvenience.

“He was a staying on second in the Middle Park over six, so I think seven will be a nice trip for him and we’re looking forward to seeing him back in action.”

Also in the famous Juddmonte silks is Harry Charlton’s Kikkuli, a half-brother to the brilliant Frankel. He was second in Listed company last time out on just his third run.

“He was still learning his trade at Sandown and the ground had probably just got a little soft,” Mahon said.

“We were happy he handled ease in the ground and we had no great worries about ease in the ground to be honest, but I just felt that day it blunted his speed a little bit.

“The winner got away from him and Ryan (Moore) didn’t give him a hard time. I think he will have learned plenty from that and he will come on again.”

Aidan O’Brien runs River Tiber, last year’s Coventry Stakes winner and third in the Irish Guineas on his only outing this season, plus Mountain Bear and Pearls And Rubies.

O’Brien’s Bedtime Story is bred to be very good indeed, being by Frankel out of the top-class sprinter Mecca’s Angel.

She won on her debut and is likely to go off favourite in the Chesham Stakes, a race the trainer has won four times since 2016.

Charlie Appleby’s Age Of Gold, another Frankel colt, looked a runner of huge potential winning on his debut at Yarmouth.

Appleby told Godolphin: “He’s a once-run colt who won very well at Yarmouth over six furlongs and I feel the step up to seven is going to suit him. Hopefully he’s a live player.”

Amo Racing run the €260,000 newcomer Duke Of Monroth, from the family of Roaring Lion, with Paul and Oliver Cole’s Seaplane related to some strong stayers.

Elsewhere, Clive Cox has secured the services of Moore for Harry Three in the Wokingham.

A Group One contender two years ago, he returned from a long layoff to finish fourth in a Listed race on his comeback.



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Never So Brave on course for Royal Ascot run

Sir Michael Stoute’s Never So Brave has Royal Ascot pencilled into his diary after a fruitful season so far.

The son of No Nay Never crossed paths with some talented horses as a juvenile, meeting subsequent Group One winners Ancient Wisdom and Vandeek when the runner-up on both starts at two.

He also defeated James Ferguson’s Jubilee Walk last year, form that has looked increasingly solid as that horse has won all three starts since.

This season Never So Brave returned to action in a Thirsk maiden in April, running over seven furlongs and impressing with a four-length success.

From there he headed to Chester where he won on his handicap debut.

Those victories have earned him a mark of 101 but it is unlikely he will return to a handicap as the Group Three Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot is under consideration for his next outing.

“He has been fine, he’s on schedule for Royal Ascot,” said Philip Robinson, assistant racing manager to owner Saeed Suhail.

“We were delighted with him at Chester and he should definitely come on for that.

“Everything around him has gone very well, the form has certainly stood up, without a shadow of a doubt I think he’s a Pattern horse.

“He’s at least a Group Three horse anyway, in my eyes, and we can see how he progresses from there.

“I don’t think he’s going to run in the Britannia, I think it will more likely be the Jersey.

“I don’t think he’ll be running in another handicap now, we’re quite keen to step him up to Pattern level.”



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Never So Brave looks smart prospect in the making with Chester success

Never So Brave took Sir Michael Stoute’s tally for the season to two with a straightforward success in the Halliwell Jones Handicap at Chester.

Notoriously a slow starter, the three-year-old had also provided the Freemason Lodge handler with his first winner of the season, when cruising to victory at Thirsk.

That saw him allotted an opening handicap mark of 94 and on this evidence that was pretty generous, as Ryan Moore was able to sit just behind the leader before pressing the button and winning with the minimum of fuss as the even-money favourite.

He is owned by Saeed Suhail, who has had some great days teaming up with Stoute, and his assistant racing manager Philip Robinson indicated a possible Royal Ascot bid could be on the cards for a horse who was unfortunate to bump into Vandeek and Ancient Wisdom in his two juvenile starts.

“He keeps progressing. We were very hopeful. He showed some nice form last year, won nicely at Thirsk, won as he likes there and this was a step up to see how good he was,” said Robinson.

“He’s been a typical one of Sir Michael’s, just brought him along gradually to peak at the right time.

“I think he’ll be nice, but it’s difficult to say how high he could go. If he got the mile he could be a Britannia horse so we’ll have to have a chat.”

Democracy Dilemma (11-4 favourite) made full use of his low draw to win for the first time for his new connections in the CAA Stellar Handicap.

Over five furlongs a draw near the rail takes on even greater significance on the Roodee and Tom Marquand bided his time behind the pacesetters.

Bought for 105,000 guineas by Jim and Fitri Hay and sent to sprint specialist Robert Cowell, he had disappointed twice in Dubai and then refused to enter the stalls at Bath. But he looked a reformed character when getting up on the line to pip the veteran Copper Knight by a neck with a nose back to Vintage Clarets.

Marquand said: “The idea was to get him out of the gate and get him travelling in a comfortable position – when you have that draw around here you don’t want to be giving it away.

“He had some problems with the gates last time, but Jake Launchbury has done a fantastic job with him getting that sorted and he didn’t miss a beat so it was a job well done.

“The ground has sharpened up a good bit, but he had form on fast ground before. To be honest it’s all about the draw around here and we made good use of it.”

Democracy Dilemma just came out on top in a three-way photo for the opener
Democracy Dilemma just came out on top in a three-way photo for the opener (Martin Rickett/PA)

The Karl Burke-trained Teej A (4-1) went one better than on debut when quickening up on the inside for Clifford Lee in the British Stallion Studs EBF Maiden Stakes.

Marquand set the pace on Jessica Harrington’s Passing Phase, but Lee looked to be travelling the better with a furlong to run, just waiting for a gap on the rail as soon as he reached the cutaway.

The Mehmas filly quickly put three lengths between herself and the rest, but it was a good job she did as the 3-1 favourite Rashabar made rapid late gains, beaten two and a quarter lengths looking yet another Chester hard luck story from his stall 10 draw.

“It went pretty much according to plan to be honest,” said Lee.

“She travelled well and as soon as we got to the cutaway away she went. That was important as you can get a lot of hard luck stories here.

“She’s sharpened up a lot for her first run and she galloped through the line as well. She was green for her first run but she’s wiser now.”



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