Remarquee will head to the Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom in a bid to book her ticket to Royal Ascot.
The Ralph Beckett-trained filly was a leading performer at three and after landing the Fred Darling at Newbury on her first start last term, she went on to pick up a silver medal in both the Coronation and Falmouth Stakes later in the summer, where she had the misfortune of bumping into Tahiyra and an on-song Nashwa respectively.
Her final appearance last season was a respectable fourth when sent off the 2-1 favourite for Deauville’s Prix Rothschild, but she somewhat underwhelmed on her 2024 return in the Chartwell Fillies’ Stakes at Lingfield, where she was far too keen and beaten five lengths in fifth.
Connections are expecting Remarquee to take a huge leap forward on her next start as they plot a course to the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at the Royal meeting.
The Wathnan Racing-owned filly is now tasked with following in the footsteps of former stablemate Prosperous Voyage, who claimed the same Derby day Group Three for the Beckett team 12 months ago.
“I think she was very fresh and she was keen to post and just ran all a bit free and fresh,” said Richard Brown, racing adviser for Wathnan.
“Ralph expects her to come on a lot for the run and we think she will and we’ll probably look at the Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom on Derby day.
“We’ve said all along we will work backwards from the Duke of Cambridge and we haven’t changed from that plan.”
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Rogue Millennium will bid to give Tom Clover his first Group One success when she lines up in the Prix Rothschild at Deauville on Sunday.
The Newmarket handler enjoyed the biggest day of his training career when his stable star struck Duke of Cambridge Stakes gold at Royal Ascot and connections now hope to extend that winning feeling as they make the journey to France.
The four-year-old, who is owned by the Rogues Gallery syndicate, has spent most of her time racing over 10 furlongs, including when a close second to Free Wind in the Middleton Stakes at York on her penultimate start.
However, it was a drop back to a mile which proved fruitful when successful at the Royal meeting and Clover sees little reason to change things.
“When we ran her in the Middleton, she just travelled so strongly from off the pace when we tracked through Free Wind and she just looks sharper in her work now,” explained Clover.
“Even earlier in the season she was working well with some decent six- and seven-furlong horses and I just thought she is really sharpening up. She travels so well and it is hard to have a horse to take her far enough through her races she just travels that well. We won over a mile, so it makes sense to stay at a mile.”
He went on: “She has taken the Rogues and us on a terrific journey all the way through her three-year-old and four-year-old years and it’s wonderful to be lining up in a Group One again.
Rogue Millennium winning at Royal Ascot (John Walton/PA)
“Obviously it was a fantastic day at Ascot and one we will always remember, but let’s hope we can continue on the path we’ve been going on.
“She’s been very consistent this year and I hope she can maintain that consistency. She seems well and has been since Ascot and hopefully we have some luck. It would be great if she can run a big race.”
John and Thady Gosden’s Grande Dame was disappointing when sent off one of the co-favourites for the Ascot contest Rogue Millennium won, but has solid Group One form to her name having finished third in last season’s Sun Chariot.
Thady Gosden said: “She improved through the year last year and she didn’t run until Ascot this season on ground that was quicker than ideal for her.
“It’s only her second start of the year and it’s a small field of similarly-rated fillies.
“She’s Group One placed from the Sun Chariot last year and she certainly deserves to take her chance in what looks a relatively open Group One.”
Meanwhile, Ralph Beckett’s Remarquee is another to bring fine efforts at the highest level to the table.
The daughter of Kingman had only Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Tahiyra ahead of her in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot and then faced the unenviable task of tackling an on-song Nashwa when second in the Falmouth Stakes.
That outing was Remarquee’s first appearance in the ownership of Wathnan Racing and she now gets the opportunity to add to her victory in the Fred Darling earlier in the campaign before a well-earned break.
“We are conscious it is her third run in a fairly short space of time, but we are going to give her a break next, win, lose or draw,” said Richard Brown, racing adviser for the owners.
“She has come out of Newmarket in great form. She’s still quite green and still learning her job.
“She came up against Nashwa at her best last time and that is a hard task for any filly. She ran a great race and she has never ran a bad race, so hopefully she can run another good race in France.”
Sounds Of Heaven after winning at York (Mike Egerton/PA)
Jessica Harrington’s Sounds Of Heaven was a head behind Remarquee when third at Royal Ascot and is making just her fifth career appearance, while there is a strong home challenge which includes Prix Jean Prat runner-up Sauterne.
Patrice Cottier’s filly was second to Carlos Laffron Parais’ Kelina in the Prix de Sandringham before that and they will lock horns once more, with Andre Fabre’s pair of Life In Motion and Mqse De Sevigne are both dropping back in distance for their shot at glory on the Normandy coast.
Hedi Ghabri’s Tairann completes the field of nine.
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Chris Hayes celebrated his first Royal Ascot winner as Tahiyra landed the odds in the Coronation Stakes.
Veteran trainer Dermot Weld has made no secret of the regard in which he holds the filly and having gone down narrowly in the Newmarket Guineas, she made amends in the Irish equivalent.
With her Newmarket conqueror Mawj absent on this occasion, it was left to Meditate to take the field along but Ryan Moore set only a steady pace with Tahiyra settled in last.
— Sky Sports Racing (@SkySportsRacing) June 23, 2023
Not surprisingly the field bunched up two furlongs out, with Tahiyra needing to pass them all and while she came across the eventual second Remarquee when quickening up, the result was confirmed after a stewards’ inquiry.
Tahiyra (8-13 favourite) crossed the line a length clear of Remarquee, with Sounds Of Heaven a further head back in third.
Weld, who saddled his first Royal Ascot winner 50 years ago with Klairvimy in the 1973 King Edward VII Stakes, said: “I though she put in an excellent performance, I think she was a worthy winner.
Remarquee (white hat) got going too late (David Davies/PA)
“With a very small field I always knew it was going to be a tactical race and she has so much pace. She’s a very talented filly.
“She was very brave and she got a lovely ride from Chris the way the race turned out, he rode her hands and heels and she was a very deserving winner.
“The plan was always to give her a nice holiday, a nice break. She’s had a very busy spring and early summer and she needs a nice break now and we’ll look at a programme for her in the autumn.”
On stepping up in trip later in the season, he said: “It will be considered, it is a possibility.
“She is learning more about racing and getting more professional. I thought she won fair and square.
King Charles III speaks to jockey Chris Hayes (David Davies/PA)
“Her sister (Tarnawa) was unbelievably tough and stayed really well, won the Breeders’ Cup Turf and won those two very good Group Ones in France for me and was just beat a neck in the Arc when the ground was too dead for her on the day. A brilliant racemare, her sister and this one is equally as good – but they are different. This one has more pace.
“I enjoy so much training these fillies. I know the families and do my best training them.
“I was a bit concerned in the early part of the race, but he did the right thing and reverted to Plan B, which came into action, just take your time – it is a long straight at Ascot. She has brilliant speed and he should hold on to her – and that’s what he did.
“She is a lovely tempered filly, a lovely animal to deal with. She has her moments, like all fillies – she is a very talented filly.”
Chris Hayes gets his hands on the trophy (David Davies/PA)
Hayes said: “It wasn’t straightforward. She lost her hind leg coming out of the gate. I had to go to Plan B, because she got a little bit keen, which was unlike her.
“They were going very steady, so she had to be good to pick them up, running at a quickening pace. She idled a bit – I just can’t wait to ride her in a true-run race, it was so stop-start.
“The boss told me to ride her with confidence. She is the fastest filly in the race and I just rode her like she was the best.
“The stewards inquiry actually had nothing to do with me – the inside horses concertinaed.”
Asked what it meant to win a Group One at the Royal meeting, he added: “In these (Aga Khan) colours? It is the stuff of dreams. I still can’t believe it!”
Ralph Beckett was more than satisfied with Remarquee’s run (Mike Egerton/PA)
Ralph Beckett was thrilled with the effort of Remarquee and said: “When she got rolling, the gap was closing.
“You don’t see many of ours in a sheepskin noseband, there’s a reason she’s wearing a sheepskin noseband – she’s still green.
“She’s run her legs off, she’s lost a lot of ground and she’s run on again. She made up a length in the last half-furlong at least.
“I’m very proud, I’m not disappointed with her in the slightest.
“The Guineas was a non-event, so she’s only had two starts, and she’s a slow learner.”
Remarquee’s rider Rob Hornby added: “It was a slowly-run race and it’s just nice to see that she’s stepped up, she’s put that run at Newmarket behind her. It probably came a little bit early in the season after a hard run in the Fred Darling.
“I’m delighted, she was a bit unlucky in running. She was aways finishing off her race slowly, we were quite far out as well.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/68e1b31c-b5b3-45d9-8660-8b601a2f8fa1.jpg10002000Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2023-06-23 15:45:492023-06-23 16:20:07Tahiyra takes Coronation triumph for Weld
Julian Richmond-Watson provided Ralph Beckett with the first Classic winner of his career when Look Here won the Oaks in 2008 and now 15 years on, trainer and owner will combine once more when Remarquee lines-up in the Qipco 1000 Guineas.
The daughter of Kingman impressed on her debut at Salisbury as a two-year-old and was a springer in the market for the Newmarket Classic prior to running at Newbury on her reappearance.
That support was justified in style as she accounted for a talented cast of fillies in the Fred Darling and she now heads to the Rowley Mile looking to provide both Beckett and Richmond-Watson with a first Guineas of either description.
“It’s very exciting to have a filly as good as this,” said the owner, who also bred Remarquee at his Northamptonshire-based Lawn Stud.
“I’ve obviously had a couple of nice fillies before and a couple of very good colts, but never one running over a mile.
“I’ve been with Ralph since he started, we get on very well and we’ve enjoyed great success together. It’s very exciting and lets hope she runs well.”
The last of Richmond-Watson’s string to begin her career by beating the colts at Salisbury was Look Here in October 2007, a relative of Remarquee, and he is hoping that proves a good omen following her strong start at the Wiltshire track last autumn.
Remarquee before winning the Fred Darling at Newbury (PA)
“Once she won at Salisbury (beating the Juddmonte-owned Bresson) we were always very hopeful she was well above average,” continued Richmond-Watson.
“The last time I had a two-year-old filly winning a Salisbury maiden and beating a colt was Look Here. And interestingly enough she beat a Juddmonte horse (Doctor Fremantle) as well, so that was all rather auspicious I would say, so lets keep our fingers crossed.”
Although hoping the stars will align once again in Sunday’s Classic, Richmond-Watson – who currently serves as Chairman of the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association – says there will be no nerves in the build-up to the big race and simply hopes his filly can do herself credit on the big stage.
“Luckily I don’t get too nervous,” he added. “If you live with them and breed them from our small stud you get used to it. It’s mostly disappointments, so it is also exciting when a good one comes along, but I don’t get too nervous anymore.
“Good fillies are the lifeblood of our industry and if you get a good filly you bring them home and hopefully breed another one.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/0cb97b93-1f70-40e7-8475-78cbb275e952.jpg10242048Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2023-05-02 12:55:542023-05-02 12:55:54Remarquee bidding to uphold family honour for Richmond-Watson
Saturday’s Newbury heroine Remarquee is set to be joined by stablemates Lezoo and Juliet Sierra in the Qipco 1000 Guineas at Newmarket next month.
Successful in a Salisbury novice event on her sole start at two, Remarquee confirmed herself a major contender for the first fillies’ Classic of the season with an impressive comeback victory in the Group Three Dubai Duty Free Stakes – better known as the Fred Darling.
And while trainer Ralph Beckett is looking forward to seeing the daughter of Kingman line up on the Rowley Mile, he also feels it would be dangerous to overlook two other fillies trained at Kimpton Down Stables who will also line up at Newmarket in a fortnight’s time.
Winning connections with Remarquee (PA)
“We’ve still got five in it (1000 Guineas). Bluestocking won’t run, she’ll go for an Oaks trial, but Juliet Sierra will go straight for the Guineas and Lezoo will go straight there as well. Lose Yourself won’t as she’s not quite ready,” Beckett told Racing TV’s Luck On Sunday programme.
Lezoo is set for a step up in trip after striking Group One gold over six furlongs in last season’s Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket.
Her stablemate Juliet Sierra, previously successful in the Dick Poole at Salisbury, could finish only fifth in the Cheveley Park, but Beckett feels she is overpriced for the Guineas.
He added: “It’s a leap of faith on pedigree whether Lezoo will get a mile, but she’s a very relaxed filly, does nothing at home and she loves the Rowley Mile. It’s a shot to nothing. If she doesn’t stay, we’ll just go back sprinting.
Juliet Sierra lands the Group 3 Dick Poole Stakes 👏
“I never felt Juliet Sierra was a six-furlong filly – I always felt she won the Dick Poole against the curve in that sense.
“She was quite a free-running filly and we were always trying to get her to settle, which is why I didn’t step her up in trip, and I felt she got a bit lost two down in the Cheveley Park and then galloped out really well.
“I think she’s a big price for the Guineas at 50-1.”
While hopeful for his two bigger-priced runners, Remarquee has undoubtedly established herself as the trainer’s chief contender for Guineas glory, with Beckett anticipating further improvement.
He said: “I think she’ll have learnt a lot yesterday and I’ll probably put a sheepskin noseband on her next time, just to help her rider out.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/268984851-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2023-04-23 11:31:512023-04-24 10:25:26Lezoo and Juliet Sierra set to enhance Beckett’s Guineas bid
Ralph Beckett once again looks to have found a classy filly as Remarquee booked her ticket to the 1000 Guineas with a taking success in the Dubai Duty Free Stakes at Newbury.
The Classic takes place in just over two weeks and Beckett will no doubt have left plenty to work on, which bodes especially well for her supporters having watched her take the trial better known as the Fred Darling.
Dropped out in the rear by Rob Hornby, the once-raced daughter of Kingman – from the family of Beckett’s Oaks winner Look Here – had plenty going on in front of her as Cheveley Park fourth Swingalong showed them all a clean pair of heels.
It was Hugo Palmer’s Stenton Glider who first broke rank to come out of the pack to chase, but Hornby could be spotted picking his way through stealthily.
Despite carrying her head high Remarquee (7-2) displayed a smart turn of foot to glide by Magical Sunset, with Hornby only needing hands and heels to ride her out for a neck success.
Paddy Power, Betfair and Coral were all impressed and cut the winner to 6-1 for Newmarket.
Beckett – winning the race for the fifth time – said: “It’s great – everything I’d hoped for and more. She was green and running away and Rob dropped his stick by the time she was running away from the crowd.
Remarquee with groom Charlotte White (PA)
“Richard Hannon’s filly (Magical Sunset) leant on her a bit, so she had Kevin’s (Stott’s) stick in her face there for a couple of strides.
“She doesn’t know very much, but she will know more after today and we will certainly go to Newmarket.
“Her mother wanted fast ground and maybe she handles this ground, but I don’t see fast ground being a problem.
“I think she is very good and she has got to go there on the back of that.”
Remarquee looks very smart (PA)
Hornby said: “She seems a good mover and she has a high head carriage, which is a bit like Kingman. They tend to be a bit like that, but it doesn’t stop her – she was still running true all the way to the line. It is probably what she finds comfortable.
“She will definitely stay further and while you don’t know until you’ve tried it, I’m sure she will act well on the course at Newmarket. This time of year is exciting, because at this time of year you are running horses in trials and even if they run well, you can still have hopes. So to go and win one like that is very exciting.
“She is a Classic filly. She is not short of speed and I think a mile will be right for her.”
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