There was despair for Tiffany when she was cruelly denied by Assistent in the Grosser Allianz Preis von Bayern Sunday.
The daughter of Farhh – who has already tasted success in Germany this season – was bidding to follow in the footsteps of trainer Sir Mark Prescott’s Albanova (2004) and Arc heroine Alpinista (2021) by winning the Munich Group One.
Arriving on the back of a third to Kalpana at Ascot in the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes, Luke Morris’ mount was to the fore in the early stages alongside fellow British-trained raiders, Charlie Appleby’s Ancient Wisdom and David Menuisier’s War Chimes, with the latter setting the early fractions under Billy Loughnane.
Entering the home straight it appeared Tiffany and Ancient Wisdom would be the two to fight out the finish, but having seen off the challenge of the Godolphin-owned contender, she would be agonisingly headed in the shadow of the post by Henk Grewe’s home fancy, who was ridden to victory by Thore Hammer Hansen.
“She came so close but you can’t be disappointed, she’s run a great race,” said Dan Downie of owners Elite Racing.
“We thought Luke gave her a very good ride and to be fair she was galloping all the way to the line and passed it, it is just unfortunate the other horse came up the inside.
“She’s lost nothing in defeat, she’s run a great race and we have to be pleased with that.”
Tiffany may have been thwarted in her final chance for Group One honours this term, but she will be back with the Heath House master next term seeking that elusive strike at the top level.
Downie added: “I suppose the aim for next year is to find a Group One where she can get her head in front.
“She’s remarkably consistent and tries really hard. She’s run at a high level all year and she’s a big, scopey filly so there’s every hope she can continue, and dare we say it, improve a little bit. We are definitely looking forward to 2025.”
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Few people in racing are as revered as Sir Mark Prescott, so when he enjoyed the crowning moment of his long career when Alpinista won the 2022 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, it was a very popular victory.
The grey mare, owned and bred by Kirsten Rausing, progressed through the ranks steadily before going on an unbroken spree of six Group One races, which culminated at a rain-sodden ParisLongchamp.
For a horse who had been kept to generally good ground throughout her career – despite winning three times in Germany – the last thing connections wanted to see in Paris that day was rain.
However, not only did it rain, it was torrential. But that was not Prescott’s first concern on the day.
“The first thing I remember of it was that our plane wouldn’t start, so we were diverted from Cambridge to Stansted so that put everybody on edge a little bit,” he said.
Luke Morris with Alpinista, trainer Sir Mark Prescott and owner Kirsten Rausing (PA)
“When it landed, because it was late the customs and the police weren’t there to greet it, so we were held up there and it was one of the few times that I’ve seen Ms Rausing begin to lose patience!
“We were getting pretty late and she was all for going and to hell with the police, but it was then pointed out that if we were arrested that was fine, but we needed the jockey pretty badly – so she waited.
“We eventually got there and Ms Rausing was supposed to be going for lunch but couldn’t find where and in the meantime (Luke) Morris and I went off in rather nice suits to walk the course.
“Of course the mare didn’t want it heavy as she’d never run on heavy ground before and down the back straight we got caught in that deluge, so really by the time we got in the paddock all thoughts of the horse winning, despite being favourite, had left us.”
Having gone through all that prior to the biggest race of his career with the favourite in Europe’s showpiece race, Prescott had near enough given up on any chance of winning.
He continued: “In a way it took the pressure off, we’d had such a terrible day there was no way we thought she could win. We were all pretty resigned but then she went and won – which was marvellous!
“William (Butler, assistant) said trying to get me out of Longchamp was like trying to get a rock star out of a concert as everyone was so kind – Jean-Claude Rouget kissed me and everyone wanted to shake my hand.
“The thing I remember most was going back in the taxi, hardly believing it had happened, Ms Rausing turned to me and absolutely straight faced said ‘do you know, I always thought she’d win it’.
“I then asked Luke how it felt and he said ‘I watched 28 previous Arcs, 14 on Friday and 14 on Saturday and when I turned for home, I thought I was going better than any of those 28 winners’ and that was even on that ground.”
Rausing is a renowned owner-breeder and Alpinista is a product of a long pedigree line. Her granddam Albanova was trained by Prescott to win the same three Group Ones in Germany Alpinista would go on to win, and she is a full-sister to Alborada, Prescott’s dual Champion Stakes heroine.
“It wasn’t a total surprise she turned out to be very good because as a two-year-old she won first time out over seven furlongs at Epsom. Given I’d trained her mother, who won over two and a quarter miles, to have that speed, we obviously thought she was nice,” said Prescott.
“To answer when did I think she might win the Arc, I suppose it was when she won those three Group Ones in Germany (2021), we thought the following year she’d have a chance in the Arc.
“My confidence was dented though when the author Michael Tanner sent me a card saying ‘when did the last five-year-old mare win the Arc?’ which was all it said in the card. The answer was Corrida in 1939.”
Prescott had decided to miss the 2021 Arc but then watched Torquator Tasso, behind Alpinista at Hoppegarten, spring an almighty surprise.
Luke Morris did his research ahead of the race (Mike Egerton/PA)
“I don’t think we ever thought we should have run the year before she won it as nobody thought Torquator Tasso would win, apart from his lovely connections and we had beaten him in Germany,” said Prescott.
“Everybody thought it was a bit of a fluke, but he went on to prove it was far from that. What it did do was make us think maybe we did have a squeak the following year. We didn’t have any regrets as he was such an unexpected winner.
“German form can be looked down upon, so maybe she didn’t get the recognition she deserved after those three Group One wins. It wasn’t until she won in France (Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud) she started getting a bit more traction. Interestingly I trained her grandmother (Albanova) to win the same three German races which is quite extraordinary.
“I must say, I can’t be asked about my favourite Arc often enough, though!”
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Sir Mark Prescott hailed Sir Michael Stoute as “the most focused trainer of my time” following the news that his fellow veteran handler announced he will retire at the end of the season.
It was in 1972 that Stoute commenced what would turn out to be a glittering training career in Newmarket, two years after Prescott had taken over the licence at Heath House Stables.
Prescott, who himself has enjoyed his fair share of big-race success over the past 50 years, has nothing but admiration for his Newmarket neighbour, who has been crowned champion trainer 10 times and saddled six Derby winners among 16 British Classic victories.
Prescott said: “Obviously I’m very sad he’s retiring, because it’s leaving me more and more exposed!
Sir Michael Stoute has achieved more than most in a stellar career (Nigel French/PA)
“I think he is probably the most focused trainer of my time. When he got a good horse, he absolutely focused on it.
“He is a tremendous jockey mentor as well. If he could see genius in a jockey, if he could see flair, he would go to tremendous lengths to nurture that and get the best out of his jockeys.
“I think the combination of that laser focus on his good horses and the mentoring of the men that rode them made him a very hard hard trainer for the finest in the world to beat.”
Prescott revealed it did not take him long to realise the Barbados born-and-raised Stoute would become a force to be reckoned with in Britain.
“He was obviously assistant to Doug Smith and played a significant part in training Sleeping Partner, who won the Oaks (1969),” he added.
“He then started up just behind where I am now and I remember when his horses first came out, about eight of them or something like that, they absolutely looked a string from the very, very first.
“I had a couple of years start, but he soon sailed past me and sailed into the distance! If I had to say why, I think those two things – the focus on the horse and the mentoring of his staff and his jockeys in particular, would be the reasons.”
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Sir Mark Prescott’s Tiffany will return to Germany following her brilliant win at Baden-Baden, where she could follow in the footsteps of the trainer’s Arc winner Alpinista by going for glory in the 62nd Preis von Europa.
The Heath House handler won three straight German Group One prizes with his future ParisLongchamp heroine in 2021 and Tiffany herself is no stranger to the continent, having claimed her second victory on German soil in the Group Two T.von Zastrow Stutenpreis.
The daughter of Farhh has been in exceptional form this term, with that Baden-Baden success taking her record for 2024 to three wins and a Lancashire Oaks second from four starts.
G2 T. von Zastrow Stutenpreis over 2400m at Baden-Baden👀
3yo+ – Fillies Group 2 – 70.000€
🥇TIFFANY 4yo by FARHH🥈DIAMOND CROWN 3yo by CRACKSMAN🥉SPIRIT OF DREAMS 4yo by GUILIANI
She will now take the step up to Group One company at Cologne on September 22, where a strong showing could tee-up a big-race assignment closer to home in the Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot on British Champions Day.
“She’s done really well this year and we were delighted with her,” said Dan Downie of owners Elite Racing Club.
Sir Mark Prescott knows his way round the German programme book (John Walton/PA)
“It probably wasn’t the strongest Group Two at Baden-Baden, but she couldn’t have been more impressive really.
“The plan at the minute is for her to run at Cologne on September 22 and then we will keep an open mind about Ascot. First stop though is back to Germany and she knows her way around there.”
Prescott also claimed the Preis von Europa with Albanova in 2004, while Rebel’s Romance was a winner of the Cologne contest before marching on to land the Breeders’ Cup Turf in 2022.
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Luke Morris got down to near his minimum weight to steer Almudena to victory in the feature Weatherbys Racing Bank Colwick Cup Handicap at Nottingham on Tuesday.
It should come as no surprise to see Sir Mark Prescott to the fore in a two-mile event and the 6-4 favourite followed up her recent Sandown success in good style at Colwick Park.
Positioned towards the rear in the early exchanges, Morris began to make smooth headway aboard the three-year-old as the field came up the home straight for the second time.
Almudena fends off Solent Gateway to secure the Weatherbys Racing Bank Colwick Cup Handicap for Luke Morris and Sir Mark Prescott@Weatherbys_Bankpic.twitter.com/4yRBNMkGB2
After surging to the lead a furlong from home, she stayed on resolutely to seal a two-length success in a manner that suggests there could be plenty more to come in future outings.
Morris said: “She’s turned into quite a nice, progressive staying filly and since we’ve started to ride her a bit colder and holding her up she’s really found her niche and as she’s stepped up in trip she has improved.
“She’s done that a bit better than the bare margin, so hopefully there is improvement to come, and her family is one who gets better with age and I would like to think she will continue to progress.
“She showed a great will to win there and I think a strongly-run two-miles will see her to better effect again.”
On getting down to 8st 3lb to take the ride, Morris added: “I’m generally quite busy and luckily I’m busy in the morning and in the afternoon so I generally keep myself quite fit and quite light.
“Obviously I had to shed a pound or two this morning, but it has all worked out well in the end.”
Kalahari Blue was sent off the well-backed 5-4 favourite for the Weatherbys Global Stallions App EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes, but she had to give way to William Haggas’ First Instinct who showed a good attitude on her racecourse bow.
The daughter of Bated Breath was keen in the early stages under Tom Marquand, but the penny dropped when it mattered most as the 4-1 second favourite shaded a neck verdict.
First Instinct made a winning debut (PA)
“I think she’s still got a lot to learn, she’s a sweet filly and she was really good today,” said assistant trainer Maureen Haggas.
“I think she has a bit of growing to do and she’s a bit ‘bum-high’, but she’s a homebred and it’s just really nice when you breed one that they go and win first time.”
It is poised to be a big afternoon for the Haggas team on Thursday as their impressive Dante winner Economics returns to the track, but it was Pasha (7-2) – who finished behind the Deauville raider at Newbury – that governed proceedings in the Weatherbys Digital Solutions Maiden Fillies’ Stakes.
Paul and Oliver Cole’s filly put her experience to good use in the hands of Billy Loughnane, making all for a comfortable two-and-a-quarter-length success.
Pasha put her experience to good use at Colwick Park (PA)
Loughnane said: “The race went smoothly and I got out quick from a wide gate and tried to use her experience to dictate. She quickened up well and she wasn’t actually doing much in front.
“The form was all there and she has had a good break since Newbury. She finished behind four horses that are all rated in the 90s or the 100s at Newbury.”
The opening AJA Novice Flat Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap was won with ease by Ivan Furtado’s 4-1 joint-favourite Star Of St James, while Tim Easterby’s 14-1 shot Valentine Catcher was a head to the good in the Weatherbys Hamilton Handicap
The concluding weatherbysshop.co.uk Handicap went the way of Paul Midgley’s 15-8 favourite Frank The Spark.
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Sir Mark Prescott’s Rouge Sellier is set for a black-type assignment next following her 15-length victory at Kempton.
Third on her two outings last year, including behind the smart Indelible at Lingfield in November, she was reappearing following wind surgery and a 242-day break.
The result was never in any doubt, with Luke Morris able to let her coast home through the last half a furlong once he had afforded himself the luxury of a look over his shoulder, with the half-sister to Group One winner Lumiere already a long way clear.
“We felt that she had a chance of winning, but none of us saw that coming,” said Prescott.
“She was edgy enough earlier in the year and took a lot of settling, so in her work, which was very good, we just made it easy for her. I would have been relieved to make a winner of her, but I didn’t expect her to win like that.
“Obviously she’ll step up into black-type company next time. Any horse that wins like that, you have got to take notice, but the time was only similar to the other division.
“As always when you are riding one of those, you don’t think you are going as fast as you are, so Luke didn’t realise how far clear she was.
“Let’s hope she’s all right. Being a Lope De Vega, she won’t want the ground too firm, so I may have to be patient – and her American owners have been already, in truth.
“We’ve got lots in mind; there’s a race in France, there’s the Aphrodite, there’s a whole lot, but she will be ground dependent. I’ve got a big, long list, but it’s which one to go for.”
Pledgeofallegiance is heading to Goodwood (David Davies/PA)
Prescott enjoyed his first Royal Ascot winner since 1996 when Pledgeofallegiance won the Ascot Stakes and having resisted the temptation to run him again quickly in the Northumberland Plate, Glorious Goodwood now beckons.
“He’s been fine, he’ll probably go to Goodwood for the marathon handicap and if, if, if, he will run in the Cesarewitch and that will be the lot, we only intend to run him twice more this season,” he explained.
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Just eight days after securing her first Group-race win, Sir Mark Prescott’s Tiffany attempts to take another step up the ladder in the Bet365 Lancashire Oaks at Haydock.
Homebred by the Elite Racing Club, the daughter of Farhh began 2023 finishing seventh in a Wolverhampton maiden – but by September she was a Listed winner in Germany.
This season began with another successful raid on Germany and she took her form to a new level at Newcastle last Friday evening when winning the Group Three Hoppings Stakes from Karl Burke’s three-year-old Darnation, who had won the German 1000 Guineas.
The Lancashire Oaks represents another rise in grade, but she is clearly a filly on great terms with herself.
“She rides just like Alpinista, you can put her wherever you want. I don’t know where her ceiling is. She deserves a shot at the top level.”Luke Morris on Tiffany after winning the Group 3 Hoppings Stakes @NewcastleRaces. Well done to Kiera & Harriet for looking after her. pic.twitter.com/8zDdGhDB06
— Elite Racing Club (@eliteracingclub) June 29, 2024
Prescott said: “It’s a risk running her back so soon, but it is a Group Two and for fillies’ only and there’s a long gap before another suitable race.
“I had it in mind to give her a mid-season break anyway. If it comes off I’ll look a very clever and skilful trainer and if not why was I running her so soon, so the trainer error element is at risk here.
“The owners Elite Racing understand very well the capital value of a filly like this. If she was a colt there’s a good chance we wouldn’t be running with his record on the line, but with a filly it’s different.
“I’m pleased to be running, I think it’s the right race and if she’s in the same form that she was eight days ago she’s got every chance. Will she stay a mile and a half? I would think so, but I’m not certain.
“I think it’s the right thing to do, but I realise I’m a hostage to fortune. The owners have been very patient early in her career and are reaping the benefits and when you do that you can afford to be a bit braver, it’s the quid pro quo.”
Oisin Murphy was in line to ride Dancing Gemini in the Eclipse, but instead he will be on Merseyside to partner John and Thady Gosden’s Queen Of The Pride.
Owned by Murphy’s retainer, Qatar Racing, the Roaring Lion filly has Haydock experience on her side having won the Lester Piggott Stakes when last seen.
Queen Of The Pride (right) just held off Lady Boba last time they met (Richard Sellers/PA)
“She won over course and distance last time in a Group Three and now moves on to a Group Two there,” said Thady Gosden.
“She has been lightly raced up to this point and you would expect her to improve again.
“She’s by Roaring Lion out of a St Leger winner (Simple Verse) so she’s bred to have plenty of class and she has demonstrated that she has so far.”
Ralph Beckett trained Simple Verse and he has two representatives in this in Lady Boba, beaten just a short head by Queen Of The Pride last time out, and Forest Fairy, seventh in the Oaks, the first defeat of her career.
“They are both in good form and I think the ground and track should suit – I’m looking forward to it,” said Beckett.
“Lady Boba just got going a bit late last time, she was slightly trapped in behind horses two down and then finished strongly. Let’s hope she repeats the dose on Saturday.
“Let’s hope it works out better than Epsom for Forest Fairy, she got a bit tight in behind and it wasn’t ideal.”
William Haggas’ Sea Theme, a beaten favourite when fourth in the Lester Piggott, is another of the fancied runners.
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Tiffany’s rapid rise through the ranks continued apace at Newcastle on Friday evening, with Sir Mark Prescott’s filly easily accounting for some smart rivals in the Jenningsbet In Delves Hoppings Fillies’ Stakes.
A daughter of Farhh, the four-year-old won a Windsor handicap last July off a lowly mark of 72 and in typical Prescott manner has not stopped improving since.
Her only defeat in five subsequent races came in the Racing League back at Windsor and her last two victories had been at Listed level in Germany.
Upped in class again to Group Three level, the Elite Racing-owned homebred was always in the box seat under Luke Morris, tracking the leader into the home straight.
When Tiffany (7-2 joint-favourite) hit the front well over two furlongs out, the result never looked in doubt as she beat Karl Burke’s German Guineas winner Darnation by two and a half lengths.
— Sky Sports Racing (@SkySportsRacing) June 28, 2024
Tiffany has an entry in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood and Paddy Power cut her to 12-1 from 20s for that event.
Morris said: “She’s been a credit to Sir Mark and the whole team at Heath House, she started off a mark in the 70s and now she’s 109 and a Group Three winner.
“She’s a real advocate for patience and letting a horse come to themselves, because if we’d dived in to soon she may have cracked. To me, she felt like a filly well worth a crack at the top level on that run.
“She’s a very smooth-travelling filly and you can ride her where you want. I knew she stayed further because of her last run so the plan was to kick on and try to outstay them.”
— Elite Racing Club (@eliteracingclub) June 28, 2024
Prescott’s assistant trainer William Butler said: “It’s a pleasure to train these improving fillies for these good owner-breeders, they let you be patient.
“Looking through her form, when she won at Wolverhampton last year Isle Of Jura (Hardwicke winner) was fourth so it’s all there, in the book.
“There was a day she got beaten at Windsor we were disappointed, but the winner was Richard Fahey’s globetrotter (Spirit Dancer)!.
“With another year on her back she’s just improved again, it’s every run. We’ll just take it step by step, but the Group One option is there and so is the option to go up in trip.”
Darnation could return to Germany next (Tim Goode/PA)
Meanwhile, Burke is contemplating a return to Germany for the runner-up.
“I’m delighted with the run and we’ve been beaten by a very good filly,” he said.
“She’s favourite for the German Oaks at Dusseldorf on August 4 over a mile and three and I didn’t want to jump straight up from a mile.
“Timing-wise this was a lovely stepping stone and she doesn’t want fast ground, so we had to come here.
“We’re very pleased as she had a 5lb penalty for her Group Two win. She’ll go to the German Oaks now, all being well, and after that she’s in the Yorkshire Oaks and we’ll just play it by ear. It depends on the ground as much as anything.”
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Hollie Doyle has the opportunity to win a second Jenningsbet Northumberland Plate in three years at Newcastle on Saturday after picking up the ride on likely favourite Trooper Bisdee.
The record-breaking jockey received a rousing reception from the Gosforth Park faithful two years ago after star stayer Trueshan put up a tremendous weight-carrying performance to land the ‘Pitmen’s Derby’ – and she has high hopes of repeating the feat on her return to the north east this weekend.
Trooper Bisdee is a typical Sir Mark Prescott improver, winning six of his nine starts since entering the handicap arena – and he is four from five since stepping up to two miles and beyond.
He carries a 5lb penalty following his latest romp at Pontefract on Sunday and with Prescott’s stable jockey Luke Morris in action at the Curragh, Doyle is delighted to have been given the call-up.
Trooper Bisdee (11-8f) takes charge of the Moor Top Farm Shop Hemsworth Pontefract Cup! 🫡
Hats-off to Sir Mark Prescott, Jack Gilligan and the Kelsey-Frys for a brilliant success in round four of our stayers' championship 👏 pic.twitter.com/lJ58k9Vtx9
“It’s great to ride for Sir Mark, we all know how good a trainer he is. He had a Royal Ascot winner last week (Pledgeofallegiance in the Ascot Stakes) and his horses are flying,” she said.
“Trooper Bisdee looks fairly progressive and has such a good record. Sir Mark is such a shrewd target trainer and you would imagine this has been a target and he is going to have not a lot of weight to carry (8st 6lb). You just hope he can translate his recent form on turf to the all-weather really.
“It would be amazing to win the race again. You can never forget Trueshan’s weight-carrying performance, but it’s good to get a good ride and hopefully I can do it again.”
Hugo Palmer saddles Chester Cup winner Zoffee and his talented stablemate Solent Gateway.
The tough-as-teak Zoffee won the Northumberland Vase over the course and distance a couple of years ago, while Solent Gateway was beaten less than two lengths into third place by Trueshan in the Plate.
Zoffee and Harry Davies (left) winning the Chester Cup (Mike Egerton/PA)
Palmer, who struck gold with Caravan Of Hope in 2020, told Sky Sports Racing: “It’s a race we always target and I’m delighted to have won it before, although maddeningly it was in the Covid year and it was only worth £25,000 to the winner. It’s considerably more this year, thankfully.
“I’m as happy with Zoffee now as I was going into Chester. He looks absolutely fantastic, he’s proven on the surface, but it’s a 20-runner handicap and things are going to need to go right for him.
“He’s gone up 4lb for Chester, so he’s going to need to improve, but he was very competitive in last year’s Chester Cup off 93 (finished second), so we’ve only got a pound to improve really.
“Solent Gateway ran poorly in the Chester Cup, but he ran really well in a race he actually won last year when second at Haydock two weeks later.
“I think he’s grown in confidence from that, he’s finished third in this race before and has got good all-weather form, so I’d be hopeful of a big run from him, too.”
Michael Bell has high hopes for Duke Of Oxford, who found only Prydwen too strong in the All-Weather Championships Marathon at Newcastle on Good Friday but was unable to land a blow in the Chester Cup last time out.
Bell expects an improved performance, but admits a high draw in stall 20 is a concern.
“He’s very well, but we’re slightly deflated because he’s drawn 20, which is not ideal. He’s got a very good record at the track, so we’re going to need a little bit of luck from the draw,” said the Newmarket handler.
“When he was second up there at the end of March on Finals Day, that was his second time at the track and he handled it the time before as well, so his season has revolved around going to Chester and then going here.
“Unfortunately, at Chester we were drawn in the car park and unfortunately we’re drawn in the car park again!
“Chester is obviously a completely different ballgame when you’re drawn high and I think this is doable, but it’s going to need a little bit of tactical nous from Tyler (Heard) as to whether we go forward and get in or whether we drop in.
“It’s not complete doom and gloom, but you’d probably rather be drawn in the middle. He’s still relatively lightly raced and on his run behind Prydwen he looks well handicapped, so he definitely should be one of the market leaders.”
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Sir Mark Prescott has confirmed he will be double handed in Saturday’s Jenningsbet Northumberland Plate – but ante-post favourite Pledgeofallegiance will not run.
Instead, the Heath House handler will relay on Trooper Bisdee – who will be ridden by Hollie Doyle – and True Legend.
Pledgeofallegiance won the Ascot Stakes last week and Prescott feels a second big handicap bid will come too soon.
“No, he won’t run, he had a hard enough race and I think we’ll consider the two-and-a-half-mile handicap at Goodwood and the Cesarewitch and then if he’s lucky enough to win one of those we’d put him away and hope he might become a Cup horse the following year,” said Prescott on Sky Sports Racing.
“Trooper Bisdee won well at Pontefract (on Sunday), which probably played to his strengths – fast turf and two and a quarter miles. He was always going to win there and will have a 5lb penalty.
“He runs and Hollie Doyle will ride. I would have preferred it to be on turf and I would have like a bit of extra distance, but he’s in cracking form and he deserves to have a shot.
“He goes on any ground except very soft, but he has a huge advantage when it is very firm as he doesn’t mind how firm it is. Often it’s not what your horse wants, it is what disadvantages the others.
“True Legend will run, he’s been mighty unlucky a couple of times, he deserves one. Up to two miles is an unknown but I think he’ll like the al-weather. Whether he gets two miles is an unknown. Cieren Fallon will ride.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/275917701-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2024-06-26 11:39:342024-06-26 11:39:34Hollie Doyle gets the call for Sir Mark Prescott’s Trooper Bisdee
Royal Ascot scorer Pledgeofallegiance is not guaranteed to line-up at Newcastle in the Jenningsbet Northumberland Plate Handicap – despite the ante-post favourite featuring amongst the confirmations for Saturday’s marathon event.
The four-year-old ended Prescott’s 28-year drought at the Royal meeting when striking in the Ascot Stakes and having also scored at Goodwood in the early stages of the campaign, would be seeking a hat-trick if making a quick return to action at Gosforth Park.
However, Prescott has warned the general 8-1 favourite is “unlikely” to participate at this stage as he recovers from his Ascot exertions, although he is not definitely ruled out.
Prescott said: “Pledgofallegience, the horse who won at Ascot is favourite but he is unlikely to run. I don’t feel I want to run him back as quick as that. He is unlikely, but that is not the same as he will not run.
“I think he had a hard enough race (at Ascot). If I am pleased with him this week, then I reserve the right to change my mind.”
Prescott could also be represented by Trooper Bisdee and True Legend, with the former carrying a similar profile to his Ascot-winning stablemate Pledgeofallegiance.
Trooper Bisdee returned from 263 days off the track to score at Nottingham last month before adding a convincing four-length success at Pontefract on Sunday.
Prescott added: “Trooper Bisdee will have a 5lb penalty. He would only run in the race if that got him in to the proper race.
“I would probably not run him in the consolation – probably. If the penalty got him in then there would be a serious possibility of him running (in the Plate), but then he would also have to be fine.
“Then also in the race is True Legend who remains a possibility. He is trundling along towards the race and if he got in the proper race, then he would be a very likely runner.”
Zoffee could attempt to pull off a famous double (Mike Egerton/PA)
There was a total of 50 confirmed for the £150,000 event on Monday with Chester Cup winner Zoffee among them.
Cathy O’Leary, Tony Martin’s sister, has Chester Plate winner Alphonse Le Grande, Firstman, Belgoprince and En Or engaged while Prydwen, who ran in the Gold Cup, is another possible for George Scott.
He told Sky Sports Racing: “It’s not the conventional route, we knew we might be up against it in the Gold Cup but he went there on the back of three career-bests.
“The owners have had horses a long time and I felt he deserved the opportunity to run in the race as it is so prestigious.
“Once he was outclassed and the ground was a bit quick, Callum (Shepherd) looked after him and we knew this race was around the corner. I’ve confirmed him this morning and it will be a day-by-day thing and we’ll decide closer to the time.
“These horses are there to run, he’s not a stallion prospect, he’s a gelding, but we would only be going if he was pleasing us at home.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/276567109-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2024-06-24 13:22:292024-06-24 13:22:29Prescott expresses Plate doubts about Pledgeofallegiance
Sir Mark Prescott celebrated his first Royal Ascot winner since Pivotal in 1996 when Pledgeofallegiance saw off all-comers to win the Ascot Stakes.
Prescott, who won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with Alpinista in 2022, was saddling just his third winner at the meeting in all, with Wizard King in the 1994 Britannia his only other success.
Drawn one, jockey Luke Morris had been worried about being able to take up an early position, but with Boher Road going a good early gallop, he was able to slot in behind before striking for home a long way out.
Divine Comedy burst out of the pack to chase him down, but the 20-1 chance – who went for 450,000 guineas as a yearling – held on by half a length.
Prescott said: “He’s a lovely horse and the only thing he has done wrong in his life is cost all that money and then after that the expectation is so high on him. If he couldn’t win the Derby then the next best thing was to win at Royal Ascot and I’m glad he has.
“I was very concerned about the draw, I had a thoroughly bad day when I found out his position. My secretary is very good, but not completely racing-minded about the minute details and I came back from third lot to find out Trooper Bisdee had been balloted out by one at 9.59am and I said ‘don’t tell me the other horse is drawn one’ – she said ‘oh yes’, which was just what I didn’t want.
“Luke got it right and there was enough room for him to keep pushing and get where we wanted. It was one of those races where I can’t remember one going so well since Alborada got the pacemaker and High-Rise didn’t (in the 1999 Champion Stakes). Everything went just as we planned it.
“I like planning, it gives me great satisfaction. I like feeling that we have been a part of the process and it is not just because it’s a good horse. It has been the obvious race for him since last year and we’ve just had to creep there. The owners have been very good and said if that is what you want to do then go for it.
“It’s been too long without a winner here and Pivotal was a long time ago. I’d honestly forgotten it was that long ago. It’s very good and when those plans go right then you are churlish if you don’t enjoy it.”
Israr fairly bolted up in the Listed Wolferton Stakes for John and Thady Gosden under Jim Crowley.
The 5-2 favourite was dropping markedly in class having chased home the very promising Passenger last time out at Chester in the Group Two Huxley Stakes.
With Ancient Rome streaking clear under Jamie Spencer the early pace was red hot, but when it unsurprisingly collapsed, Crowley found himself upsides with a double handful.
For a horse with a lot of placed efforts to his name, he kept going strongly to win by three and a quarter lengths from the Wathnan Racing-owned duo of Haunted Dream and Torito.
Gosden said: “He’s a grand horse and we’ve freshened him up for Ascot. He’s won it well and he might have to move up in company now.
“He’s been bumping into some good horses and he’s a tough old dude, he’s Taghrooda’s brother.
“He looked better than a Listed horse today and he got the dream run up the inside. Normally it doesn’t open up, but they went a good gallop and the Red Sea parted and Jim said he got there too soon, but he did it very well.”
The Copper Horse Handicap brought day one of the Royal meeting to a close and having struck gold with Vauban in last year’s renewal, Willie Mullins doubled up with Belloccio at 4-1.
Formerly trained on the Flat by David Menuisier, the grey made a successful debut over hurdles at Punchestown last month and was among the leading contenders on his return to the level.
William Buick produced his mount with a sustained challenge from the home turn and he eventually ran down Lmay to score by a length and a quarter, with My Mate Mozzie just a short head behind in third.
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It was good enough to chat to Sir Mark Prescott and Kirsten Rausing in the sunshine of York before and after Alpinista’s fifth consecutive Group 1 success back in the summer, when she beat the gallant Oaks winner, Tuesday, in the Yorkshire Oaks, writes Tony Stafford. Yesterday I contentedly sat at home watching her battling performance in holding off a series of strong challengers up the last 200 metres to collect the £2.4 million first prize in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
The press and media were queueing up again, on an awful Parisian autumn afternoon to catch the now emotional Sir Mark – yes, he does sometimes let that relaxed urbane countenance slip! This tender side, in full view if not quite revealing actual tears, followed the victory of the same grey five-year-old mare, as she equalled a record that had stood from 11 years before the popular Baronet was born.
It was in 1937 that Corrida had been the last of her age and sex to win a race that then was only 17 years into its history. Now the Arc is rightly acknowledged as Europe’s championship race. Sir Mark, a trainer for 52 years, plotted Alpinista’s path to greatness with the same patience that for half a century he has set up maiden three-year-olds to win strings of races as they improve and learn on the job, starting low and frequently ending high.
In her case, Alpinista didn’t start low at all, winning on her first juvenile start at Epsom’s August meeting. That alone should have told us she was different. Quickly up to stakes company, although finishing only sixth in a Goodwood Group 3 and then filling fourth in a Listed race at Longchamp, her first of many overseas sorties, on her final juvenile start.
Sir Mark gave her a reappearance on July 20, 2020, no doubt because Covid had not only interrupted the early part of that season for everyone on the racecourse but inevitably delayed all the time-honoured training regime he had made second nature over the decades.
But having finished fourth in that Listed race, this time at Vichy, she made up for lost time with a victory at the same level at Salisbury before outperforming her 33-1 odds when second to the Oaks winner, Love, in the Yorkshire Oaks.
From then, there has only been one more defeat, next time in the Group 3 Princess Royal Stakes behind Antonia De Vega at Newmarket, her final three-year-old start.
Thereafter, Sir Mark has produced a two-season, eight-race unbeaten sequence that could have been modelled on some of his more celebrated handicap coups, except that the last six of the eight have been at Group 1 level.
Last year involved a late summer/autumn German Group 1 hat-trick starting with a defeat of future 2021 Arc winner Torquator Tasso in Hoppegarten, a race of which Prescott modestly said her rival was “unlucky in running”. There was no hard luck story yesterday, though, as Torquator Tasso was brought with a perfect run down the outside by Frankie Dettori, but Luke Morris and his grey co-conspiratress were never contemplating defeat.
Afterwards, Prescott said that Morris had been with him for 12 years, a span that probably leaves him at least as long to go to match George Duffield. There can be few occupations anywhere in this uncertain world with the career security of Heath House’s stable jockey. Or indeed as the quiet assistant trainer William Butler might ruefully opine, “Nor assistant to Sir Mark!”
That self-effacing gentleman at least is not threatened in his post, but it reminds me of an exchange at the Daily Telegraph when a colleague, anxious to know what would happen when his department boss – he was the deputy - was leaving in the coming weeks. The Sports Editor, said, “Don’t worry old boy, your present position is assured!”
It embarrasses me (a little) to say he took the hint and quickly left and, a few short months later, I was appointed Racing Editor since which time it’s all gone downhill!
Alpinista was one of six UK-trained winners on the two-day Longchamp card with three on the opening day, added to by another three yesterday. That tally does not include Aidan O’Brien’s Kyprios, who, I must say, put up the best performance I have ever seen from a flat-race stayer.
In the two-and-half mile Prix Du Cadran, the previous winner of the Gold Cup at Ascot, Goodwood Cup and Irish St Leger, a Galileo colt, cantered along for the first two miles of the journey, as first Quickthorn (briefly, but alas with little conviction) and then Lismore set the pace.
By the turn in, the Coolmore runner had taken the lead totally untroubled and started to draw away inexorably. There was still more than a furlong to go when he began to find it all so boring and showed a liking for the fans on the stands rail, so in the manner of the 2014 2000 Guineas winner, Night of Thunder, he thought he would come and say “Bonjour” to the Turfistes that side.
It’s easy to overstate the amount of ground conceded by such a manoeuvre, but it caused Ryan Moore a degree of discomfort for a while. Not to worry, he still had a full 20 lengths to spare passing the post, and probably three or more gears that Ryan hadn’t troubled to utilise.
Having seen off now retired Stradivarius and Trueshan at Goodwood, Aidan and the boys will be aiming at shorter rather than keep to the stayers but, still only four, it will be tempting to call in at Royal Ascot for the next few Gold Cups. Yeats was great; Stradivarius was very good for a long time, but this is a late-in-career phenomenon to add to the Galileo legend.
Having watched Luxembourg struggle in the soft ground yesterday, I wonder if Aidan is already thinking “next year’s Arc” for a Classic winner, albeit the Irish St Leger. He is improving so quickly the problem will be just which demanding prizes they challenge for.
*
It was good to have ITV cover the races up until the Arc and Sky Sports Racing the subsequent events, but when comparing what came up on those screens, with results as published in the Racing Post, there was generally a pattern to discern. Not in every case, but mostly, the punters watching on the box will have expected being paid out on those prices and will probably have been disappointed at what the bookies returned them.
The most blatant example on a day when Andre Fabre, three months my senior whereas Sir Mark is two years less a day younger than me, almost single-handedly kept the home fires burning with two Group 1 victories. His Jean-Luc Lagardere winner Belbek was 16-1 or thereabouts in both versions. Contrastingly, after his Place Du Carroussel finished strongly to deny Nashwa and Hollie Doyle in the Prix de l’Opera, Sky Sports Racing flashed up 66/1, but if you found her, the Post says she was a 41-1 chance.
Hollie got her revenge a little later when Richard Fahey’s The Platinum Queen became the first two-year-old filly to win the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp since the celebrated sprinter Sigy in 1978 after a fine performance by horse and rider. Her 9-4 on the box, was as low as 7-5 with the firms. Alpinista was only a shade shorter in the Post whereas Kinross and Frankie won the Foret at only 11/8. Don’t say the bookies never show mercy – they returned 17-10.
On Saturday, there was nothing to choose between 7-10 (Post) and 4-7 (SSR)about Kyprios while Anmaat’s 23-10 was better than the 15-8 from the broadcaster. There was a big disparity though in the 13-5 about William Haggas’ Sea La Rosa and the telly’s 7-2 in the Royallieu. Then again, with so many well-backed UK-trained winners, they must have been onto something of a hiding.
Now all the big players will come back to the UK, making the annual trek to the sales at Tattersalls in Newmarket to start inspecting the choice Book 1 offerings that will be going through the ring and will be their prime targets as they seek to re-stock.
I doubt Tatts will be worrying about their gas and electricity bills with 5%, the guineas rather than pounds, if you are too young to know, commission on every sale and the prospect of many millions of pounds, euro, dollars, yen and whatever else you care to mention, sure to change hands. It’s worth a watch, Tuesday to Thursday, to see exciting bidding, big-name owners and trainers and, like me, you can keep yourself warm at someone else’s expense. Or else you can watch it at home online, but then you’ll be footing the bill!
- TS
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Alpinista_Arc_2022.jpg319830Tony Staffordhttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngTony Stafford2022-10-03 07:20:502022-10-03 07:20:50Monday Musings: Sir Mark’s Arc
This is the fifth article in a series where I have been digging into the performance of trainers' runners of specific ages over the past few seasons, writes Dave Renham. I have used UK race data from 1st January 2016 to 31st December 2021 giving us six full seasons to examine.
My focus in this second part of the series is on three-year-old (3yo) runners and, following on from my previous piece, I have used the Geegeez Query Tool for all of the number crunching. All profits / losses have been calculated at Industry Starting Price. I appreciate most punters do not use SP these days as many (quite rightly) take advantage of early prices, Best Odds Guaranteed and / or the exchanges.
I looked in depth at non-handicap data last time; this time the focus is three-year-old runners in handicap races. Note, these could be three-year-old only or three-year-old and up handicaps.
All 3yo runners in handicaps
To start with let us overview all 3yo runners in handicaps before breaking the data down.
Here are the top 20 trainers in terms of strike rate with their 3yos in handicaps (minimum 150 runs):
Many of the usual suspects appear in the list but there are a few names - such as Chris Wall, Ron Harris and Heather Main - we have not seen prominently before. Eight of the 20 are in profit, which is surprising, but it will be interesting to see which of the profitable trainers have skewed figures due to one or two big-priced winners. In order to see whether this has been the case, the below table shows these eight trainers when their runners returned 8/1 or shorter. This takes any outliers out of the equation. Here are the figures:
Four of the eight have remained profitable, while three of the others were profitable to Betfair SP, with only Clive Cox remaining in the negative. Here are some individual highlights:
Owen Burrows has a good record with his 3yo handicappers who are in the top three of the betting – 39 wins from 124 runs (SR 31.5%) for a profit of £39.73 (ROI +32.0%).
Sir Mark Prescott has a decent record when using claiming jockeys. 13 wins from 43 (SR 30.2%) for a small profit of £9.94 (ROI +23.1%). His 3yo handicappers that wear cheekpieces have a surprisingly good record, too. 46 wins from 154 runners which equates to a win strike rate of just under 30%. They have returned an impressive 25p in the £.
Marcus Tregoning has performed considerably better with male 3yo handicappers as compared to female ones. His male runners have won over 21% of their races; his female runners have won less than 10%. The each way figures are equally skewed (42% versus 27%). Tregoning has also done well with favourites, scoring 21 times from 51 (SR 41.2%) for a profit of £18.54 (ROI 36.4%).
It looks best to ignore Charlie Fellowes if he is using a claiming jockey as only 2 of 37 such runners have won. On a more positive note, in the better handicap races of class 2 to 4 he has hit a 20.8% win strike rate for a profit of £137.48 (ROI +94.5%).
Ron Harris and front runners have been a potent combination thanks to 27 wins from 81 runners. Compare his win strike rates for the different run style groups below:
A 3yo front-running handicapper for Harris is a horse we ought to be on!
In terms of A/E indices there are 19 trainers who have managed a figure of 1.00 or more (150 runs or more). They are shown in the graph below:
These trainers have offered good value over the past six seasons with their 3yo handicappers. 11 of the 19 have secured profits to Industry SP; 14 were profitable to BSP. Ron Harris has the highest A/E value, at 1.31, followed by Roger Teal (1.26) and George Margarson (1.25). It's always good to see some new trainers, especially less familiar ones, on this list. Teal has a notably good record with favourites (8 wins from 19) for a 56p in the £ return, while Margarson, when teaming up with jockey Jane Elliott, has secured 14 wins from 62 for an outstanding return of 144p in the £.
Handicap races broken down by distance
Now let's break down trainer 3yo handicap runner performance by distance. I am going to look at sprint distances first.
3yos in handicaps over 5 to 6 furlongs
In the table below I have restricted it to trainers who have had a minimum of 75 runs or more, with the top ten in terms of strike rate shown:
Ed Walker tops the table so let's start with him in terms of some additional sprint handicap stats to share:
All bar one of Ed Walker’s winners have returned single figure prices. His record therefore with horses priced 9/1 or shorter has been impressive – 38 wins from 146 (SR 26.0%) for a profit of £52.93 (ROI +36.3%).
Ron Harris has secured a 22.5% win strike rate over 5f, but this drops markedly to 13.3% over 6f. Nevertheless, he has been profitable to follow over both sprint trips.
Amy Murphy has an outstanding record with her fillies (female runners). She has had 12 wins from 48 runners (SR 25.0%) for a profit of £56.37 (ROI +117.4%).
Andrew Balding’s runners have done well when they have been fancied. Combining his favourites and second favourites has produced 21 winners from 65 runners (SR 32.3%) for a healthy profit of £29.86 (ROI +45.9%).
3yos in handicaps over 7f to 1 mile
Onto 7f to 1 mile races next – here is a bar chart showing the trainers with the highest win strike rates:
At these Classic type distances, we're back to some of the biggest hitting trainers here and there are some strong individual stats to mention:
The Gosden team have visited Yarmouth a dozen times with their 7f-1m 3yo handicappers and a remarkable eight have won.
All 28 of Charlie Appleby’s winners were priced 8/1 or shorter. He is 0 from 18 (2 placed) from runners bigger than 8/1. Also his higher weighted runners (9st 1lb or more) have done well, with 27 wins from 84 (SR 32.1%) and a profit of £17.49 (ROI +20.8%).
William Haggas has made steady returns of 9p in the £ with horses first or second in the betting.
Andrew Balding has done well with his shorter priced runners. Those priced 3/1 or shorter have seen 41 wins from 108 (SR 38.0%) for a profit of £13.35 (ROI +12.4%).
Clive Cox has an excellent record with favourites – 30 wins from 74 (SR 40.5%) for a profit of £20.61 (ROI +27.9%).
3yos in handicaps of 1m 1f to 1m 2f
Let’s check out the stats for 9 and 10 furlong handicap races now. A look at the top ten trainers in terms of win strike rate:
There are some impressive strike rates for handicap races with all ten trainers in the table hitting at over 18%. Four of the ten are in profit including the big guns of Stoute, Charlton and bin Suroor, while six have A/E indices of 1.00 or more.
It is worth noting that the Charlton stable has been profitable in five of the six seasons which shows excellent consistency. They have also managed a yearly strike rate of 19% on five occasions. Despite Saeed bin Suroor’s positive record, the last two seasons have been poor for him with just a single win from 20 starters in this distance range.
There are three trainers (Johnston, Hannon and Fahey) that have had over 400 qualifiers but their strike rates were not good enough to make the top 10. For the record here are those volume trainers' figures:
All three are well off overall profitability. However, Richard Fahey has done well with fancied runners over these trips. His first and second favourites have produced 27 winners from 82 (SR 32.9%) for a profit of £28.17 (ROI +34.3%).
3yos in handicaps of 1m 3f to 1m 4f
The final distance group to check out is 1m 3f to 1m 4f, as races of 1m 5f or more offers only a modest dataset with which to work. The top ten are shown below along with their strike rates:
A bigger proportion of these trainers are in profit with seven managing positive figures and it's good to see Marco Botti, William Knight and Alan King getting into the top 10 to freshen things up a little. A look at their A/E indices and Impact Values now:
Seven of the ten have A/E indices over 1.00 which is excellent, and with reasonable correlation, too.
Distance comparison – individual trainers
I thought it would be useful to end this article by comparing individual trainer strike rates across the four distance groups. To qualify for a figure, each trainer needs to have had at least 60 3yo handicap runners in the relevant distance group. Trainers that have had enough runners in at least three of the four distance ranges are shown. Hence any gaps simply mean that trainer did not have 60 or more runners in the distance group. The table is also colour coded with strike rates of 20% or more in red (hot); strike rates of under 10% in blue (cold) :
William Haggas is the only trainer to have secured a strike rate of over 20% in all four distance groups. Sir Mark Prescott has achieved that in three of the groups.
It is interesting to compare trainers in this way with some very consistent figures across the board (for example, Charlie Hills and Michael Bell); others vary quite a bit – William Knight, Alan King and Marco Botti being three who have both red and blue figures.
Few handicap races are easy puzzles to solve, and many 3yo runners are still developing and looking for their optimum distance. I hope the trainer statistics in this article help to point you in the right direction.
The final piece in this series will look at trainer performance with older runners. Until then...
- DR
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/sirmarkprescott.jpg320830Dave Renhamhttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngDave Renham2022-08-22 14:21:392022-11-10 11:58:43Trainers with Three-Year-Old Runners, Part 2
They came in their droves to York on Wednesday just to see the best horse in the world, writes Tony Stafford. They saw him and he delivered by six-and-a-half lengths from the horse who had won the richest horse race in the world – if not this year, last.
A lot had been invested in the event. Not just the £1 million prize fund of which £567k went to the winner, Baaeed if you weren’t sure. A decent chunk went to the second, Mishriff, to bring his money-haul to £11,677,544, four times as much as Baaeed’s. Third home Sir Busker also picked up a six-figure prize for Kennett Valley and William Knight.
It was the razzmatazz of the whole week, seemingly trying so hard to lighten the general mood of gloom surrounding the sport and country. It appeared to try to ape the Melbourne Cup with the jockey introductions and the like before Saturday’s Skybet Ebor, the half-million total fund of which makes it the richest handicap in Europe.
That of itself is not much of a distinction, as no other major racing administration has anywhere near the preponderance of handicaps, save Ireland of course.
Everyone got very excited when the William Haggas-trained four-year-old made it ten out of ten, approaching the flawless record of Frankel, who retired to stud after 14 unblemished runs. Although Frankel was also a four-year-old when he left Sir Henry Cecil’s care for Banstead Manor stud, he had won six races before June of his three-year-old season including the 2,000 Guineas. His shadow Baaeed had not even made his racecourse debut before June as a three-year-old.
Six races were crammed within 101 days in 2021 between June and October. Then Haggas gave him seven months to mature before another quartet, all at Group 1 level, in 95 days from May to August. The last three have been a mirror image of Frankel’s: Royal Ascot’s Queen Anne, Goodwood’s Sussex Stakes, and a first try beyond a mile in the 10½ furlong Juddmonte.
The incentive for the York feature for the Khaled Abdullah homebred was obvious as the late Saudi prince had sponsored the race for many years. This time, once the path had been set for Baaeed, the only argument going around was whether Haggas might try to persuade Sheikha Hissa, daughter of the late Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, to have a think about the Arc rather than end his career Frankel-like in the Champion Stakes later in October.
I had a lovely couple of days in York, securing a bed within walking distance of the track – although I did go by car – with Jim and Mary Cannon in their four-story abode in a quiet square near the Mount school, Alma Mater of Dame Judy Dench, so they told me.
Jim, a native of Carlisle, is a one-time Labour councillor in East London who moved with Mary to York nine or ten years ago and has had shares in loads of Wilf Storey horses for all that time and a little before. It’s like home from home and I can do my work, rifle the fridge and wait for him to rustle up something tasty for dinner.
That happened the first night, but on Wednesday I was in Delrio’s – known by all the racing crowd as “The Italian” and the only thing that beats it for its conviviality is the length of time it takes to turn orders into drink and especially food.
I had my back to the table immediately behind me, which among its ten squeezed-in bodies were several of the TV broadcasters. I’m pretty sure I did identify which of them pronounced: “It’s my mission to get him <Baaeed, no doubt> to the Arc”!
The way Baaeed finished off after coming from some way back offers every hope that he would stay the extra two furlongs, but would it make any difference to his appeal as a stallion? For all Sheikha Hissa and her family’s sporting and sensible policy of continuing her father’s work in a more streamlined manner, the fear that he might be beaten over a mile-and-a-half in the mud against the French (or Germans, or indeed Sir Mark Prescott’s Alpinista) should be incentive enough for the team to stay with the Champion Stakes.
Alpinista was the star of Thursday when she saw off a revived Tuesday – a little short of peak I was led to understand beforehand – in the Yorkshire Oaks. I always enjoy a chat with Sir Mark and, after he conducted interviews with every television station from the UK, Ireland and Dubai I finally got a word. His impeccable navy-blue pinstripe suit was set off with an immaculate tie, and it was only after studying him as I waited that I realised he had tucked in the tail part of it.
I said, “As you know I’m a year all but a day older than you, and I’m not too old to learn from you.” When I explained it was the tie issue that I noticed, he said he always does that. Then, after speaking to Richard Frisby, advisor to Kirsten Rausing, Alpinista’s owner-breeder, on the topic, he put me straight. “You learn that at prep school,” he revealed. I must have missed that!
Nobody missed the fact that Alpinista has won five Group 1 races including one defeat of Torquator Tasso, last year’s Arc winner. “We were lucky to beat him as he didn’t get a run,” said Sir Mark modestly.
So many amazing things happened at York. Like the 14-length win of Hughie Morrison’s ever-improving stayer, Quickthorn. Morrison and owner Lady Blyth had the option of a second shot at the Ebor, which he lost narrowly last year to Sonnyboyliston, who went on to win the Irish St Leger for Johnny Murtagh.
Instead, they took the bold step of taking on Stradivarius and Trueshan in the Lonsdale Stakes over two miles on the Friday. It was always possible that Trueshan may continue the Alan King policy of missing races when the ground was unsuitably fast and that was his eventual decision.
By that time, Stradivarius was already out with a bruised foot, so it was left according to the market as a match between Quickthorn, winner of the Group 3 Henry II Stakes at Sandown in May and a Group 2 in France last month, and Andrew Balding’s Coltrane.
Coltrane, winner of the Ascot Stakes under a big weight and then easily in a Listed over two miles at Sandown, proved best of the rest in the “finest stayers’ race ever run” when fourth in the Goodwood Cup behind Kyprios, Stradivarius and Trueshan at the Glorious meeting.
In the event, it was no contest. Tom Marquand took Quickthorn to the front, steadily building on an initial lead with consistent 12-second and change furlongs, and by the turn into the straight he was miles clear. Afterwards, Hughie told me, “I hadn’t realised how much he eased him.” The track record would have been his as well as a 20-length win at least.
I think the absent big two would have been fully stretched to have any more luck at staying with him than those that remained. He may well go the Irish St Leger route as that Group 1 win would look very nice on his CV, though that would very likely mean a shot at Kyprios.
Morrison is out of love with the Melbourne Cup nowadays after the controversy over conflicting veterinary conclusions by his own advisors and the local Flemington panel which ruled his Marmelo out of running in the 2019 edition on soundness grounds after he had finished runner-up to Charlie Appleby’s Cross Counter the year before.
One trainer perfectly happy at continuing his love affair with that race is Ian Williams and he almost carried off an Australian-style coup at York this week. It is commonplace for Australian trainers to run their horses in the days coming up to the big race, sometimes even three days before and over vastly shorter than the two miles of the Cup.
On Wednesday, Williams won the £51k to the winner two-mile handicap with Alfred Boucher by three lengths. That gave Alfred a 4lb penalty, enough to slot him in at the foot of the Ebor field. After much debate, he decided to run the six-year-old again, reasoning he would never be able to run for three hundred grand any time soon.
Backed down to 8-1 and benefiting from a fine ride by P J McDonald he was beaten just a short-head, as Williams asserted, “victim of a Frankie Dettori masterpiece.” He added, “Dettori went off fast and wide of the field, crossed him over to the front and then steadied the pace. He rode the socks off the rest of them, no criticism to P J.”
How Williams must have wished Dettori’s brief exile from the Gosdens over the Stradivarius Royal Ascot issue had been more permanent. He chose his best ride on their Trawlerman to deny what would have been one of the headlines of the week.
Talking of the Melbourne Cup, last year’s winner of that race, the seven-year-old mare Verry Elleegant, has pitched up in France in the care of Francis-Henri Graffard, presumably with the Arc as her main objective.
Frankie was recruited for yesterday’s run in Deauville and I wonder whether her Aussie owners were enamoured by this ride, sitting well out the back, asking for an effort turning for home, and then only plodding on at one pace. She finished last of seven and will need to have a form transformation if she is to add to her massive home reputation over in Europe. Connections were putting on a brave face and suggested a more suitable rehearsal will be the Prix Vermaille in three weeks' time.
- TS
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/baaeed_Juddmonte2022.jpg319830Tony Staffordhttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngTony Stafford2022-08-22 07:03:142022-08-22 07:10:36Monday Musings: A York Debrief
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