Tag Archive for: Stay Alert

Stay Alert primed for Pretty Polly redemption

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Hughie Morrison is keen to confine the events of last year’s Cairn Community Games Pretty Polly Stakes to the history books as Stay Alert prepares for a second tilt at the Curragh Group One on Saturday.

The Fastnet Rock filly was a 25-1 shot 12 months ago off the back of finishing fifth in York’s Middleton Stakes, but outran her odds and then some to finish second.

Stay Alert was beaten two lengths by George Boughey’s Via Sistina, but that told only half the story, with the winner hanging right and impeding the runner-up and a number of other horses to such an extent that connections felt it was worth lodging an appeal, which was ultimately unsuccessful.

Morrison’s charge failed to trouble the judge in three further outings in 2023, but having kicked off the new campaign with an impressive victory in Newmarket’s Dahlia Stakes, beating subsequent Royal Ascot heroine Running Lion, she heads back across the Irish Sea as a major player.

When asked whether he felt he had a score to settle in the Pretty Polly, Morrison said: “I don’t think one ever wants to do that in sport or think that way. Time heals and we move on.

“She’s done herself well and has done very well since she ran. My concern always is whether I’ve done enough with her, but travel can refine them down a bit and we’re just hopeful that she’ll run her race, perform to the levels she did at Newmarket and we’ll see how good she is.”

Hughie Morrison at Newmarket following Stay Alert's latest victory
Hughie Morrison at Newmarket following Stay Alert’s latest victory (John Walton/PA)

Stay Alert is part of a formidable British challenge which also includes Ralph Beckett’s runaway Middleton Stakes winner Bluestocking and John and Thady Gosden’s dual Group One winner Emily Upjohn.

Morrison added: “I think both times she’s gone over to Ireland, I feel I may have left a gallop short. It’s been quite dry in the last two weeks, so I haven’t overworked her.

“If Emily Upjohn turns up as she was as a three-year-old or when winning the Coronation Cup last year we’ll have to be very good to beat her, and Bluestocking on the formbook looks exceptional as well.

“Stay Alert doesn’t always retain her form throughout the season, but she seems happy in herself and Running Lion’s victory last week gave us a bit of hope.”

Emily Upjohn and Frankie Dettori winning last year's Coronation Cup at Epsom
Emily Upjohn and Frankie Dettori winning last year’s Coronation Cup at Epsom (Mike Egerton/PA)

Emily Upjohn has run twice so far this year, finishing fifth in the Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan in March before being beaten into fourth when defending her Coronation Cup crown at Epsom.

John Gosden believes she is ready to return to her best in Ireland, saying: “I think in fairness to her, we trained her in the winter to go to Dubai and it doesn’t agree with a lot of fillies, so then I let her down afterwards through April and she really did herself well.

“I was having a little trouble getting her back in the zone again and she very much needed her race in the Coronation. She was carrying plenty of weight and condition, but she worked well on the July Course the other day so we’ll head there (Curragh) for what looks like a very competitive edition of the Pretty Polly.”

Bluestocking could hardly have been more impressive at York last month and Beckett is looking forward to seeing her return to the highest level.

He said: “It’s all systems go all, all things being equal. She’s in good shape, I’ve been very pleased with her since York.

“We were keen to stick with running against our own sex and this is what the race was written for, these fillies turning up to take each other on and we’re looking forward to doing exactly that.

“It appears she’s not (ground dependent) anymore, as she’s got older it appears not. There are plenty of fast ground elements in her pedigree and she’s a good moving filly.”

Sir Mark Prescott’s new recruit Tasmania and Charlie Johnston’s outsider Francophone also travel from Britain, with Joseph O’Brien’s pair of Lumiere Rock and Maxux and his father Aidan’s Content making up the home team.

O’Brien senior said of Content, last seen finishing eighth in the Coronation Stakes over a mile at Royal Ascot: “We’re running her back quick. She’s just not really 100 per cent doing things right yet, she’s been a little bit keen so we’ve backed up the races a little bit quick.

“She wasn’t bad the last day and up to a mile and a quarter will help her, she’ll get more time to relax and breathe.

“It will be interesting how far she will stay, and will she get the trip. She is in good form since Ascot. She wasn’t beaten too far in the fillies’ race at Ascot and seems to have come out of it well.”



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Stay Alert powers home to claim Dahlia prize

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Stay Alert stayed on strongly and delivered a decisive blow in the William Hill Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket.

With the six-strong line-up separating into two groups, David Egan was content to bide his time aboard Hughie Morrison’s five-year-old, as Heartache Tonight led from Running Lion on her side of the track.

Running Lion – seeking a win on this card for the second year running – moved up alongside Heartache Tonight and breezed to the front with half a mile to run and jockey Oisin Murphy seemed determined to break the spirits of her rivals as they entered the final quarter mile.

However, the petrol tank of 6-4 favourite ran out when meeting the rising ground with Stay Alert perfectly placed to take advantage, picking off Running Lion and galloping on to a three-and-a-half-length victory at odds of 5-1.

Morrison said: “We looked after her as a young horse and tried not to run her on fast ground as she’s quite heavy topped, but she’s always had a serious engine.

“The family has always stayed so we imagined she’d get a mile and a half, but I’d probably say a mile and a quarter is her perfect trip now.

“She was going to be retired, but Ben and Sir Martin (Arbib, owners) decided at the last minute they’d have another go. I actually said they ought to retire her because she’s such a beautiful broodmare prospect. I’m very sorry they aren’t here, but I’m sure they’ll be thrilled.

“David said he was always going to pick up the other filly (Running Lion), he just didn’t want to go for it in the dip. I said to him ‘if you’re in contention hitting the rising ground, you’ll win’.

“I suppose the obvious race to run in is the Pretty Polly (Curragh), in which we were a very unlucky second last year, but she does want decent ground.

“We’ll probably aim pretty high now, we’ll probably look at entering her in the Eclipse and races like that because if it’s soft in Ireland you probably want to go for the Eclipse.

“On her day she’s a very good horse and you’ve got to look at everything. I’m a great believed five-year-olds have an advantage over four-year-olds as they must improve.”



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Morrison expecting bold show from Bobby

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Hughie Morrison’s One For Bobby is set for an outing on Qipco British Champions Day – but conditions will dictate if Stay Alert joins her stablemate in the line-up for the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot.

The Berkshire track will be a fitting place for the four-year-old to end a successful season as it is the place her breeder Frank Dunne saddled the great Stanerra to register a Royal Ascot double in 1983.

She has won twice in four starts since joining Morrison ahead of the 2023 campaign and having secured Listed honours at Nottingham on her stable bow, she added a Group Three at Vichy in the summer.

One For Bobby was last seen finishing well held in the Prix Jean Romanet at Deauville but her handler is now prepared to give the daughter of Frankel another opportunity at Group One level.

“She didn’t run her race the other day at Deauville and had a sore foot,” said Morrison.

“If we got her back to form, she might surprise a few people. I think she will get the one-mile-four, whether she is over the top or not we will find out on the day.

“She has got a Group and Listed win and that was what we were asked to do. She won at Nottingham and then won in France.”

On the potential participation of Stay Alert, Morrison added: “She’s a possible, but you wouldn’t want too much more rain.”



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Stay Alert could bid for Pretty Polly compensation in France

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Stay Alert looks set to head to France in a bid to gain some form of compensation for her unfortunate runner-up effort in the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh.

The Group One contest produced a somewhat messy conclusion as the George Boughey-trained winner Via Sistina drifted across the track in the final furlong, impeding the placed horses in winning by two lengths under Jamie Spencer, who was suspended for six days.

Ben and Sir Martyn Arbib, who own Hughie Morrison’s second-placed Stay Alert, appealed against the decision not to revise the placings, but to no avail.

Though Stay Alert holds an entry in the Yorkshire Oaks on August 24, Morrison is favouring a trip to the Group One Prix Jean Romanet at Deauville four days earlier.

He said: “Ideally, I would go to France for the Romanet, over a mile and a quarter.

“The Yorkshire Oaks is afterwards and we can go there if we were not happy with something going to France. The Yorkshire Oaks is Plan B.”

One For Bobby is another talented filly at the Summerdown yard and she landed her biggest career success to date in the Group Three Grand Prix de Vichy on Wednesday evening.

Formerly trained by Johnny Murtagh, One For Bobby defeated Bolthole by three-quarters of a length in the 10-furlong contest.

One For Bobby made it two wins from three for Morrison
One For Bobby made it two wins from three for Morrison (Matt Alexander/PA)

Morrison will try to keep his two talented fillies apart and has not completely ruled out heading to Munich for the Group One Bayerisches Zuchtrennen, over a similar distance, on Sunday week.

“If we can keep them apart we will,” said Morrison. “One goes better on softer ground and one is better on faster ground, but they both go on good ground.

“I will talk to the owners and try to keep them apart.

“Actually, One For Bobby is in a Group One in Munich on Sunday week, because we were keeping our options open.

“If it was in three weeks after that (run), I would probably be going to Munich.

“I haven’t had a long chat to the owner yet, but prior to having won a Group race, (we felt) a Group One place would be at least as good as a Group Two win, so be brave and aim high.

“I think she won in conditions where you’d think she might be better in softer ground. She could win a weak Group One.

“She had been Group Two-placed last year and she is rated 104, so if they take the form at face value, she will go up to 109. The runner-up was rated 111.

“I think Munich is unlikely, but we’ll keep options open. You could go for the Prix Vermeille (at ParisLongchamp in September) and it might suit her, a mile and a half in France, we’ll see.”

Quickthorn is on course for the Goodwood Cup
Quickthorn is on course for the Goodwood Cup (John Walton/PA)

Meanwhile, crack stayer Quickthorn, who bounced back to form when making most of the running to beat subsequent Group Two Princess of Wales’s Stakes scorer Israr in a Listed race at York last month, remains on course for the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup.

Morrison was primed to send the Lady Blyth-owned six-year-old to ParisLongchamp in a bid to win the Group Two Prix Maurice de Nieuil for a second successive season.

However, connections instead favoured a trip to the Sussex Downs for the two-mile Group One contest, for which he is a 10-1 shot with Coral.

“We were going to go to France, but the owners want to have a go at the Goodwood Cup, so that’s where we’re going,” said Morrison. “He’s in good form and that York form worked out pretty well didn’t it?”



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Pretty Polly appeals dismissed by Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board

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Two appeals concerning the finish of the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh have both been dismissed by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board.

The Group One contest produced a messy conclusion as the George Boughey-trained winner Via Sistina drifted across the track in the final furlong, impeding the placed horses in winning by two lengths under Jamie Spencer.

Ben and Sir Martyn Arbib, who own Hughie Morrison’s second-placed Stay Alert, appealed against the raceday stewards’ decision not to revise the placings, but the IHRB dismissed that claim.

Spencer was given a six-day ban for his ride, with the jockey asking the IHRB appeals panel to reconsider the severity of the suspension.

However, that was also dismissed with Spencer ruled out on July 15, 17-20 and 22.

The suspension means he misses the ride aboard Khaadem in Saturday’s July Cup, with Rob Hornby booked to ride the 80-1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes winner at Newmarket instead.



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Stay Alert connections lodge Pretty Polly appeal

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Connections of Stay Alert have lodged an appeal against the decision of the Curragh stewards not to reverse the placings in Saturday’s Group One Pretty Polly Stakes.

The Hughie Morrison-trained four-year-old was beaten two lengths by George Boughey’s Via Sistina in the 10-furlong contest, but the Jamie Spencer-ridden winner hampered a number of rivals in the closing stages.

The interference occurred as the field approached the final furlong when Via Sistina hung right into the path of eventual fourth Rosscarbery, with jockey Billy Lee forced to check his mount, while the Ronan Whelan-ridden Stay Alert was also tightened up by the winner.

While the Irish Horseracing Authority Regulatory Board confirmed Spencer has appealed the severity of the six-day ban for careless riding he received following the race, Morrison felt the incident had proved crucial to the result.

He said: “The connections have appealed. As he (Spencer) pulled that horse out, it was hanging right.

“He then continued to ride it for possibly a furlong and he didn’t make any correction until he’d seriously endangered two horses and two jockeys.

“If they can tell me they didn’t feel endangered, then end of story. It was hanging all the way and should have been corrected at least 100 metres before the incidents took place.

“When you get stopped in your run when you are quickening up and you have 100 yards to make up three lengths, you are lucky to make up one.

“Any other sport and you’d be thrown out, more so because the fourth horse (Rosscarbery) was prevented from coming third, which was quite significant when you are talking about a Group One.”

Hughie Morrison says connections are right to appeal
Hughie Morrison says connections are right to appeal (Simon Marper/PA)

Stay Alert had won the Group Three Legacy Cup at Newbury in September and had dropped back in trip on her seasonal bow when fifth to Free Wind in the Middleton at York in May.

Equipped with a first-time tongue strap, she travelled well and showed marked improvement at the Curragh, and Morrison added: “It helped her, made her concentrate and did everything we expected it to do. I don’t think she has a wind issue, it just helped her concentrate on the job.

“She showed how good she is. She is in the Yorkshire Oaks and there are a couple of races in France. Those are in the middle of August – there is nothing else for her.

“She could go for a colts’ race somewhere, that might be tempting, but you never know what the ground will be like in Germany, and you’d like to win a big race before you go to France.

“This was the target for her all year, so it was frustrating. We got everything right, but hit the crossbar. We’d like to win a good one and we’d like a clean fight as well.”



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