Tag Archive for: Temple Stakes

Kerdos lunges to Temple Stakes success

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Kerdos swooped late to create a minor surprise in the Betfred Temple Stakes at Haydock.

Much of the attention in the five-furlong Group Two was focused on Australian challenger Asfoora, who was sent off the 4-1 joint-favourite on her British bow, but it was Clive Cox’s charge who prevailed.

Last year’s Nunthorpe hero Live In The Dream blazed an early trail on his seasonal bow and he looked like fending off all challengers as he entered the final furlong still in the lead.

However, Richard Kingscote was just hitting top gear on 12-1 shot Kerdos and he edged half a length ahead at the line, with Seven Questions grabbing third and Asfoora having to settle for fourth.

Coral cut Kerdos to 10-1 from 20s for the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Kingscote said: “We thought he’d improved from last year and we also thought he was better than he’d shown this year.

“I got a nice lead into it, through the first furlong I wanted a bit of cover but once I did he dropped his head nicely.

“There’s still things we can work with on him, but he’s a nice horse going forward. He’s the type of horse Clive does really well with.”

Part-owner Alan Spence said: “It’s the third time we’ve won this race as we won with his sire, Profitable and also with Priceless so we’ve had three Temple Stakes winners, all with Clive which takes a bit of doing.

Clive Cox is a dab hand with sprinters
Clive Cox is a dab hand with sprinters (John Walton/PA)

“The faster they are, the better Clive likes them!

“We were a bit worried about the ground today but they haven’t used the straight course and it’s not as heavy, if anything it’s only soft.

“It looked like he took a bit of getting going today but I think that is because the other one (Live In The Dream) goes so fast, but once he was settled we were there.

“Royal Ascot is the plan, it was before today.”

Adam West was more than satisfied with Live In The Dream’s first run since finishing fourth at the Breeders’ Cup meeting back in November.

He said: “That couldn’t have gone better. He missed the break by half a beat today and I think that was because the horse next to him was playing up.

“He’s done everything I wanted to see today and he’s having a nice blow – I think he’s going to be a superstar this year.

“All the others had had runs, fair play the winner is nice and has been produced brilliantly but knowing what he has left in the tank for next time, we’ve avoided a penalty so we couldn’t have asked for more.

“We’re not going to Ascot, it’s too stiff a track for him, so we’re going for the Coral Charge at Sandown – that’s always been the plan and it’s a our home track. He can get some confidence there before he heads for bigger things but I’m absolutely delighted.”



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Fellowes expecting bold Temple bid from Vadream

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Charlie Fellowes expects conditions at Haydock to bring out the best in his star sprinter Vadream when she lines up in the Betfred Temple Stakes.

The six-year-old has produced the keynote performances of her career so far when the mud has been flying, with victories in the Bengough Stakes at Ascot, the Cammidge Trophy at Doncaster and the Palace House at Newmarket all achieved on soft or heavy ground.

She notably inflicted a half-length defeat on the reopposing subsequent Nunthorpe hero Live In The Dream in the Palace House at Newmarket last spring – and having come within a head of successfully defending her crown last time out, Fellowes is confident she will make her presence felt on Saturday.

Vadream (right) beating Live In The Dream in the Palace House Stakes at Newmarket
Vadream (right) beating Live In The Dream in the Palace House Stakes at Newmarket (Nigel French/PA)

“She’s had a really good start to the year. She normally takes two or three runs to really get into a rhythm, but she’s already run two really good races this spring,” said the Newmarket handler.

“I said before her seasonal debut at Bath I felt like we’d had a really good preparation and she’s put in two big runs on ground that she’s absolutely fine on, but if you are a mudlark and handle those testing conditions it’s such a big advantage, and it looks like she’s going to get them this weekend.

“She beat Live In The Dream last year on this ground, she goes there in cracking order, we’ve got a top jockey on board (Danny Tudhope) and when she gets this ground, she is very, very, very good.

“It was a massive shame that last year she never got her ground in the big ones. Bar the King’s Stand, we sidestepped all the big ones over five furlongs, which I’m convinced is her best trip, because the ground was just too quick in all of them – the Nunthorpe, the Flying Five and the Prix de l’Abbaye.

“One of them has got to come up on soft ground this year and if they do, she’ll be very dangerous.”

Live In The Dream is set to make his first competitive appearance since finishing fourth at the Breeders’ Cup in November for Epsom-based trainer Adam West, who said: “Touch wood, everything has been going really well, I’m very happy with him and he looks the most mature he’s been, so we’re hopeful for another big year.

“We’ve trained him this year with the Breeders’ Cup down the line in mind. He’s going to Haydock with the best amount of ability that I’ve seen him with, but maybe this race will bring him on.

“He’s the best I’ve ever seen him mentally and physically, but fitness-wise sprinters will normally need a run, especially at this top level.”

Australian challenger Asfoora brings an international flavour to proceedings as she warms up for an appearance at Royal Ascot next month.

Asfoora (right) working on the gallops at Newmarket
Asfoora (right) working on the gallops at Newmarket (Jockey Club)

Trainer Henry Dwyer said: “She’s terrific, she’s been here three and a half weeks now. We’ve given her a fair bit of breathing space since she’s been here, we haven’t really tightened the screws yet, and I couldn’t be any happier with how she looks, how she is and how her work’s been.

“We’re pretty adaptable, she’s a good mare who has won races on pretty firm tracks but her best ground in my opinion is what we’d call a soft five or a soft six.

“She broke the track record at Sandown (in Australia) one day early on in her career on a soft six, which is pretty much unheard of. Your track records here are usually set on flint-hard tracks, but she really appreciates getting her toe in.

“Her best asset is, to state the obvious, she’s a fast horse, but she’s not one of the hard-going sprinters that you see that gets tired late. She’s a sprinter that can sit on a really high cruising speed and she can either take a seat or she can lead, it doesn’t really matter.”

Further strength in depth is added by Tom Clover’s Rogue Lightning, who will carry the Wathnan Racing colours for the first time after being bought for £1million from former owners The Rogues Gallery at the Goffs Qipco Champions Day sale in October.

The four-year-old won two handicaps and a Listed prize prior to finishing a close-up fifth in the Prix de l’Abbaye last season and remains in training with Clover, who is looking forward to his return.

He said: “He’s trained lovely this spring and he won on reasonably testing ground at Doncaster in what was the Scarbrough Stakes, so I think he handles soft ground OK.

“Ideally, I’d love to be running him on good to firm ground because you can use the speed he has, he’s a very fast horse, but at the same time I think he’ll handle this ground and it shouldn’t be a problem.

“He’s done some lovely work at home and has just improved each week. He’s coming to hand nicely now and I would hope he’ll be peaking through the summer, but I hope he’s straight enough to go to Haydock and run a really nice race.”



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West ‘looking forward’ to Live In The Dream return

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Adam West is keen to get Live In The Dream’s season under way in the Betfred Temple Stakes at Haydock on Saturday.

The five-year-old gave the Epsom-based trainer and his owners Steve and Jolene De’Lemos quite a ride in 2023, with his surprise Group One victory in the Nunthorpe at York in high summer followed by an American adventure which ended with him finishing a close-up fourth at the Breeders’ Cup.

Following a well-earned winter break, Live In The Dream is set to make his eagerly-awaited reappearance on Merseyside this weekend – and while underfoot conditions may be softer than ideal, West views the Group Two contest as a suitable starting point to what he hopes will be another memorable year.

“You can never be 100 per cent certain, but the intention is to run,” he said.

“We considered the entry at Chantilly for next week as a back-up, but I think the general feeling from everyone at Haydock is that they’ve reached the worst it’s going to get and the ground took it better than expected.

“He was only just beaten in soft ground in the Palace House last year and Newmarket is a stiffer track than Haydock. I would prefer it softer than harder for his first run anyway, so we can get a little bit more stuck into him.

“We’re looking forward to starting his campaign.”

Live In The Dream returns to the winner's enclosure at York
Live In The Dream returns to the winner’s enclosure at York (Simon Marper/PA)

Saturday’s five-furlong contest is viewed as a stepping-stone for Live In The Dream, with a defence of his Nunthorpe crown and a return to California in the autumn his two primary objectives.

West added: “The Nunthorpe is the main focus and his runs up to the Nunthorpe will be about producing the horse at his best on that day.

“We could have a dart at the Abbaye if we need to, but as soon as we’ve amassed enough prize-money to pay for ourselves, or we’ve got a free ticket, we’ll be saving ourselves for the Breeders’ Cup.

“The plan after Saturday is to run on home turf at Sandown (Coral Charge) just down the road in six weeks’ time, that will be more pressure for me than the Temple Stakes.

“I think this will bring him on nicely and hopefully we can get some confidence into him at Sandown.”



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Asfoora team eager to start British adventure with Temple of zoom

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Australian filly Asfoora will look to launch a summer of British sprinting in the Betfred Temple Stakes at Haydock on Saturday.

The five-year-old, who is trained in Victoria, has been boarding at Amy Murphy’s Newmarket stable after jetting over nearly a month ago.

Asfoora is a multiple Group winner on her home turf, specialising at five- and five-and-a-half-furlong trips in a career that has seen her take eight of her 18 starts so far.

Now she will aim to make her presence felt on the speed scene here, with her trainer taking inspiration from the exploits of Australia’s Choisir, winner of both the King’s Stand and what was then the Golden Jubilee at Royal Ascot in 2003.

The mighty Black Caviar is another who made a successful foray to British shores, famously winning the renamed Diamond Jubilee in 2012, as Dwyer watched on from Melbourne.

“It’s had a big influence, particularly Choisir doing the Tuesday-Saturday double,” he said.

“With Black Caviar I was at Federation Square in Melbourne at the big screen, there were famous scenes of 20,000 or 30,000 people cheering her on in the middle of the night and I was one of them.”

Asfoora does not have the same profile as either horse, although Dwyer still feels the decision to fork out for the trip will be justified as the sprint division is seemingly lacking the standout performers who dominated in previous years.

“When we decided we were going to come over there was a little bit of surprise that this mare, who is possibly the ninth or 10th best sprinter in Australia, was going to chance her arm,” he said on a Jockey Club-hosted Zoom call.

“In reality she’s probably in the top three five-furlong sprinters in Australia, these races are much more suitable for her and it seems a very even year for sprinters over here – I think she can measure up.”

The Temple Stakes is the starting point, after which Dwyer is hoping to target all of the key meetings throughout the summer with Royal Ascot the next port of call ahead of the Nunthorpe, the King George at Goodwood and perhaps even a sojourn to Ireland or France.

He said: “The Betfred Temple Stakes would be a terrific race to win but it’s not our grand final, it’s a lead up run for Ascot. By the same token, we need to stamp ourselves here and say that we’re going to be highly competitive at Ascot.

“I was thinking of the quadruple crown! We’ll throw in the King George at Goodwood on the way.

“We’ve got a pretty ambitious plan but we’re not here for a haircut! We’re here to win some races and if we can kick off at Haydock, we’ll go to Ascot, then there’s six weeks to Goodwood and then you’ve got a bit of a break to the Nunthorpe.

“If we’re all still standing we can potentially go to Ireland for the Flying Five or France for the Abbaye.

“Her owner, Mr El-Fahkri, is a racing man and though he’s a breeder as well, he’s got no ambitions of retiring her anytime soon.

“He’s keen to treat her like a gelding and race her and to that end, we’ve got a pretty ambitious summer plan.”



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Smooth sailing for Dramatised in Temple Stakes

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Dramatised came with a powerful late challenge to land Group Two honours in the Betfred Temple Stakes at Haydock.

Last seen finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, Dramatised was sent off the 4-1 favourite for trainer Karl Burke and jockey William Buick.

The three-year-old was settled off the pace by Buick as both Live In The Dream and The Platinum Queen were eager to make their presence felt early.

However, Buick rode a perfect waiting race and when he gave Dramatised the signal, she quickly made strides up the near side rail, collaring Live In The Dream inside the last of the five furlongs.

Equilateral, a 20-1 shot, did his best to challenge down the middle of the track, but Dramatised was just too good, prevailing by a length, with Live In The Dream keeping on for third ahead of Existent.

Burke said: “I think the rail was an advantage on the day, we knew Live In The Dream was going to go forward and we were just going to tag onto him.

“I told William to try to keep as close to the rail as he could and he rode his luck a little bit, but there was just enough room to force his way through there.

“It was always the plan to start her off here, unless it was very heavy ground, and the plan now is to go for the King’s Stand at Royal Ascot, then to York for the Nunthorpe and then back to America (Breeders’ Cup) hopefully.”

He went on: “She’s always had plenty of speed and it’s been about keeping her lid on her, but she’s a lot more mature this year. A trip to the Breeders’ Cup made her grow up.

“William has never sat on her before, but he said she was a little bit rusty and took a hundred yards to kick into top gear. We haven’t drilled her at home and I’m sure she’ll sharpen up from today.

“She deserves her shot at Group Ones and hopefully we can nick one.

“The owner (Steve Parkin of Clipper Logistics) is in Monaco for Grand Prix. He didn’t need to go over there to see a Formula One, did he?”



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Varian anticipating Platinum progress after Temple reappearance

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Roger Varian has warned The Platinum Queen will likely improve for the run on her eagerly-anticipated reappearance and stable debut in the Betfred Temple Stakes at Haydock on Saturday.

The Cotai Glory filly’s quality is not in question, following a fantastic juvenile campaign last season for trainer Richard Fahey and owners Middleham Park Racing.

During a busy first year The Platinum Queen won four of eight starts, including a Group One victory against her elders in the Prix de l’Abbaye, while she also finished second in the Nunthorpe at York.

Having since changed hands for 1.2million guineas, the three-year-old will carry the colours of Katsumi Yoshida on her first start for Varian, who while happy with the filly, is expecting the run to “put her right” for a likely appearance at Royal Ascot next month.

“She’s ready to start and looks a picture, (but) she will likely need a run,” he said.

“She’s obviously new to us, but Richard Fahey has been very helpful I have to say.

“She’s quite a highly-strung filly, so we’ve had to feel our way with her through the spring and a lot of the horses are just coming forward from their first outing.

“I think she’ll run a nice race, the track and the speed test should suit her and I think the run will put her right.”

Mitbaahy after winning at Sandown last season
Mitbaahy after winning at Sandown last season (Steven Paston/PA)

Varian has a second string to his bow in the five-furlong Group Two in the form of Mitbaahy.

The son of Profitable won at Listed and Group Three level last term before finishing down the field behind The Platinum Queen on Arc weekend in Paris.

Varian added: “He’s a really nice horse and he should improve again as a four-year-old. I think he could be a really exciting sprinter for the season.

“Again, he’s likely to come on for the run and he’d probably prefer a bit more give in the ground, but we’re trapping on, it’s nearly June and these horses have got to get their season started.

“He’s a nice horse we like for the months ahead, it’s a good starting point and the run will probably straighten him up.”

Dramatised makes her return for Karl Burke
Dramatised makes her return for Karl Burke (Tim Goode/PA)

Another key runner making her seasonal debut is the Karl Burke-trained Dramatised.

The three-year-old was brilliant in winning the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot and was last seen being beaten just a length into second place in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, a race in which The Platinum Queen failed to fire.

Burke said: “She looks in great shape and she’s ready to run. Obviously it’s a prep run for Royal Ascot, but I expect her to run a nice race.

“I’ve been very happy with her at home. It’s her first time taking on older horses and it won’t be an easy race, but hopefully she can acquit herself well.”

One horse for whom there are no fitness fears is Live In The Dream, who proved he is capable of mixing it at Pattern level when narrowly beaten by Vadream in the Palace House Stakes at Newmarket last month.

Trainer Adam West said: “I’m very pleased with him, he had a nice, easy time after Newmarket, he bounced back last week and is now back to the same sort of level he was going to the Palace House.

“Newmarket wouldn’t have suited him as well with that dip and the stiff finish, but we’re now we’re on an even keel, fast track and hopefully we’re going to be there or thereabouts.

“We weren’t originally going to go to the Palace House, but his confidence was so high after his two wins at Lingfield and Pontefract we thought we’d give it a crack and this has been the plan since.”



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West hoping Live In The Dream can show Temple zoom

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Adam West is confident his stable star Live In The Dream will prove “a force to be reckoned with” in the Betfred Temple Stakes at Haydock on Saturday.

The four-year-old won sprint handicaps at Sandown and Chester last season and kicked off 2023 with an all-weather victory at Lingfield before following up on soft ground at Pontefract.

Those successive triumphs earned him a step up to Group Three level in the Palace House Stakes at Newmarket three weeks ago and he made much of the running before being mowed down late by Vadream.

West acknowledges his charge has plenty on his plate on Merseyside this weekend, with returning stars The Platinum Queen and Dramatised among his likely rivals, but the Epsom-based trainer is hopeful he can make race fitness count and secure Group Two honours.

“I’ve just watched him do his last blow and we’re very happy with him,” said West.

“He has a lot of things in his favour and a couple of the horses in front of him (in the betting) have yet to have a run (this season). As much as these trainers can ready them, they’re serious horses and won’t be going undercooked, having a run in a sprint is a big advantage.

“If we get a nice draw we’ll be a force to be reckoned with, I think.”

Live In The Dream has not run on ground quicker than good since his Sandown success of last spring, but West views the switch to a faster surface as a positive rather than a negative.

Live In The Dream (left) chases home Vadream in the Palace House Stakes at Newmarket
Live In The Dream (left) chases home Vadream in the Palace House Stakes at Newmarket (Nigel French/PA)

He added: “He should be a little bit better on better ground. The soft ground has done his confidence good as he’s been able to dominate and is going in there really happy, but now we’ve actually got a surface that lets him utilise his speed a little bit more it can only be a good thing.”

West has not entered Live In The Dream for Royal Ascot next month and is not planning to supplement no matter how he fares this weekend.

“We made the decision before the Palace House that we weren’t going to Ascot,” said West.

“You get tempted when you’ve got a good horse that’s in-form to enter in everything and try to do everything, but we’re trying to keep a clear path and the stiffer five (furlongs) would be going away from what he’s good at.”



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Tate expecting Royal Aclaim to take high rank this year

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A Group One gap on James Tate’s training CV could be filled this year by Royal Aclaim, who is set to return to action in Saturday’s Betfred Temple Stakes at Haydock.

The filly was sent off 5-2 favourite to provide Tate with a breakthrough success in the Nunthorpe last season, but finished sixth behind Highfield Princess.

On her only outing afterwards she was third in a French Group Three – but, as the Nunthorpe winner showed, sprinters tend to improve with racing and with just five runs under her belt, Royal Aclaim has plenty of scope for improvement.

“The sprinting division is often open at this stage of the year and we don’t know what will turn out to be best. Stars always emerge in the sprinting division and we are hoping she will be one of them,” said Tate.

“She is a bit bigger and a bit stronger, but she is really well in herself at the moment and is moving really well.

“We are really hopeful she can pick up where she left off and improve a little bit. She has only had five races in her life so surely she is going to improve.”

Tate has trained other Group-winning sprinters, like Invincible Army and Far Above, but feels Royal Aclaim could be the one to take him to the next level.

“In natural talent at home she is right at the top, but it is about what they can do on the track and she needs to just be a little bit more streetwise and get those sprinting muscles,” he said.

“Sadly I haven’t got a Group One on the CV yet. She has definitely got the talent, but she has obviously only got five runs to her belt. We are hoping she can add the other weapons to her armoury and do it for us.”



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