Tag Archive for: Valvano

Valvano backed to show true worth in November Handicap

/in /by

Valvano will try to make up for lost time and end his season on a high note in Saturday’s Virgin Bet November Handicap at Doncaster.

Trained by Ralph Beckett, Valvano was a six-length maiden winner last year and finished second to subsequent 2000 Guineas and Sussex Stakes winner Notable Speech on his seasonal bow.

A setback then saw him miss a significant part of the campaign, but his two runs since returning in September have resulted in encouraging third-placed finishes behind horses who have gone on to strike at Listed level.

“We thought he was going to be a very good horse at the start of the year, but he’s had an interrupted season,” said Alex Elliott, racing adviser to owners Valmont.

“This is a race we’ve always had in the back of our minds, I think conditions should suit.

“Stretching him out for the trip should suit him, Hector (Crouch, jockey) thought that the last time, so we’re looking forward to it.

“He’s a Night Of Thunder and they seem to appreciate a bit of juice in the ground, so that should help him.

“We thought he was going to be a better horse than his official mark would suggest, so hopefully he can prove that to be true.”

Beckett has a second runner in Lord Melbourne, due to be ridden by 5lb claimer Jack Doughty, while David Menuisier also has two chances, in the shape of Waxing Gibbous and Master Builder.

Minstrel Knight in the winners enclosure at York
Minstrel Knight at York (Molly Hunter/PA)

Ed Bethell is another double-handed with the hat-trick-seeking Minstrel Knight and Chillingham.

Minstrel Knight was five lengths too good for Filibustering over a mile and three-quarters at Haydock in September and franked that form by again beating the Tim Easterby inmate into second in the William Hill Finale Handicap at York last month.

Bethell is expecting a big race from the well-handicapped three-year-old, who is dropping back in trip.

He said: “He’s a progressive horse. He’s done nothing wrong this autumn.

“We gave him a break mid-summer with this autumn campaign in mind. I think he’s very well weighted off a low weight to run a big race.

“Whether dropping back to a mile and a half is the right thing I’m not sure, as he’s looked like an out-and-out stayer in the races he’s won recently at Haydock and York, but he goes there in great nick and I’m really looking forward to running him.

“Ending the season on a high with 23 runners is going to be difficult and he’s got Chillingham in there as well, who is not a walkover.”

Chillingham is likewise back in trip after a smart effort when second to the evergreen Not So Sleepy over an extended one mile and five furlongs at Newbury last time out.

Bethell added: “We’ll have to keep our fingers crossed. He ran a blinder (at Newbury) and he ran well for a very long way in the Ebor.

“He’s been trained for this race and he’s in really good nick. It would be very hard to split the two of them, to be honest, and I wouldn’t want to put my neck on the line to say which one would win, because I think they’ll both go very well, hopefully.

“We’ll see how they get on on Saturday and then take things from there, but I’d imagine they’ll have a winter off and then come back for next year and there are races in France. The staying programme in France is possibly the strongest, so we might look at that next year.”

Gary Moore trains Miller Spirit alongside his son, Josh
Gary Moore trains Miller Spirit alongside his son, Josh (John Walton/PA)

Miller Spirit, meanwhile, is on a four-timer for Gary and Josh Moore, following a successful campaign that has included a notable Epsom ‘Derby’ double in the versions for jumps jockeys and apprentices, although he would prefer softer ground on Town Moor.

Josh Moore said: “He’s done remarkably well, he’s won five races this season from good ground to heavy ground. As his mark’s gone up, it’s mostly gone up when it’s been on the heavy ground. That’s probably why it has gone up so much, but he’s become a consistent horse.

“It’s going to be hard work for him, but he’s in good form. He’s working well, so hopefully he can give a good account of himself.”



Try Tix for Better Tote Returns

You Got To Me firing Classic dreams for Valmont

/in /by

It can take plenty of patience to unearth a Classic contender, but You Got To Me heads to Epsom giving co-owners Valmont plenty to dream about as their considered investment begins to bear fruit.

Owned in conjunction with Newsells Park Stud, the Ralph Beckett-trained daughter of Nathaniel announced herself as a Betfred Oaks contender when making all in the hands of Hector Crouch in Lingfield’s Oaks Trial last weekend.

Cut to as short as 10-1 for Epsom after being given a masterful ride from Crouch, her owners can now begin to envisage their go-to pilot recreating that Lingfield triumph in another undulating part of Surrey later this month.

“She was a filly we always liked last year, but with her physique and her pedigree, she was always going to make a better three-year-old when she stepped up in trip,” explained Alex Elliott, racing adviser for the owners.

“She did it the hard way and didn’t make it easy for herself in the first part of the race, but hopefully the freshness will have left her now and we can ride a bit more of a race on her at Epsom and we’re looking forward to that.

“Hector rides the majority of ours and knows them well. He didn’t get into a fight with her and knows her well from home and I thought he was very good on her.

“Our programme is we buy more of a three-year-old type so it takes a bit of patience and foresight, but these are the races we want to be tackling and hopefully we’re assembling a nice team of horses to do that.”

You Got To Me (left) winning at Lingfield
You Got To Me (left) winning at Lingfield (Steve Paston/PA)

Although not strangers to the winner’s enclosure, the Valmont team, who have been active players at the major sales over the past few seasons, are finally developing a squad of horses that could make their white, pink and blue silks a regular feature in some of the Flat season’s biggest contests.

Four-year-olds Salt Bay and Ngiri have been standout performers for the owners in recent years and continue to ply their trade at a high level.

But now You Got To Me gives them their first real Classic contender, while the likes of Valvano, Feigning Madness and Moon Over Miami could all have big-race aspirations later in the season.

Valvano impressed on his debut at Nottingham last autumn
Valvano impressed on his debut at Nottingham last autumn (Simon Marper/PA)

Valvano was last seen finishing second to 2000 Guineas hero Notable Speech at Kempton, but his own Classic ambitions had to be put on hold following a setback. He is currently working his way back to race fitness as connections still have high hopes for the well-entered son of Night Of Thunder.

“We got a little bit of a hold up with Valvano which meant we had to miss the Derby trials, so we took him out of the Derby,” explained Elliott.

“We’re just letting the horse tell us when he’s ready. We obviously think he’s an exciting prospect and there is no panic with a horse of his potential. Hopefully he is still in line for a big year.”



Try Tix for Better Tote Returns

Classic trial on the cards for Valvano

/in /by

Valvano is set for a step up in distance following his encouraging return behind 2000 Guineas hopeful Notable Speech at Kempton.

An impressive winner of a heavy ground maiden at Nottingham last October, the Ralph Beckett-trained colt was tasked with taking on Godolphin’s highly-regarded and unbeaten track-and-trip specialist for his return in a conditions race won by some top operators over the years.

The son of Night Of Thunder lost little in defeat when headed late on by the speedy winner – who was cut across the boards for the 2000 Guineas in the aftermath – and having blown away the cobwebs and confirmed the promise of his excellent debut, connections can now look forward to moving up in distance and a possible run in a Classic trial next.

“We knew we were going to use Saturday as a stepping stone and we know that he is going to want 10 furlongs plus and probably with a bit of juice in the ground, so for Valvano to go a mile round Kempton and take on a horse who has every chance of taking his chance in the Guineas, it was always going to be a tough ask,” said Alex Elliott, adviser to owners Valmont.

“It will have done him good to get the freshness out of him and it was an improvement on his debut and will have taught him something. We look forward to stepping him up in trip now and we will probably look at a trial, I suppose.

“The winner looks a cut above in terms of going a mile and you would like to think if we could make the same improvement as we did from a maiden going into a conditions race when going up in trip in preferred conditions, we could have a really smart horse hopefully.”

With the feeling Valvano has a preference for cut in the ground, weather conditions could dictate where he steps up in trip and although he holds an entry for the Betfred Derby, it could be the French equivalent at Chantilly that becomes a longer-term objective.

Valvano (right) in action at Kempton
Valvano (right) in action at Kempton (Steven Paston/PA)

Elliott continued: “Ralph thinks from his pedigree he is going to want a little bit of rain and I think he is going to be ground dependent.

“On the bottom side of his pedigree there is a lot of stamina, being out of a Duke Of Marmalade mare. But Night Of Thunder doesn’t really get them to stay that far. Ten furlongs could be his optimum for now but I think Ralph is pretty confident the horse could stay even further.

“He’s in the Dante, but wherever the rain is, whether that is York or Chester or something like that, if that went to plan, we could look at going to France for the French Derby.

“We’ll see and it’s a long way away and for now it is nice to see him back and make the progression. Hopefully he can take another step forward next time.”

Fellow Valmont-owned three-year-old Feigning Madness could also put his Classic hopes to the test when he makes his return in trial action at either Epsom or Lingfield.

The son of Ulysses somewhat surprised his team when going unbeaten in two starts as a two-year-old and as well as being a candidate for the Derby, the colt is also seen as a possible St Leger prospect for later in the campaign.

“He ran above expectation last year, he ran at Newbury first time and we thought he would be green, which he was, but we didn’t really expect him to do what he did,” continued Elliott.

“To then carry a penalty the way he did at Newmarket when the horse was on his head the whole way, you have to think the horse is going to stay super well.

“He’s going to come back in a trial and it will either be the Blue Riband Trial at Epsom or Lingfield. He has had two runs now and has learnt a lot. He is crying out for a step up in trip and we’re going to try to pick our easiest way to Epsom – if we can run well in a trial, then why not take a shot.

“He’s a well-balanced horse and his work has been good this year, which is pleasing everybody, and I think the further he goes, the better, so you could hopefully see him in something at Doncaster at the end of the season.”

Feigning Madness claimed the scalp of Ed Walker’s Harper’s Ferry on his second start and it was interesting to see another of the Valmont string, Moon Over Miami, also finish ahead of that rival when making a taking debut at Doncaster at the beginning of the Flat turf season.

Moon Over Miami impressed at Doncaster
Moon Over Miami impressed at Doncaster (Nigel French/PA)

As he is a gelding, Classic events are off the cards, but connections are keen to see the Kimpton Downs inmate continue his on-track education with a view to lining up at Royal Ascot in the summer.

“The time boys went crazy over Moon Over Miami but with him being a gelding, he can’t take in one of the trials so we will probably go for another novice with a penalty,” added Elliott.

“I think Ralph has his eye on something Greenham weekend – I think there is a 10 furlong novice there – and I guess we will be trying to get three runs into him before Royal Ascot.

“We’re just a little hamstrung with him being a gelding as to what we do next, but he’s exciting.”



Try Tix for Better Tote Returns