Tag Archive for: York

Sir Mark Prescott has cherished memories of special York moments

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York Racecourse holds a special place in the affections of many within racing, including Sir Mark Prescott, who kickstarted his training career on the Knavesmire before returning to win some of the track’s biggest prizes.

The Heath House handler’s career was in its infancy when he sent Heave To up the A1 to contest the Ford Cortina Cup in 1971, but it was a victory which would become the springboard for one of the greatest training careers ever curated and by one of racing’s most decorated characters.

“York has been very good to me and in my first season I won with a horse called Heave To,” said Prescott.

Trainer Sir Mark Prescott has enjoyed a long career as a trainer
Trainer Sir Mark Prescott has enjoyed a long career as a trainer (John Walton/PA)

“It was the richest sprint handicap in Britain at the time and as it’s name implied, it was very, very richly endowed. It was for six-furlong three-year-old sprinters and him winning made a great difference to my first couple of years.

“It would be most memorable for me because it came when I needed it and he would go on to win the Victoria Cup, he really helped get me going.”

Many York patrons will also remember fondly – as does Prescott himself – the gamble landed with Graham Rock’s Pasternak in the race formally known as the Magnet Cup and now the John Smith’s, leg one of an audacious double which would be completed in the autumn when scooping the Cambridgeshire.

However, York’s most prestigious handicap of them all and the centrepiece of the Ebor Festival would enter Prescott’s grasp in 1994 when Hasten To Add finally relieved his handler of the heartache of some previous crushing defeats.

“Before York everybody thought he had won the Northumberland Plate except a very wise old punter who was there,” reminisced Prescott on his agonising reversal prior to the Ebor at Newcastle.

“I thought he had won, television, everyone thought he had won.

“Yet as I pranced down to meet him convinced of what a wonderful trainer I was, this old punter who had been in the police force came up to me and said ‘I have reason to believe that you may not have won’ which was such a lovely phrase and way of disappointing me and of course he was right.

“He had been second in the Duke of Edinburgh and second in the Northumberland Plate and he’d also been fourth beaten at the shortest price ever in the Cesarewitch, so York was a great day and came at the right time, it was good to win the race and get it ticked off.”

For all the handicaps landed and plots successfully accomplished, Prescott has always been more than just a one-trick pony and over the years he has returned to the Knavesmire with the cream of the Heath House crop to take home some of the Ebor Festival’s most prestigious events.

Pivotal gave long-time Prescott owners Cheveley Park Stud one of their greatest days when battling to a narrow Nunthorpe Stakes victory in 1996, but an even more dramatic finish to York’s sprint showcase came eight years ago when Marsha provided the veteran trainer one of his most memorable triumphs of recent times.

Marsha (left) narrowly wins Nunthorpe
Marsha (left) narrowly wins Nunthorpe (Simon Cooper/PA)

With Marsha going head-to-head with American hotpot Lady Aurelia in the closing stages, the race is remembered by many for Frankie Dettori’s steadfast confidence as the pair of courageous mares flashed past the winning line in unison.

Watching from afar, Prescott was one of those to be initially convinced by the mercurial Italian’s bravado at the finish, but gasps would soon ring out around the racecourse as the judge delivered the verdict in Marsha’s favour, with the victory proving a catalyst for a record 6,000,000 guineas fee at the sales later that year.

“She won a nose when no one thought she had got it, including poor Mr Dettori,” explained Prescott.

“I was looking at yearlings at Miss (Kirsten) Rausing’s in Ireland at the time so I wasn’t there and I was watching on television and thought what a shame she got beat. I went straight back to what I was doing, so I certainly didn’t read it right.

“Richard Hoiles, the commentator, was the only person who got it right, he said something like ‘Frankie thinks he has won it, but I’m not sure he is right’ – it was his great day as well.

“Everyone you would meet in the street said they owned a bit of Marsha and when she sold for the record price, she secured the future of the Elite Racing Club and their breeding operation forever.”

York may have been the defining moment of Marsha’s career, but for one of Prescott’s greatest alumni, the Knavesmire proved just a stopping point on the road to greater things when Alpinista set up her historic Prix de l’Arc de Triomph bid with victory in the Yorkshire Oaks.

Exceptional on her travels, but still in the eyes of many swimming under the radar when making the trip to Yorkshire somewhat under duress in August 2022, she headed home with a fifth straight Group One to her name and ParisLongchamp glory within reach.

Alpinista in action in the Yorkshire Oaks
Alpinista in action in the Yorkshire Oaks (Mike Egerton/PA)

“She had been doing a lot of her Group One winning abroad and the Arc was the aim. I had it in mind that we had beaten all the French fillies before in the previous Group One so we would go for the Prix Vermeille where you knew you could beat them,” explained Prescott on his initial reluctance to head to York.

“However, Miss Rausing said she would like it to be York as Alpinista had never won a Group One in England. If it was left to me she would have gone to the Vermeille, but as it turned out Miss Rausing was right.

“She became favourite for the Arc almost straight away which was when the worries started! From then on it all began to get tense.

“She was always under the radar and she won all those Group Ones in succession yet there wasn’t any real pressure on us until after York and building up to the Arc.

“I had no one ringing up asking for quotes on how she was doing or anything and she had won five Group Ones! But then all of a sudden the phone did start ringing, quite regularly as well!”

Lady Iman supplemented for Nunthorpe Stakes

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Lady Iman will bid to become the first two-year-old since Kingsgate Native in 2007 to win the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes after being added to the York showpiece at a cost of £40,000.

Ger Lyons stated his intention to send the high-ranking juvenile to the Knavesmire to take on her elders when announcing lightweight specialist Joe Fanning will take the ride and the supplementary entry was confirmed when the Molecomb Stakes winner appeared among the 19 names going forward to Friday’s contest.

Another two-year-old has been supplemented in the shape of Michael Bell’s Spicy Marg. Rumstar (Jonathan Portman) is another to be added. Australian ace Asfoora is one of the standout names remaining in the mix as Henry Dwyer’s popular international runner bids to better last year’s fourth in the race.

Richard Hughes won the Nunthorpe twice as a jockey and could taste success in the race again with Sayidah Dariyan who was a Group Three course winner over six furlongs last time, while John Quinn saddled home favourite Highland Princess to win this in 2022 and now alongside son Sean will attempt to repeat the dose with King George Stakes hero Jm Jungle.

Second to Jm Jungle at Goodwood was Jack Davison’s She’s Quality who has been knocking on the door all season long. Joining She’s Quality on the journey from Ireland will be Adrian Murray’s Sapphire Stakes winner Arizona Blaze.

“He’s going to York and it looks an open race,” said Murray.

“He’s got a similar profile to Power Blue actually and he always shows up on the day, he never runs a bad race.

“His form stands up well and win or lose he will be bang there, even in defeat he’s been a brilliant horse for us.”

There is a field of eight for the supporting Weatherbys Lonsdale Cup Stakes where John and Thady Gosden’s Gold Cup hero Trawlerman could face an Ascot rematch with Aidan O’Brien’s Illinois.

The Gosden team could also call on stable stalwart Sweet William, while Karl Burke’s Al Qareem has won twice at the Knavesmire this season and is another interesting name in the mix.

There are 11 remaining in the Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Gimcrack Stakes where Charlie Appleby’s Norfolk Stakes runner-up and recent Rose Bowl Stakes winner Wise Approach sets the standard alongside Ed Walker’s consistent Do Or Do Not – last seen placing for the third time in succession at Group level in the Vintage Stakes at Goodwood.

Bruised foot scuppers Rosallion’s Jacques le Marois bid

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Rosallion will be rerouted to York after a bruised foot ruled him out of Sunday’s Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville.

The four-year-old was due to bid for Group One glory over a mile in France after being beaten just a nose and a neck in his last two starts at Royal Ascot and Goodwood.

Trainer Richard Hannon announced on Friday evening that his stable star will no longer make the trip though, having bruised his foot earlier in the week.

Rosallion will instead tackle the seven-furlong Sky Bet City of York Stakes next weekend, with the Knavesmire contest upgraded to Group One level this year.

In a post on X, Hannon said: “Unfortunately, we have decided to pull Rosallion out of the Prix Jaques le Marois on Sunday. He has a bruised foot that he picked up in training this week which has been treated but we aren’t completely happy and feel it only right to give him the extra days.

“This means we won’t make the trip over to France but will instead head to York. We are very happy with the way he is looking and working, and will head for the Group One City of York next weekend with the support of (owner) Sheikh Mohammed Obaid who wants the best for the horse.

“It’s disappointing for everyone involved but the horse’s welfare, as always, comes first.”

Adrian Keatley in confident mood ahead of Kihavah outing

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Last year’s runner-up Kihavah is “better than ever” as he aims to go one better in next week’s Sky Bet Ebor at York.

Adrian Keatley’s dual-purpose performer has been in great form recently, winning the Queen’s Cup on the Flat at Musselburgh before finishing second in the Summer Hurdle at Market Rasen.

Last year he beat all bar Henry de Bromhead’s Magical Zoe having had just two behind him with three furlongs to run and despite racing off 9lb higher, Keatley can see no reason why he should not run well again.

“He’s better than ever it seems. He lumped around top weight in the Summer Hurdle, 10lb more than he had the previous year and he was a little unfortunate to get beat as we probably just kicked 200 yards too soon,” said Keatley.

“I think he was giving the winner 17lb and it just told late on.

“He likes York which stands for a lot, it just depends what runs on the day but we’ll be hoping for a very good run.

“He was second last year in it, he was unfortunate not to win on his last run on the Flat as PJ (McDonald) got locked away on the winner and there was nothing he could have done.

“We’ll ride him for luck and hopefully he can win off the mark he’s on.”

Estrange camp hoping for rain ahead of Yorkshire Oaks

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Rain will have to fall at York if Estrange is to challenge Aidan O’Brien’s dominance in Thursday’s Pertemps Network Yorkshire Oaks, with Minnie Hauk and Whirl among four contenders for the Ballydoyle handler.

Estrange is one of just two British-trained contenders alongside Ed Walker’s Qilin Queen, with the other quartet all trained by O’Brien.

Minnie Hauk appears O’Brien’s chief hope after completing the English-Irish Oaks double at Epsom and the Curragh. Whirl, a neck behind her stablemate at Epsom and a dual Group One winner since, is also in the potential line-up alongside Garden Of Eden and Bedtime Story.

Minnie Hauk (left) defeats stablemate Whirl in the Oaks at Epsom
Minnie Hauk (left) defeats stablemate Whirl in the Oaks at Epsom (David Davies/The Jockey Club)

Estrange, trained by David O’Meara for owner-breeders Cheveley Park Stud, progressed through the levels to take the Listed Gillies Fillies’ Stakes at Doncaster last year before returning to action this term to win both the Lester Piggott Stakes and the Lancashire Oaks at Haydock.

Her only defeat to date came on good to firm ground at Yarmouth last season and connections are hoping at least some rain falls over York as they look to chart a path to the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp in October.

“It depends which forecast you look at, and I am probably guilty of looking at the one I want to look at rather than the one I don’t!” said Cheveley Park’s managing director Chris Richardson on the chance of rain at York.

“But she’s very well, a bit of ease in the ground would be helpful. She’s working well but this just happens to be a year of fast ground.

“We’re working back from the autumn so we will see how we go and how we plan from here on out.

“If she can’t run then there are some entries abroad we can look at, she’s in the Fillies & Mares (on Champions Day at Ascot) and obviously the Arc later in the year.”

Royal Fixation goes to post before the Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket
Royal Fixation goes to post before the Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket (Joe Giddens/PA)

Day two of the Ebor Festival kicks off with the Sky Bet Lowther Stakes, a Group Two event over six furlongs, for which 12 juvenile fillies have stood their ground.

Walker’s Royal Fixation, second by a neck to Venetian Sun in the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes, heads the market, while Ryan Moore is booked to ride Richard Hughes’ 12-length Haydock winner America Queen.

George Scott’s Princess Margaret runner-up Staya is in the mix, as are Tim Easterby’s ultra-consistent Argentine Tango and Brian Ellison’s Wor Faayth.

Aidan O’Brien holds key to Great Voltigeur field

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Aidan O’Brien dominates the confirmations for the Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes at York on Wednesday with six of the 11 entries.

His potential team is led by dual Derby winner Lambourn, who also holds a Juddmonte International entry, along with Aftermath, who has yet to run this season, Mount Kilimanjaro, Shackleton, Stay True and Thrice.

Paddy Twomey’s Carmers would be a major contender if he runs as he is unbeaten in three starts and broke the track record in the Queen’s Vase.

Pride Of Arras could return to the scene of Dante victory in May, although Ralph Beckett’s charge subsequently disappointed in the Derby at Epsom and was gelded following another lacklustre showing in the Irish equivalent.

George Scott’s Bay City Roller, winner of the Champagne Stakes last season, gets the chance to run over a trip his trainer thinks he will excel at for the first time while the Andrew Balding-trained Furthur and William Haggas’ Arabian Force, who was supplemented for the race, complete the list.

A total of 15 colts remain in the Tattersalls Acomb Stakes, that last year contained The Lion In Winter and Ruling Court.

Adrian Keatley has a very interesting contender in Rochfortbridge, a debut winner at Ayr when he beat Chesham runner-up and subsequent Listed winner Thesecretadversary.

“Taking him to Ayr was always going to help us decide whether he went for the Acomb or the Convivial Maiden,” said Keatley.

“We were delighted he put his hand up to run in something like the Acomb.

“The third horse has come out and won at Catterick easily last week as well as Fozzy Stack’s horse winning a Listed race since, so the form is rock solid.

“He was given a big rating and we’re confident he can go close.

“I was quietly confident we’d be second to Fozzy’s horse but it was nice to win and we’re delighted with him.”

O’Brien could run Dorset, Italy, Montreal or Neolithic while Charlie Appleby has Distant Storm and Pacific Avenue engaged.

Ed Walker’s Do Or Do Not, who is still a maiden having placed in three Group races, Goodwood Galaxy, Hankelow and May Angel are others who have shown smart form already that could run.

Daryz handed International mission at York

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Daryz is on course for next week’s Juddmonte International at York after satisfying connections in a gallop on Thursday morning.

The Sea The Stars colt is in unbeaten in four races this term having been unraced at two last year and as a Group Two winner last time out, his team feel the timing is right for him to step into the best company.

Nemone Routh, racing manager for owners the Aga Khan Studs, confirmed that Daryz sufficiently impressed trainer Francis-Henri Graffard and is set to run on Wednesday.

“I’ve spoken to the trainer and jockey because Mickael Barzalona rode him and they were very happy with his piece of work. He’d taken a step forward from his piece of work last week and they were very happy with his condition,” said Routh.

“He worked with Sibayan and Surabad, a Group Two winner and Group Three placed so good horses, and after it the plan is now to run at York if everything goes fine.

“It’s obviously a big ask from what he has been doing so far. The field is a strong one and we’re under no illusions it’s going to be a very tough race, but Francis took the view that the horse is in great form, it will be fast ground which he handles well and we’ve always rated him, so we’ll see how good he is next week.”

Daryz has yet to venture further than ParisLongchamp and Saint-Cloud and Routh admits travelling for the first time to potentially take on the likes of Eclipse victor Delacroix and Japanese runner Danon Decile presents a real test.

Eclipse winner Delacroix also featured in the International confirmations
Eclipse winner Delacroix also featured in the International confirmations (Steven Paston/Jockey Club)

“Francis just wanted to see that the horse was on good terms with himself, which he showed us this morning, but the question mark with him is he has been learning on the job, he’s still a bit immature,” said Routh.

“It’s going to be a lot for him to travel for the first time, see everything new and then come up against such a top-class field as well. That’s the caveat with him.

“We were very impressed last time though, in a race which wasn’t run to suit him. He pulled too hard as they were crawling but then he really picked up. That was a Group Two so you feel it makes sense to run in a Group One and this came up at the right time.”

A total of nine horses have been confirmed, with Aidan O’Brien responsible for Delacroix, dual Derby hero Lambourn, who also has the Great Voltiguer as an option, and the top-class filly Whirl.

John and Thady Gosden’s Prince of Wales’s scorer Ombudsman will have the benefit of a pacemaker in the supplemented Birr Castle, with See The Fire and Anmaat also left in.

Lambourn still ‘definitely’ in the Voltigeur mix, says O’Brien

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Aidan O’Brien is giving serious consideration to running his dual Derby winner Lambourn in the Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes at York next week.

The Australia colt emulated his sire by striking Classic gold at Epsom and the Curragh in June and is now ready to step up his preparations for a major autumn target.

For a long time another Classic bid in the St Leger at Doncaster seemed likely, but with stablemate Scandinavia throwing his hat into that particular ring with victory in the Goodwood Cup, Lambourn may instead be bound for Paris and a tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

When asked whether Lambourn could step back to Group Two level on the Knavesmire, O’Brien told Sky Sports Racing: “He could, we’ve a lot of horses kind of ready for the Voltigeur, some are just about ready and some are probably not going to make it.

“Lambourn definitely could. We’ll see how he is and his next target then can be either the Leger or the Arc. I think the lads are thinking Scandinavia is going to be trained for the Leger now – if the ground was nice he would go there and Lambourn wouldn’t go there, but if it was the other way Lambourn would go there.

“Lambourn probably needs a race between now and the Leger or the Arc and it (Great Voltigeur) is a race that could suit him.

“He’s a straightforward, honest, no-nonsense horse. He does what he has to do and doesn’t do any more.”

Another Ballydoyle inmate with Arc aspirations is last year’s third Los Angeles, who made an excellent start to his campaign with successive wins at the Curragh but could finish only fifth as a hot favourite for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Los Angeles and Ryan Moore after winning the Tattersalls Gold Cup
Los Angeles and Ryan Moore after winning the Tattersalls Gold Cup (Niall Carson/PA)

Having since enjoyed a mid-season break, he is set to return to competitive action in the Newbridge Silverware Royal Whip Stakes at the Curragh on Saturday.

“We were thinking he could go to the Royal Whip and go and improve a lot,” O’Brien added.

“He’s had a break since Ascot and we were thinking if he went to the Curragh this weekend he could go to the Prix Foy as an Arc trial or he could go to the Irish Champion Stakes as an Arc trial.

“All those things are open, but he’s just starting back and he’ll be running with no pressure win, lose or draw (this weekend). We’d just like to get a run into him to get him ready for the autumn.

“The Arc has been his target all the time. We tightened him up a bit too much in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and because of that he just had to have a little rest. He’s come back happy, but will progress a lot before the Arc.”

O’Brien also had news of Henri Matisse, last seen finishing third in the Sussex Stakes behind shock 150-1 winner Qirat.

O’Brien said: “He’ll go probably for the Prix du Moulin. Goodwood was a little bit of a disaster – it was really only a four-furlong dash in the second half of the race.

“It was one of those races that is hard to work out, but we were very happy with the run, Ryan (Moore) was very happy with him and we think he’s still progressing.

“We haven’t seen the best of him yet, we think.”

Jm Jungle pleases in final gallop ahead of Nunthorpe

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Jm Jungle came through his final piece of work before next week’s Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes at York with flying colours.

John and Sean Quinn’s five-year-old has a remarkably consistent profile for a five-furlong sprinter, and won the Dash at Epsom in June.

He has now progressed out of handicap company and won the Group Two King George Stakes at Goodwood, sparking dreams of a second Nunthorpe in four years for the Quinns, who won with Highfield Princess in 2022.

“He came out of Goodwood absolutely fine and he’s looking well,” said John Quinn.

“He did a little piece of work this (Wednesday) morning and that will be his final piece before the Nunthorpe. We’re happy with him and he’s in good shape.

“We haven’t seen a massive change in him at home this year but he’s definitely stronger. He’s an adequate work horse without being a very good one but he’s sharper.

“He’s a five-year-old gelding now, he’s a sprinter finding his mojo and improving. All he’s done for the last season and a half is improve and improve.

“We keep seeing it and he’s another example that there’s very little between those top handicap sprinters and the Group horses.

“We’re delighted with him and looking forward to York.”

Rain – or lack of it – remains a pain for connections of Anmaat

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Anmaat appears unlikely to line up in next week’s Juddmonte International, despite the fact connections are “desperate to run him” on the Knavesmire.

Last season’s Champion Stakes hero has only been seen twice this season, pushing Los Angeles close in the Tattersalls Gold Cup in Ireland before finishing best of the rest behind Ombudsman in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Having since sidestepped the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown, trainer Owen Burrows and owners Shadwell are keen to run him at York, but underfoot conditions could again scupper his participation.

“We’re desperate to run him, but he won’t be there if it’s very fast ground and it doesn’t sound like there’s a lot of rain around,” said Shadwell’s racing manager Angus Gold.

“I was going to talk to Owen before confirmations. He says the horse is bouncing and he really wants to run him, but we’ve got the autumn ahead of us and at some stage the weather must turn.

“I fear we may not be there next week.”

Should Anmaat miss York, his next option appears to be be the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown next month ahead of the planned defence of his Champion Stakes crown at Ascot in October.

Definitely on course for York, however, is Delacroix, with Aidan O’Brien still gobsmacked by the manner of his Sandown victory, where he reeled in Ombudsman from a seemingly impossible position.

“It was the most amazing thing I ever saw, I think. He could not win at the two-furlong marker, everything had gone sideways on him, and when Ryan (Moore) got him out he still had too much ground to make up,” the Ballydoyle trainer told Sky Sports Racing.

“I think his times suggested no horse has ever covered the last two furlongs in an Eclipse the way he did and he won with his ears pricked.

“In the Derby he got taken out at the top of the hill and Ryan said it was race over straight away. We found it very easy to put a line through it, we thought a mile and a quarter was his distance and he’d two lovely runs before the Derby over a mile and a quarter.”

Channon sees Attitude fitting the bill for Nunthorpe challenge

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Jack Channon is eager to strike while the iron is hot with recent Deauville scorer Miss Attitude and add her into the mix for the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes at York next week.

The five-year-old won stylishly at Listed level at the weekend and holds an entry for Naas’ Ballyogan Stakes two days after the Nunthorpe.

However, the West Isley handler would prefer to pay the £40,000 required to supplement and take on the best around on the Knavesmire, feeling his in-form mare has the chance to make her mark in an open division.

Channon said: “I would love to be able to supplement her for the Nunthorpe next week, the quick ground which we should get there and the fast pace which always comes with the Nunthorpe should suit her down to the ground.

“This year and previous years, it’s so tight at the top of the five-furlong division and there is no real standout. On their day pretty much anything in the field could win the race if things go to plan.

“I’m not saying she’ll win it, but even if she could go and be placed in it, it would be massive for her pedigree and she’s a great mare for the team at Norman Court Stud (owners) where I’m sure she will be going at some point to be a broodmare.

“I would be really keen to give it a go, but if we don’t then we do have lots of other options as well.”

Miss Attitude is a 25-1 shot with William Hill for the Nunthorpe and reflecting on her Deauville victory, Channon added: “It was a great performance at Deauville and she did it very well.

“She’s had everything in her favour in terms of the strong pace to aim at and quick ground, but Rob (Hornby) gave her a peach of a ride.

“She’s arrived back and had a day back in the pens and we’ll see her canter tomorrow, but she seems to have come back really well and she travelled well so all looks good to the future.”

Spicy Marg all set to take on her elders in Nunthorpe

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Spicy Marg is set to be supplemented for next week’s Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes at York.

An impressive winner on her Newmarket debut in early June, Michael Bell’s charge subsequently disappointed in the Queen Mary and the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes, but bounced back to form in some style over five furlongs at Goodwood two weeks ago.

As a juvenile filly Spicy Marg will carry just eight stone if she steps up to take on her elders at Group One level on the Knavesmire and Bell is keen to roll the dice.

He said: “The plan is to give it a go. All the speed analysts seem to think she should be having a crack at it – her figures are very, very good – and she clearly is in very good form.

“I think it’s very relevant her dam (Main Desire) won two Listed races over five furlongs on the Knavesmire, so it’s in her genes she should like the track and I strongly think she will.

“We’re very happy with her and very much looking forward to it.”

Connections are ready to pay the £40,000 supplementary fee to add Spicy Marg to the Nunthorpe field at the weekend, with Hong Kong-based rider Harry Bentley booked for the ride.

“Harry is waiting for his licence to be rubber-stamped by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, he tells me that’s a formality, so the intention is for him to ride,” said Bell, who won the Nunthorpe in 2011 with Margot Did.

“She wants good, fast ground. We’ll wait until Saturday to confirm it, but the intention is very much to supplement her at this stage.”

Another filly bound for the Nunthorpe is the William Knight-trained Frost at Dawn, who was a neck second to American Affair in the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot before finishing fourth in the King George at Goodwood.

Knight said: “She doesn’t need to do much between now and then, she’s put her weight back on already.

“I just hope and pray the rain stays away at York and if it’s good to firm ground there I think she could run a massive race.

“I think she’s in the form of her life at the moment, she just looks so much stronger this year, and I think York will really suit her as a track.

“I just think it’s key that rain stays away and we get a good preparation from now into York. If she can repeat the form from her Ascot run, that puts her bang there.”

Arizona Blaze ready to light up York for Murray team

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After a weekend to remember, Adrian Murray is relishing another bid for Group One glory at York next week, when Arizona Blaze goes for gold in the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe.

While stablemate Power Blue caused a major shock against the long odds-on True Love in the Keeneland Phoenix Stakes on Saturday and Bucanero Fuerte ran out a Group Three winner on the same Curragh card, Arizona Blaze is vying for favouritism in the five-furlong feature on the Friday of the four-day Ebor Festival.

Second at the Breeders’ Cup, he has been running to a remarkably consistent level this season in a division that continues to surprise, finishing second in the Commonwealth Cup to Time For Sandals and then winning the Sapphire Stakes by a clear-cut two lengths.

Trainer Adrian Murray is in a rich vein of form
Trainer Adrian Murray is in a rich vein of form (Brian Lawless/PA)

“He’s among the favourites and that is because he always turns up on the day – hopefully he will do again in the Nunthorpe,” said Murray.

“He’s a very exciting horse, he never runs a bad race and the sprint division is wide open this year. There’s no standout horse this season, all the big sprints are being won by different horses. Ours is one of the favourites, but it’s wide open.

“I was talking to Roger O’Callaghan (owner of star two-year-old Lady Iman) the other day and they are going to York because of that, it could be a big field. It’s exciting times ahead, for sure.”

Reflecting on a big-race double for Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing he described as “unbelievable”, Murray said: “We expected a run from Bucanero, well we expected a big run from both of them, but we were taking on Aidan O’Brien in the Group One.

Power Blue and jockey David Egan with owner Kia Joorabchian at the Curragh in the winner’s enclosure
Power Blue and jockey David Egan with owner Kia Joorabchian at the Curragh in the winner’s enclosure (Damien Eagers/PA)

“I was always told never be afraid to run, they don’t win anything stood in their stable.

“Power Blue ran very quick sectionals all the way and that is what won him it, he has a high cruising speed but isn’t a horse who finds a whole lot off that speed. He can maintain a very high cruising speed.

“He’ll probably go for the National Stakes now on Champions Weekend, that will be his next target I think. He’s in at York in the sales race, but he’s a Group One winner now.

“Bucanero was just very comfortable the whole way through the race and the further they went, the more it looked like he was going to win.

“He was never out of his comfort zone and is a very good horse.”

Bucanero Fuerte in winning action
Bucanero Fuerte in winning action (Damien Eagers/PA)

Murray went on to praise his assistant Robson Aguiar and his role in the victories.

“We’re very lucky to have these horses and it’s all down to Robson, he’s sourced them and didn’t really spend fortunes on them. He’s a brilliant man at picking these horses,” said Murray.

“None of the good ones were that expensive in the grand scheme of things, but I think we got a little bit lucky with Bucanero as he’s by Wootton Bassett and we got him just before he really took off.”

Thursday gallop to determine plans for Daryz

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Unbeaten French colt Daryz faces a crucial workout on Thursday as connections ponder whether to take on the challenge of next week’s Juddmonte International at York.

The Sea The Stars colt has won each of his four starts to date, most recently impressing in the Group Two Prix Eugene Adam at Saint-Cloud in late June.

Trainer Francis-Henri Graffard saddled Calandagan to finish a close second to City Of Troy in the Juddmonte International 12 months ago and Daryz could bid to go one better on the Knavesmire.

Nemone Routh, racing manager for owners the Aga Khan Studs in France, said: “He won’t run in the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano this weekend, that’s for sure.

“We’re going to work him on Thursday and then make a decision about whether he goes to York or whether we run him next in the Prix Niel and follow a more traditional route towards the Arc, so we’ll see what he does on Thursday and make that decision then.

“He’s in good shape, we just want to be 100 per cent sure that we’re making the right call because it’s going to be a big ask going to York and we just want to see that last piece of work and make sure we’re making the right decision.

“By Thursday we’ll know a bit more about the field and the ground. The horse is in great form, but it’s going to be a big step for him so we’ll work him on Thursday, Mickael (Barzalona) will ride him, and we’ll make a decision then.”

The team have already ruled out a return to York for recent King George hero Calandagan, who has the Japan Cup as his major target for the second half of the season.

“He came out of Ascot absolutely fine and we could have gone to York, but we just felt we didn’t want to keep asking him to run at Group One level over the summer when we know we want to run him internationally at the end of the year,” Routh added.

“He’s not going back to the stud or anything, he’s staying in the yard, but we’re just not working towards a race.

“The main objective is the Japan Cup and he’ll have one run before, either in a Group Two in France or in the Champion Stakes.”

Hughes counting down to the Nunthorpe with Sayidah Dariyan

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Richard Hughes is confident he has a “great chance” of notching a second big sprinting prize of the summer when course winner Sayidah Dariyan returns to York for the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes.

The Lambourn-based former jockey registered the first Group One success of his training career when stable flagbearer No Half Measures was a shock 66-1 winner of the July Cup at Newmarket, but a day prior it was his ever-improving three-year-old filly who sparkled when winning on the Knavesmire to set up her Nunthorpe bid.

“We hope we have a great chance, she’s really going the right way,” said Hughes, who memorably won the Nunthorpe aboard both Oasis Dream and Sole Power as a rider.

“I wouldn’t swap her for anything and with No Half Measures as well we know we have two nice fillies.”

Sayidah Dariyan has barely put a foot wrong in her three-year-old career, winning a competitive conditions event at Chelmsford before bumping into the thriving Symbol Of Honour when third in Newbury’s Carnarvon Stakes and then going on to finish fourth in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot.

However, it was at York in the Summer Stakes where the Jaber Abdullah-owned three-year-old excelled in the hands of Billy Loughnane, leaving her as short as 8-1 in places for the Ebor Festival’s sprinting highlight.

“Last time when she won at York it was the first time she was ridden the way I like,” continued Hughes.

“She was covered up and ridden for a turn of foot and she just exploded. We were able to see the best of her ridden that way.

“I don’t think coming back to five furlongs will be too much of a hindrance to her and I think she’s quite fast.”

Sayidah Dariyan will be joined on her journey to Yorkshire by stablemate America Queen who will also sport the Abdullah silks when she lines up for the Sky Bet Lowther Stakes.

A 4-1 chance for the Group Two event after blitzing the opposition by 12 lengths on debut at Haydock, Weathercock House handler Hughes is hopeful of another bold showing.

“She definitely runs in the Lowther and we’re very pleased with her,” continued Hughes.

“We hadn’t seen what she did at Haydock at home. We thought she would win at Haydock but when the jockey gave her a slap and she took off, it was what we hadn’t seen before so hopefully she’s saving more for the track.

“We’ve got a nice bunch of two-year-olds who are going the right way and we’re really pleased with them.”