Diligent Harry holds on for front-running Sprint verdict
Diligent Harry was given an inspired ride by Kieran Shoemark to win a hot renewal of the BetUK All-Weather Sprint Championships Conditions Stakes at Newcastle.
Away well in the six-furlong event that brought All-Weather Championships Finals Day to a close, the 4-1 shot soon found himself on the front end and Shoemark seized the initiative aboard Clive Cox’s five-year-old to dictate matters.
At a track where it can be notoriously difficult to win from the front, Diligent Harry showed plenty of resolve when the talented cast of sprinters began to make their respective challenges and the son of Due Diligence always had extra in reserve – responding gamely to Shoemark’s urgings to repel both Witch Hunter and 7-4 favourite Annaf in a thrilling finish.
It was the second time the gelding has scooped prize-money on Finals Day having landed the three-year-old division at Lingfield in 2021 and his next outing could be in York’s 1895 Duke of York Clipper Stakes on May 18.
Cox said: “Nothing jumped well enough to lead him, ideally you’d be looking for something to give him a lead but it was wonderful.
“That’s twice on Good Friday now he’s collected. At Lingfield a couple of years ago and now here. Now I’m really looking forward to the summer with him.
He loves this day! 😁
Diligent Harry wins the BetUK All-Weather Sprint Championships Conditions Stakes 🏆#ITVRacing | @NewcastleRaces | @KShoemark pic.twitter.com/7qrJXRtufK
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) April 7, 2023
“I think there’s a big pot on the turf to win with him. We’ve always thought highly of him and we’ve campaigned him accordingly. With a little bit of confidence, I think he can be exciting for the rest of the summer.
“He’s in the Duke of York but it’s exciting now, he’ll have got some confidence from that.
“Gelding has certainly helped him and he’s matured. I’m really excited.”
Shoemark said: “That was probably plan D. It didn’t go to plan at all, as Diligent Harry usually pulls himself up in front. I was talking to the other jockeys in the stalls and absolutely no one wanted to go forward. He pinged the gates and I had no choice in it.
“He travelled like a dream today, quickened really good from the two to the one, but I just felt that he was waiting for another horse in the last furlong.
“I had committed to him in all fairness, even though Vadream was in the race, and I was always going to ride him. I am just delighted for the whole team. He was the class horse in the race and he deserves it.”
