Princess Zoe returns to Galway to test Listed potential

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Dual Galway Festival winner Princess Zoe is set to move up to Listed level on her return to Ballybrit for the Ardilaun Hotel Oyster Stakes.

Since finishing second on her Irish debut for Tony Mullins at Navan in June, the German recruit has clocked a hat-trick of wins – with a facile success at the Curragh supplemented by a pair of lucrative premier handicap wins in the space of six days at Galway.

The five-year-old daughter of Jukebox Jury goes in search of some valuable black type in Tuesday’s mile-and-a-half feature.

“She’s gone from a rating of 64 up to 101 – now she has to prove it in Listed company,” Mullins said, in a video posted on his Twitter account.

“If it goes smoothly we’ll probably consider the Prix du Cadran (at ParisLongchamp next month).

“The steps she has taken are huge, but now we’re in the open league.

“They say Galway is quite an idiosyncratic track – and when they handle it, it’s very inviting to chance going back again.”

Princess Zoe is due to face 15 rivals, with several powerhouse yards represented.

Aidan O’Brien saddles a trio of runners in Ennistymon, Elizabethofaragon and Holy Roman Empress – as does his son Joseph, with Mighty Blue, Snapraeceps and Lady Dahlia all declared.

Joseph’s younger brother Donnacha O’Brien also has a representative in Oh So True – while the Ger Lyons-trained Yaxeni, Dermot Weld’s Katiba and Jessica Harrington’s pair of Barrington Court and Royal Free Hotel also feature.

Alkumait has Mill Reef target

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Marcus Tregoning may step Alkumait up in class for the Group Two Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury later this month.

The son of Showcasing got off the mark with an authoritative performance in a Goodwood maiden over six furlongs, having shown promise on his debut at Newbury.

“I think the plan at the moment is to run him in the Mill Reef two weeks from last Saturday – that’s where he’s probably going to go,” said Tregoning.

“If he didn’t go there, he could step up a furlong, possibly, and go for the Horris Hill. He may even do both – but at the moment it looks like we’re going to enter him in the Mill Reef and have a look at that.”

The Whitsbury trainer also has a decent prospect in the lightly-raced three-year-old Modmin, who landed the odds in emphatic style at Goodwood on his third start to give jockey Jim Crowley a 2000th career success.

Tregoning sees the Tamayuz gelding’s future as a handicapper over a mile.

He added: “I think he’s pretty decent class handicapper, shall I say. He goes on any ground.

“I’ve always been a fan of Tamayuz. I haven’t had many of them, I’ve had or two. He was obviously a good horse by Nayef.

“Modmin is certainly not slow. We haven’t got a race in mind just yet. It wasn’t a very good race the other day, but I’d say he’s mildly progressive at this moment.”

Kirstenbosch has Pride Stakes date on her radar

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The Pride Stakes at Newmarket could be the next objective for Kirstenbosch after chasing home the brilliant Enable at Kempton on Saturday.

James Fanshawe’s filly was a 33-1 shot for the Group Three September Stakes, having finished fifth in the Upavon Fillies’ Stakes at Salisbury last month on what was her first competitive appearance of 2020.

And while the daughter of Mount Nelson was predictably no match for John Gosden’s dual Arc heroine, Kirstenbosch delighted her connections as she narrowly beat the globetrotting Melbourne Cup contender Prince Of Arran to the runner-up spot.

Fanshawe said: “Poor old Kirstenbosch, she barely got a mention! Obviously all the attention was on Enable and nobody really noticed Kirstenbosch ran the race of her life to be second.

“She got some black type, which was the plan, and we were delighted with her.

“We might look at the Pride Stakes at Newmarket (October 9) next.”

The Newmarket handler was similarly pleased with the performance of stable stalwart The Tin Man in the Sprint Cup at Haydock.

The Tin Man performed creditably in his third Sprint Cup
The Tin Man performed creditably in his third Sprint Cup (Clint Hughes/PA)

Winner of the race in 2018 and narrowly denied by Hello Youmzain in last year’s renewal, the eight-year-old finished sixth on this occasion, but was beaten only four lengths.

Fanshawe would like to lower The Tin Man’s sights in an attempt to help him bag a first win since his triumph on Merseyside two years ago.

He added: “He ran a good race. The draw didn’t help. I don’t like making excuses, (but) if he’d been drawn on the other side he might have finished a bit closer.

“He’s come out of the race very well. He seems to have been in as good a form as he’s ever been this year at home and he’s run three very good races, I think.

“It would be nice to find him something a bit easier, but there aren’t many opportunities for him – you’ve got the Bengough Stakes at Ascot two weeks before the Champions Sprint, otherwise you’re looking at five and seven-furlong races.”

Fanshawe also ran 50-1 outsider Archer’s Dream in the Sprint Cup, but she was ultimately well-beaten in 10th place.

He said: “We were probably asking a bit much from her, but having won over the course and distance on soft ground the time before, we decided to give it a go as you never know what can happen in these races.

“She seems fine since and I think we might drop her back to five furlongs next time.”

Supremacy set to tackle Middle Park

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Clive Cox reports Supremacy to be on course for this month’s Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket, after recovering from a slight setback.

The impressive Richmond Stakes winner was ruled out of the Gimcrack at York with a bad scope, having missed the Prix Morny at Deauville because of the testing conditions.

“He’s in great form, and we are heading towards the Middle Park – that’s his intended target at the end of the season,” said Cox.

“It’s just great he’s another high-class two-year-old performer (for us).”

Cox ran Nando Parrado in the Morny, and the shock Coventry Stakes scorer did not let the Lambourn trainer down – taking the runner-up spot behind Campanelle.

“He is back very well indeed from his second in the Morny,” he added.

“Although we have entries covered over six furlongs in the Middle Park, similarly the autumn ground holds no fears with him, and we’re keen to give him the option of stepping up to seven furlongs as well at this stage.

“He’s in the Dewhurst (also at Newmarket) and the (Prix Jean-Luc) Lagardere (at ParisLongchamp) as well. He’s well entered – and I’m thrilled to report he’s come back from a very solid performance, being second in the Morny to a very good filly.

“We’ll play the cards accordingly and keep an open mind.”

Cox has a strong hand in the juvenile department, with Cobh another class act in his yard.

Cobh’s victory in a Listed race at Salisbury was given a boost when the runner-up Fancy Man won the Ascendant Stakes at Haydock on Saturday.

“He’s another well-entered individual that won the Stonehenge at Salisbury very convincingly over a mile,” he said.

“It was great for Kodi Bear’s first crop of two-year-olds to have a classy performer like him carrying the flag.

“He was second in Listed company on quick ground at Ascot – so he’s also very versatile – and I think although he’s won over a mile, we’re keeping an open mind on seven furlong races as well.

“He’s a horse we’re very pleased with.”

Cobh is likely to tackle a Group race next rather than take up his entry in the Weatherbys Racing Bank £200,000 2yo Stakes at Doncaster on Thursday.

“I think he’s probably going to stay in Pattern company,” said Cox.

“He is in the Royal Lodge – and he’s well entered, with no going concerns either.”

Baffert eyes Preakness Stakes for Authentic

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Bob Baffert has his sights set on a second Classic win for Kentucky Derby hero Authentic.

The Into Mischief colt will not have the chance to follow in the hoofprints of Baffert’s Triple Crown winners American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018) – because the Belmont Stakes, which is usually the final leg of the hat-trick, has already been run this year.

Calendar changes enforced by the Covid-19 pandemic meant the Belmont was run in June – with victor Tiz The Law aiming to add to his impressive victory in last Saturday’s Kentucky feature, which was delayed from May.

However, Authentic proved a length and a quarter too good at Churchill Downs, and Baffert is eager to tackle runner-up Tiz The Law again in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on October 3.

The handler could also have a second string to his bow in Maryland – with Thousand Words, who was a late withdrawal at Kentucky after rearing over in the paddock, also on the trail.

Baffert told Nick Luck’s Daily Podcast: “Right now, the plan is I’m going to leave him here. I was going to take him back to California tomorrow and then bring him back to the Preakness, but I think that would be too much for him because he’s a light horse and I want to give him his best chance.

“What I’m going to do is leave him in Kentucky and we’ll just run him from here, take him to the Preakness and take another shot at Tiz The Law – and if he’s doing well we’ll take him and Thousand Words, give him another try. We’ll get a saddle on Thousand Words – it was just really bad luck there.”

Authentic is a best-priced 11-2 with Paddy Power for the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland on November 7, but Baffert is not committing to that race at present.

He added: “I’m not sure what after that (the Preakness). I’m like the weather in Kentucky, I can switch and change – I see things and I go with my gut on things like that.

“I might change my mind and run back in California, I don’t know.”

Chindit set to bid for Champagne glory

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Chindit is on course to try to give trainer Richard Hannon a third victory in the bet365 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster.

The Marlbourgh handler took Saturday’s Group Two contest for two-year-olds over seven furlongs with Threat 12 months ago and Estidhkaar in 2014 – while his father won it three times.

Chindit is unbeaten in two starts, having taken a Listed contest at Ascot in July following a debut success over this seven furlongs earlier that month.

Karl Burke may give Spycatcher the chance to lose his maiden tag, after finishing second in the Group Three Acomb Stakes at York last month.

Broxi, who was third that day for Keith Dalgleish, is also among the 16 entries.

Owen Burrow’s Albasheer, who romped home by six and a half lengths over the course and distance on debut in July, is an interesting contender – along with Roger Varian’s Newbury Listed victor Saint Lawrence.

There are eight possibles from Ireland – Joseph O’Brien’s Snapraeterea, State Of Rest, Thunder Moon and Vafortino, three trained by his father Aidan, Duke Of Mantua, St Mark’s Basilica and Wembley and John Joseph Murphy’s Charterhouse.

Limato could try to repeat his win five years ago in the bet365 Park Stakes.

Henry Candy’s stable stalwart lifted the Group Two heat over the straight seven furlongs as a three-year-old in 2015, on his only previous attempt.

The Tagula gelding has won a host of major races in his career, including two Group Ones. He took his Pattern-race tally to 12 when successful in the Criterion Stakes at Newmarket in June.

One of Limato’s two triumphs at the top level was in the Prix de la Foret in 2016.

One Master, who has won the last two renewals of the Longchamp feature, is also among 15 entries for the Park Stakes.

Others include Breathtaking Look, Glorious Journey, Molatham and Marie’s Diamond.

Aidan O’Brien has three possibles – Lancaster House, Arizona and Wichita – while Joseph O’Brien’s Speak In Colours takes the Irish representation to four.

Pyledriver spot on for St Leger challenge

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William Muir is confident Pyledriver is at the top of his game for the Pertemps St Leger at Doncaster.

The Harbour Watch colt was a 40-1 shot when runner-up on his seasonal reappearance at Kempton in early June, but has made giant strides since and disputes favouritism with the Aidan O’Brien-trained Santiago for the season’s final Classic on Saturday.

Muir acknowledges success on Town Moor would be a huge achievement for his small team during a time when, more often than not, the top prizes go to the bigger yards.

He said: “There’s a great mood in the camp. We have seven staff riding out, three staff in the yard, the staff in the office and me. It’s a small team, and everyone is delighted.

“We have about 26 horses. We’re not a fashionable yard – everyone wants somebody younger and more fashionable. It’s just one of those things, but if this horse could go and win on Saturday it would be fantastic for the whole team and everyone around it.”

A surprise win in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot was followed by a luckless run in the Derby at Epsom, since when Pyledriver has given weight and a sound beating to his rivals in the Great Voltigeur at York last month.

Muir revealed the colt’s owners have received “life-changing” offers to sell over the course of the summer, but have so far resisted all potential buyers for a horse who did not even meet his reserve of £10,000 when sent to the sales as a foal.

William Muir with Pyledriver after his Royal Ascot triumph
William Muir with Pyledriver after his Royal Ascot triumph (Edward Whitaker/PA)

“Anybody can come into this game, go out with a relatively small amount of money and you can find these good horses. They’re hard to come by, but you can find them,” Muir added.

“The owners have turned down some big offers. If the offers had been accepted I don’t think he would have stayed in this country – places like Australia and Hong Kong wanted him really badly.

“If one person had owned him, you couldn’t have said no to the kind of offers we got – it was life-changing money – but there’s three of them, and they wanted to keep him.”

The Lambourn handler insists he could not be happier with his stable star as he completes preparations for a race that is part of the 2020 Qipco British Champions Series – and he is optimistic the son of unbeaten sprinter Harbour Watch will stay the distance of a mile and three-quarters.

“He’s in great order and has done all the work he needs to do. As long as he stays like this for the rest of the week, I couldn’t be taking him there in better shape,” said Muir.

“I’ve always been a glass-half-full kind of person – my glass is always overflowing, to be fair.

“I think he will stay and I think we’ve got a great chance, but it is a horse race. I thought we had a great chance in the Derby, and it all went wrong, but you shake yourself down and go again.”

Whatever happens this weekend, Muir already has his eyes on some other major races – both this year and next.

“He’ll go for the Champion Stakes at Ascot after Saturday, as long as the hose is fine. That will be his last run of the year, because we’re not going abroad – it’s too difficult with the Covid,” Muir added.

“Next year is mapped out already in my mind. You could start off at Newmarket in the Jockey Club Stakes, then you’d go Coronation Cup at Epsom, Hardwicke at Royal Ascot, the King George – and at the back-end of the season, if we’re out of this Covid, we could go for the Arc.”

Pyledriver was one of 15 horses left in the St Leger at Monday’s confirmation stage.

As well as Santiago, Aidan O’Brien may be represented by Dawn Patrol, Mythical and Tiger Moth – while his son Joseph could saddle the progressive Galileo Chrome.

English King is among Pyledriver's potential rivals
English King is among Pyledriver’s potential rivals (Mark Cranham/PA)

Other leading hopes include the Owen Burrows-trained Hukum, Mark Johnston’s Subjectivist and Ed Walker’s English King.

The latter also has the option of running in the Grand Prix de Paris the following afternoon.

“He’s in great form and is all set to run somewhere this weekend,” said Walker.

“We’ll have a look at both races during the week, see what the ground is looking like and decide where we go.

“We’ll make a decision much closer to the time.”

Golden Horde will head back to Ascot next

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Golden Horde will head for the Qipco British Champions Sprint at Ascot next month, following his excellent run in the Betfair Sprint Cup.

Clive Cox’s consistent three-year-old was out on his own on the far side of the track and was just touched off for second place as Dream Of Dreams took the honours from Glen Shiel at Haydock on Saturday.

All three are likely to re-oppose at Ascot on October 17, with Golden Horde returning to the scene of his Commonwealth Cup victory in June.

“He’ll most definitely go there,” said Cox.

“That was definitely the worst ground he’s run on, which means we have a very versatile performer that can perform on quicker or slower ground – and that is always pleasing.

“He ran a super race. He was drawn in the middle and he would have had to cross over some pretty well-used ground even on the outer track that hadn’t been used as much.

“They’d had big fields on that side, and we opted to stay on the fresh ground where he was drawn.”

In the circumstances, Cox was impressed with how Golden Horde adapted to the conditions.

“Haydock is a strange place, and many horses don’t handle that ground when it gets that testing, so we were even more pleased he was able to be so versatile,” he added.

“Basically he’s run an absolute blinder. He’s been the most consistent Group One horse I’ve ever had.

“He’s got an amazing constitution – and of the three-year-old generation, I think he’s equipped himself exceptionally well.

“He’s a top-class horse. He’s backed his performances up run after run. I’m sure he’ll continue to please in the highest company.”

Kaia Ingolfsland seeking to make her mark in Britain

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There are many tried and tested routes into racing for a jockey, but a chance meeting while house-sitting a friend’s cat is not among them – unless your name is Kaia Ingolfsland.

A keen handball player throughout her youth, a career in sport was always going to be likely for the 23-year-old Norwegian-born rider, though working with horses may not have been top of the list.

No stranger to being around horses having taken riding lessons in her younger days, it was not until getting into conversation while taking a break from her feline duties in 2015 that Ingolfsland took the first tentative steps into pursuing a career as a jockey.

She said: “I played handball a lot when I was younger and I wanted to play it professionally, but I was a bit short and that was my problem.

“A friend of mine lives next to Ovrevoll racecourse in Norway, she was going on holiday and asked me to look after her cat for two weeks, and said I could stay in her house.

“One Wednesday there was a lunchtime meeting there and I just walked over to take a look, this guy came up to me and said ‘do you ride?’. I said I did when I was younger.

“He said ‘you would be the perfect size for a jockey’ so he introduced me to trainer Hallvard Soma, who offered me the chance to ride out and it just went from there.”

Though happy with the decision she made to pursue a career in racing, Ingolfsland’s path could have taken a different shape altogether after a spell in the military.

She added: “It was the best and worst year of my life as it was really hard, but it was such a good experience.

“There was a part of me that did want to stay in the military, but I didn’t want to be in the office and because of my size it was thought it would be hard for me out in the field. But then the horses came along and I found my perfect job.”

Since taking out an amateur licence in 2017, Ingolfsland, who is the middle child of three, has seen her stock continue to rise – culminating in claiming last year’s Scandinavian apprentice jockeys’ title.

She said: “I did dream about it, but I never thought it would happen so fast. I had so many nice trainers giving me nice horses – that was really cool.

“There are not as many apprentices out there as in England so it was easier getting rides, but hard to get the good ones.

“It did surprise me being crowned champion apprentice as there were a couple of others that were really good, so that was cool to finish ahead of them and I won it by about 10 or 12 winners.”

Travelling the globe has been a theme for Ingolfsland to date, having spent brief spells riding in Dubai and New Zealand – but her latest move to England to join forces with Sir Mark Prescott is one she hopes to make more permanent.

She said: “I went to Dubai this winter again, but I knew I needed a new challenge when I got back.

“In Scandinavia, when you get 70 winners you become a professional, so I only had 10 more winners to go and I thought that was too soon as I’ve only been an apprentice for two years.

“I sent an email to Sir Mark, he replied and said I could come for a week, so I did in February and ended up really liking it.

“After that week, I texted saying I would love to come back, he said that he would sort things out for me and I arrived the week before lockdown.

“I hope I’m here for a long time, I want to see how good I can be.”

Of her link-up with the Newmarket baronet, she went on: “After that week, I thought being with Sir Mark would be the perfect place to work. You can say things about the horses to him and he will listen to your thoughts.

“He knows everything about his horses and is great to talk to and so is his assistant, William Butler, who has also been a big help to me.”

Although she was denied her first winner aboard the Prescott-trained Kodiac Pride when disqualified in an apprentice contest at Salisbury after losing her weight cloth late on, Ingolfsland is confident she can soon get on the score sheet.

She said: “These things happen, you can’t do anything about it now – you just have to keep on going. On the way home my head was exploding, but I just tried to keep calm.

“I think the reason Sir Mark put me up on the horse was to try to give me a winner so other people could see me. However, I’ve had a few rides now and I’ve also had my first outside ride for Stuart Williams which was good.”

With opportunities for female riders increasing in Britain in recent seasons, Ingolfsland hopes she can take full advantage by following the examples set by the likes of Hayley Turner and Hollie Doyle.

She added: “Josephine Gordon has helped me a lot in the weighing room, while I met Hollie Doyle once at Kempton and she was nice, as was Nicola Currie.

“One of my main aims is to lose the claim and hopefully next year that will happen. I want to use this year as a learning one, then kick on next year.

“Racing has been more male dominated, but now more females are getting up there, which is good, and hopefully I can be the next one.”

Menuisier looks to Wonderful Tonight to continue rise through the ranks

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David Menuisier has come a long way since starting out with four horses – and his latest stable star Wonderful Tonight could ensure things become even better by giving him further Group One glory.

With both the Pertemps St Leger at Doncaster on Saturday and the Prix Vermeille at ParisLongchamp 24 hours later under consideration for the three-year-old, it could be a weekend to savour for the Coombelands handler, whichever option he decides to pursue.

But while there may be plenty of big-race plans for Menuisier to look forward to at the moment, his career was almost over before it even started back in 2014.

He recalled: “We started in January 2014, got the licence in April, and we only had enough money to last us until June. We had one paying horse that joined us in May, the other four my parents sent over – two were Flat horses and the other two were store horses.

“We spread the word around that we were selling the store horses and somebody was really interested. They made an offer, which was about a third of what we expected, but beggars can’t be choosers, so we decided to accept the offer, but he had to pass the vet.

“Everything went quite smoothly, they just had to listen to his heart and the vet found a heart murmur, so that was the end of that as he failed the vetting.

“There was a week or 10 days left in June and we were wiped out, basically, and I was distraught, as that was our last hope to carry on.”

Just as Menuisier was preparing to concede defeat, he received a call that would change his life forever.

He said: “The very next day I got another phone call from someone that was interested and they were offering even less money, but that was irrelevant at that point.

“I accepted the offer and the other vet came down. Everything went smoothly again and there was only one thing left and it was his heart.

“He listened to it and said ‘that’s all good’ and we were shocked he managed to pass. The vet turned around and said to me ‘I know he has a murmur, but that is a good sign as it means he has a big heart!’.

“He vetted the filly as well and the next day he managed to get her sold as well. It was extraordinary and I remember like it was yesterday, as I was ready to write the letter to relinquish the barn.”

From the sale of the two horses, Menuisier was able to purchase a lead horse to accompany Slunovrat, who would go on to reward his handler’s perseverance by becoming his first winner less than two months later – but only after giving him an almighty scare.

He said: “I was running Slunovrat for the third time to get him handicapped at Kempton and he fell over right behind the horse of Amanda Perrett’s we were tracking. He was our last hope and we nearly lost him, so it shows you should never give up.

“We ran him at Newbury first time in a handicap in August and he ran a stormer to finish second, but for us it was like a win. Then I sent him to Newcastle and he managed to win there over a mile and a half. It was the best day of our lives.

“We came back the next day at two or three in the morning and Clive (Washbourn) rang later on August 26 and said ‘I was waiting for you to prove you can train a winner and now you have, I want you to buy me some horses’.”

Menuisier’s association with Washbourn has been a major part of his success, highlighted by the exploits of globetrotting Group Two winner Thundering Blue, who could enjoy his swansong in the Listed Foundation Stakes at Goodwood later this month.

Menuisier said: “He is getting on and has some serious mileage on the track – and air miles, too.

“We would like to find him a good opportunity to go out on a high before he is retired.”

With Thundering Blue nearing the end of his career, Wonderful Tonight remains at the peak of her powers – something Menuisier hopes the Le Havre filly will continue in whichever Group One she ends up contesting next weekend.

He added: “I think the main plan is to run in the Vermeille and as I’m French, it is one of those races you dream of winning all your life.

“The Leger is not the plan at this stage, but it could come into contention if it looks wet here and not so in France as she will stay.

“The Vermeille does look like a very good race as you will find a few fillies with Arc credentials in there.

“It would be a great birthday present to win either race, as I’m changing decade with my birthday on Saturday.”