Tag Archive for: Chester

Group One engagement on agenda for classy Anmaat

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Connections of Anmaat are toying with the idea of running in France if he does not take up his intended engagement in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh on Sunday week.

The hugely-consistent Owen Burrows-trained five-year-old, who won the Group Two Prix Dollar at ParisLongchamp in October, opened this season with a runner-up effort behind 2021 Derby winner Adayar in the Gordon Richards Stakes at Newmarket earlier this month.

The son of Awtaad, who stayed on well under Jim Crowley to get within two and a half lengths of the classy winner, has won six of his 11 starts and placed on the other five occasions.

Now Anmaat could take the step into Group One company for the first time.

Angus Gold, racing manager for the gelding’s owners Shadwell Estates, said: “He has come out of the Gordon Richards well.

“The original plan was always to look at the Tattersalls Gold Cup in Ireland at the end of next week.

“Either that, or the Prix d’Ispahan (May 29). We will look at those, as long as he is in good shape.”

Plans are similarly fluid for the William Haggas-trained Mujtaba, who was beaten a neck by Point Lonsdale in last week’s Huxley Stakes at Chester.

Mujtaba (right) was touched off by Point Lonsdale (left) at Chester
Mujtaba (right) was touched off by Point Lonsdale (left) at Chester (David Davies/PA)

“I don’t know what the plans are as yet,” said Gold. “I thought he ran a good race. Jim (Crowley) was a bit annoyed with himself. He said if he sat right up Ryan’s backside, he thought he would have won it.

“I think that is being a bit harsh. That was only his first run of the season and he is a big, galloping horse.

“I know he has won at Chester, but he’s also run badly there before. I don’t think it suits him. He wants a more galloping track ideally.

“For me, at least it showed he belongs in that sort of company and I thought he ran a very good race.

“He’ll go anywhere where there is a bit of decent ground. He wouldn’t want quick ground.”

Metier powers home to grab Chester Cup glory

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Metier finished with a flourish to claim top honours in a thrilling renewal of the tote Chester Cup.

A Grade One winner over hurdles a couple of years ago, Harry Fry’s charge successfully reverted to the Flat to lift last season’s November Handicap at Doncaster under Saffie Osborne, who was again on board.

Results under both codes since have been mixed, but having returned to form with a second place in the Queen’s Cup at Musselburgh last month, Metier was among the market principals for Chester’s £150,000 showpiece at 5-1 and produced the goods in a grandstand finish.

The seven-year-old was well back in the field for much of the two-and-a-quarter-mile journey, but began to make inroads on the leaders before the home turn and powered up the straight.

Zoffee got the better of a duel with 11-4 favourite Call My Bluff to grab the lead, but was unable to resist the late surge of Metier, who passed the post a neck to the good under his jubilant rider.

Osborne said: “It didn’t really go right through the race, I was too far back and he was all guts.

“I was saying what a tough horse he is, but he’s also extremely talented and still fairly unexposed at this trip on the Flat. You’d like to think there’s more left in the tank.

“He’s just got a lot of ability and for a big horse he’s very well balanced to go round a track like this. I was having to make up ground on a part of a track that I didn’t really want to have to, but he was making it feel very easy and I didn’t want to check his momentum.”

Harry Fry was thrilled with the victory of Metier in the Chester Cup
Harry Fry was thrilled with the victory of Metier in the Chester Cup (John Walton/PA)

Fry, paying his first ever visit to Chester, said: “We’ve had some good runs and near misses in big races, but this means such a lot – it keeps our head above the parapet.

“We knew the draw (stall 14) wasn’t ideal, but Saffie sat as far forward as she could. She’s given him an absolutely wonderful ride.

“Watching him go past here on the final circuit he was 12th, but all he’s done in the straight is keep rolling and rolling.

“He’s shown all his best form on slower ground, but getting the right horses at the right time is really what it boils down to.

“It’s my first time here at Chester and walking round the course I thought ‘what an amazing place’.”

Metier and Saffie Osborne after winning at Chester
Metier and Saffie Osborne after winning at Chester (Neil Morrice/PA)

Ben Curtis, rider of the narrowly beaten runner-up Zoffee, was proud of his performance in defeat.

He said: “That was a hell of a training performance by Hugo (Palmer), to have him near spot-on after seven months off.

“The race went well for us, it was a good battle to the line but possibly the winner might have been more race-fit. Take nothing away from our horse though, he’s run a blinder.”

Lonsdale makes Huxley Point

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Favourite backers were made to sweat before eventually collecting their winnings as Point Lonsdale toughed out victory in the IRE-Incentive, It Pays To Buy Irish Huxley Stakes at Chester.

Successful in four of his five juvenile starts two years ago, the Australia colt only made it to the racecourse once as a three-year-old, finishing down the field in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.

However, having proved his talent remains intact with a comeback victory in the Group Three Alleged Stakes at the Curragh last month, he was a 5-6 shot to give trainer Aidan O’Brien a fourth Huxley Stakes win and he ultimately got the job done, albeit in workmanlike fashion.

It was not easy viewing for his supporters, with Ryan Moore rowing along in the saddle a long way from home in behind the pacesetting Poker Face.

But to his credit, Point Lonsdale kept responding to his rider’s urgings and after striking the front in the straight, he had enough in hand to see off the late charge of Mujtaba by a neck.

Moore said: “He was a good two-year-old who won a Listed race, a Group Three and a Group Two but he wasn’t around for most of last year.

Point Lonsdale after winning the Huxley Stakes at Chester
Point Lonsdale after winning the Huxley Stakes at Chester (Neil Morrice/PA)

“It wasn’t very pretty, was it? He’s a real galloper and he probably hasn’t been round a tight track like this before.

“He’s only really been to the Curragh, Leopardstown and Ascot and he was just a bit unsure what to do with himself.

“Today’s race was well up to standard and the track didn’t suit him, but he has a great attitude to be fair to him and plenty of ability. It was a very good performance.”

Hackman leaves Owen purring after Chester victory

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Michael Owen cut a delighted figure in the Chester winner’s enclosure when Hackman surged to an impressive victory in the British EBF Ruby Anniversary Maiden Stakes.

The former England international famously relishes winners at his home track and had his first success on the Roodee with Treble Heights in 2002.

Trained by Hugo Palmer, Hackman was the 11-8 favourite in the hands of James Doyle and having bounced out of the stalls, made every yard to register an easy one-and-three-quarter-length victory.

Hackman returns after winning at Chester
Hackman returns after winning at Chester (PA)

It is a race Owen has tasted plenty of success in over the years and with the precocious son of Mehmas fittingly winning the race his sire landed in 2016, connections are now dreaming of a trip to Royal Ascot later in the summer.

“His work at home suggested he’d come on a bundle for his debut,” said Palmer.

“I was nervous would he get the five furlongs, but he saw it out well. We are now dreaming of the Norfolk Stakes and maybe Sandown at the end of the month.”

Owen added: “He’s a really good horse and he’s very fast – he’s five furlongs through and through.

“This place means a lot to me and to win here means a lot. It’s an important meeting and we’re on the board with what we thought was our best chance of the week. He’s a nice horse and we’ve always thought Royal Ascot with him and I don’t think he’s changed our minds there.

“I really wanted to win that one. I’ve been fortunate to win plenty of races around the world and Group Ones and people might be thinking ‘a poxy little maiden round Chester’ but I wanted to win that one.

“He is just everything you want in an early two-year-old, he jumps quick and he’s a little bull of a horse. He’s great and I love him.”

Point to be made from O’Brien ace in Huxley Stakes

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Point Lonsdale bids to add further riches to his stellar CV when he lines up in the IRE-Incentive, It Pays To Buy Irish Huxley Stakes at Chester.

Aidan O’Brien’s four-year-old has won five of his seven racecourse appearances, but has only been seen twice since his his high-class Juvenile days when he took four of his five starts and finished second to Native Trail in the Group One National Stakes.

A disappointing run in the 2000 Guineas was his sole outing at three, but he showed the fire still burns bright with a game success in the Alleged Stakes last month following a 351-day absence.

The form of that victory over Visualisation got a boost when the runner-up landed the Mooresbridge Stakes recently and more success for Point Lonsdale here could pave the way for Group One assignments later this season.

O’Brien said: “He won in soft ground at the Curragh. That was his first time over a mile and a quarter and he got the trip well.

“We’ve been happy with him since and we think he’s ready for his next run now.”

Andrew Balding’s Foxes Tales was third in the Winter Derby behind Lord North in February and was last seen handing the useful Rogue Millennium a three-length beating to scoop the Listed Magnolia Stakes at Kempton.

Mujtaba returning after a comprehensive victory at Newbury
Mujtaba returning after a comprehensive victory at Newbury (Neil Morrice/PA)

He now has his sights raised to Group Two level, while also taking a step up in class is William Haggas’ Mujtaba who has been forced into pattern company following a seven-length romp in a Newbury handicap in the autumn.

“He put up a very impressive performance in soft ground at Newbury and went up to 115, so this is a good starting point for him to get him going,” said Haggas.

“He likes the ground so hopefully he will run well. He’s won at Chester before but he’s also run poorly at Chester before, so we will see how we go.”

Simon and Ed Crisford’s Poker Face suffered the first defeat of his career when second in the Earl of Sefton Stakes on reappearance, but the form of that race was given a timely boost when the winner Ottoman Fleet scored at Belmont last weekend and connections are confident there is still more to come from Fastnet Rock gelding.

Poker Face ridden by jockey James Doyle on their way to winning at Pontefract
Poker Face ridden by jockey James Doyle on their way to winning at Pontefract (Mike Egerton/PA)

“He’s lightly raced and he ran a very good race in the Earl of Sefton for his first run back of the year,” said Ed Crisford.

“This race is another step up in class, but he has come out of Newmarket well and has been training well.

“He has a good draw and the ground should suit. He’s in good form and although it is a big step up for him, I’m sure he has a lot more improvement in him.

“He’s only had four runs in his life and is still a baby really and still learning. I think with racing experience he should be improving all the time and is an exciting horse for the future.

“This is another step up and there are some very good horses in there, but he has had his first run of the year now and I’m hopeful he will run a very good race.”

Six go to post for the Group Two contest with Roger Varian’s Royal Champion and Noel Meade’s Layfayette completing the field.

Hamish joins an elite club with successful Ormonde Stakes defence

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Hamish became the first horse in over 20 years to secure back-to-back victories in the tote.co.uk Bet £5 Get £20 Ormonde Stakes at Chester.

The William Haggas-trained gelding may be a seven-year-old, but he has been raced sparingly, with this only his 15th career start.

His six previous victories include three at Group Three level, with his win on the Roodee supplemented by success in the Cumberland Lodge at Ascot in October.

With conditions to suit, Hamish (7-4) was given plenty of time to find his feet by Tom Marquand as 11-10 favourite Changingoftheguard set out to make all.

Hamish and Tom Marquand after winning at Chester
Hamish and Tom Marquand after winning at Chester (Neil Morrice/PA)

The complexion of the race changed before the home turn when Changingoftheguard came under pressure while Hamish was only getting going and he was ultimately good value for the winning margin of a length and a quarter. Lone Eagle stuck to his task well to split the pair in second.

Hamish is only the fourth horse to win a second Ormonde Stakes and the first since St Expedit claimed successive wins in 2001 and 2002.

Maureen Haggas, assistant to her husband, said: “He was second in the Irish Leger last year and is in at York (Yorkshire Cup) next week. He could run there if there was some cut in the ground and he told us he was ready, as William’s father (Brian Haggas, owner) loves York.

“He had a tendon injury as a four-year-old – who knows what he might have achieved without that? But he’s one Andrew Tinkler and I fight to ride (at home), you get such an attachment to a horse like him.

“He once ran on good to firm at Newbury but he won’t be asked to race on anything faster than genuine good ground again.

“The whole family like a bit of cut in the ground, and all credit to him today as it wasn’t run to suit him.”

San Antonio holds of Alder in Dee Stakes battle of the O’Briens

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Father beat son in the Boodles Dee Stakes as Aidan O’Brien’s San Antonio repelled the Donnacha O’Brien-trained Alder at Chester.

Alder was the 11-10 favourite for the Listed contest following an impressive start to his season at Cork, with San Antonio sent off at 16-5 following victory on the all-weather at Dundalk.

As is usually the case, Ryan Moore had San Antonio well positioned throughout, allowing his mount to stride to the front while his rivals jostled for position in behind.

Gavin Ryan delivered Alder with a major challenge rounding the home turn, but San Antonio refused to yield in front and passed the post with a length and three-quarters in hand to give O’Brien a 10th victory in the race.

O’Brien said: “Donnacha’s horse ran a stormer having got dropped back in a messy race. But Ryan had his horse in a better position and was able to control the race.

“We were always going to ride him forward. He’s nice and relaxed and was happy to have horses around him, and he found plenty.

“Obviously it looks like he’s adaptable and will get further. Epsom has to be looked at as well as Ascot and France. The lads will decide.”

Betfair and Paddy Power halved the Dubawi colt to 25-1 for the Betfred Derby, for which O’Brien’s 2000 Guineas disappointment Auguste Rodin remains favourite with some firms in company with Arrest and Military Order.

O’Brien added: “We’ve always thought the world of Auguste Rodin as everything came so easily to him. He’s come out of the Guineas well and will go to straight for the Derby.

“With the Lingfield trial now on the all-weather Bertinelli will go there. The horse we would have run at Lingfield (Gooloogong) might go to Epsom and Continuous heads for the Dante at York.”

Alder (left) just failed
Alder (left) just failed (David Davies/PA)

O’Brien junior has not lost faith in the runner-up.

He said: “The race was a bit of a mess and in ground I didn’t think he would like I actually think he ran very well. He quickened up nicely then just flattened out in that ground, but I was very happy with him. 

“We’ll take him home and see how he comes out of it and make a plan then. For sure he could go to one of the Derbys either Epsom or the Curragh or something like that, but we’ll make a plan at a later stage. 

“You have very little chance from out back when they go that slow, but that’s racing and that’s Chester.”

Falcon Eight back on Chester Cup duty, but with weight and age concerns

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Falcon Eight has been a standing dish in the tote Chester Cup in recent years and Dermot Weld’s 2021 champion is back for another crack at the Roodee marathon.

The eight-year-old recorded a famous victory in the hands of Frankie Dettori off a mark of 104 two years ago before finishing a respectable fifth in defence of his crown off a 5lb higher figure here 12 months ago.

He is 1lb lower this time around with Ryan Moore taking over in the saddle, but the Rosewell House handler is concerned that is still a hefty weight to shoulder.

“He’s got a big weight to carry, 9st 12lb and he’s rated 4lb higher than when he won it. He’s also two years older so it’s a difficult task to be honest,” said Weld.

Falcon Eight (left) running in the Queen Alexandra Stakes at Royal Ascot
Falcon Eight (left) running in the Queen Alexandra Stakes at Royal Ascot (David Davies/PA)

“He’s very well and I expect him to run well. He usually always runs a good race, but he’s two years older than when he won it previously and he has 4lb more to carry. But the horse himself is in very good form.”

Rajinsky was third last year and claimed the scalp of Trueshan at Nottingham earlier this season. He is one of two in the race for Hugo Palmer, who envisages his charge bouncing back from his Sagaro Stakes disappointment now back on an easier surface.

“Rajinsky seems in good form, the ground got too quick for him at Ascot the other day but any rain will help him,” said Palmer.

“He ran so well in the race last year and his run at Nottingham would put him up there with a pretty good chance.”

Rajinsky and Harry Davies (orange) coming home to win the Barry Hills Further Flight Stakes at Nottingham
Rajinsky and Harry Davies (orange) coming home to win the Barry Hills Further Flight Stakes at Nottingham (Joe Giddens/PA)

The Manor House Stables handler is also represented by the reappearing Zoffee who was last seen finishing fourth in the Cesarewitch.

“Zoffee wouldn’t want the ground to get too soft,” continued Palmer.

“He had a really good year (last season), in my mind our main target with him would be trying to add the Northumberland Plate to the Northumberland Vase he won last year.

“We’ve got to start off somewhere and he’s ready to go so we’re looking forward to running him.”

Another handler double-handed is Richard Hughes who has called for one of his old weighing-room colleagues Jamie Spencer to partner Calling The Wind, while one of the newest names among the riding fraternity, Billy Loughnane, removes 3lb off Bascule.

The former finished a place ahead of Falcon Eight when third in the Queen Alexandra Stakes at Royal Ascot and has dropped to the same rating he finished third off in the 2021 Cesarewitch.

“I think Calling The Wind is well in,” said Hughes. “I beat the favourite over two and a half miles at Ascot off level weights and I think I have him pretty good. He has had his prep race and that went well.

“I’m very hopeful he will have a good run round. He ran a very good race under Jamie Spencer in the November Handicap (in 2021), I think he will suit him.”

Calling The Wind winning the Betfred “Thanks To The NHS” Handicap at Ascot
Calling The Wind winning the Betfred “Thanks To The NHS” Handicap at Ascot (Francesca Altoft/PA)

He went on “I thought taking 3lb off Bascule might help him.

“If you worked the two of them at home you wouldn’t say that Calling The Wind could give him that much weight. It may be a different story on the track but he always runs a good race does Bascule.”

Handed a plum draw in stall two is Dominic Ffrench Davis’ Call My Bluff, who bumped into the progressive Novel Legend on seasonal bow at Newbury, but has some smart course form to his name.

“He’s got a very obvious chance,” said the handler. “He loves Chester, loves soft ground and has a very good draw.

“He needed the run first time out (at Newbury), he looked like he had set sail for home and then just tired a bit which let the Fanshawe horse (Novel Legend) in a little bit.”

Getting the better of Call My Bluff in the Watergate Cup over track and trip last term was Emiyn who has since placed in the November Handicap and run respectably in Musselburgh’s Queen’s Cup before an underwhelming effort at Thirsk most recently.

Trainer Declan Carroll is confident he can bounce back from that and said: “We’ve been pleased with him and he has been training well.

“He has to bounce back from a disappointing effort his last run, but we’ve been happy with him since that. He will like the ground and any more rain that will come will not inconvenience him at all.

“He has a good draw which can only be an advantage because he goes forward in his races. He’s a keen-going sort and he likes to go forward. It’s a very competitive race as it should be at this level but we’re looking forward to it anyway.”

One guaranteed to relish testing conditions on the Roodee is Harry Fry’s mud-loving Metier – who has always had this contest on his radar.

Fry said: “We’ve been working towards this albeit fully aware we would need conditions to suit, so I was delighted to see it raining heavy there and conditions have come in our favour.

“He ran a great race behind Wise Eagle who was runner-up in the Sagaro Stakes at Musselburgh in the Queen’s Cup at Musselburgh and the step up in trip here is a positive.

“He is really well in himself and we’re looking forward to him taking his chance.”

Marquand back in action – and back in the winner’s enclosure

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Tom Marquand was back among the winners as William Haggas’ Amleto caught the eye with a comfortable success in the Deepbridge Syndicate Maiden Stakes at Chester.

The three-year-old is by Sea The Stars and out of the highly successful broodmare Holy Moon, a dam who also produced the late Sea Of Class – a Group One winner who finished second to Enable in the 2018 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Amleto did not win in two starts as a juvenile and was gelded earlier this year ahead of his seasonal debut on the Roodee.

Marquand was back in the saddle for only his second ride since a brief absence over the Guineas weekend, on the opening day of which he was kicked on the way to the start aboard Waipiro in the Newmarket Stakes.

Tom Marquand at Newmarket before an unfortunate incident put him on the sidelines
Tom Marquand at Newmarket before an unfortunate incident put him on the sidelines (David Davies/PA)

He escaped any broken bones, but was wounded enough to require both stitches and a few days to recover.

He and Amleto went off at 7-2 and battled through the testing ground to pull away around the final bend, eventually going on to cross the line three and a half lengths ahead of their nearest rival.

Marquand said: “This is why you rush yourself back, to ride horses that are exciting for the future.

“He’s a horse that’s learning and building on what he’s been doing. He’s certainly going the right way.”

On his arm he added: “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t sore, but I’m sound enough to ride and it feels all right once I’m on the back of the horse, so that’s the main thing.”

Haggas upbeat on prospect of Ormonde defence from Hamish

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Hamish has the chance to dazzle at Chester once again when he defends his tote.co.uk Bet £5 Get £20 Ormonde Stakes crown.

William Haggas’ seven-year-old ran out a comfortable winner of the Group Three contest 12 months ago and will bid to enhance his record on his return to the Roodee.

Following his success last year, Hamish went on to get within a length of Kyprios in the Irish St Leger, before winning the Cumberland Lodge at Ascot and a narrow defeat at Newbury brought the curtain down on his campaign.

Conditions look ideal for the gelded son of Motivator ahead of his return and having been kept on the sidelines for plenty of the season due to the dry summer last term, connections are keen to make the most of the soft ground while they can.

Haggas said: “He’s very well. He carries a penalty but he’s well. He could have done with a better draw, but he’s ready to go and he enjoys a bit of cut in the ground – I believe it is going to be quite soft up there. He should enjoy that.

“He won OK last year and he was good throughout last year. He’s a pretty good horse who doesn’t run very often. Last year it was dry as a bone and his season was curtailed. But he’s ready to go now and we will try to take advantage of the ground while we have it.”

Changingoftheguard was an impressive winner of the Vase at this meeting last year before finishing a respectable fifth to Desert Crown in the Derby.

Changingoftheguard ridden by Ryan Moore on their way to winning the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot
Changingoftheguard ridden by Ryan Moore on their way to winning the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot (Adam Davy/PA)

He was last seen scoring at Royal Ascot and reappears after 328 days off the track, bidding to give Aidan O’Brien his sixth victory in the race.

“He was very impressive when beating New London in testing ground in the Chester Vase here last season and followed up with a good fifth in the Derby and then with his King Edward VII win,” the colt’s jockey Ryan Moore told Betfair.

“We never saw him after Royal Ascot as he picked up an injury but we are obviously very happy with him now, or else we wouldn’t be here, and hopefully he can get a Group One on his CV this season. It’s a deep and tough race for a Group Three, but this is a good starting point for him.”

O’Brien said: “It’s a long time since he ran, but he got a mile and a half well last year and we’ve been happy with his work.

“Obviously he’ll come forward from the run, but we’ve been happy with everything he’s been doing.”

Max Vega got the better of Hamish when the pair met in the St Simon Stakes in October and also finished ahead of stablemate Lone Eagle when third and fifth respectively in the John Porter on reappearance. They give Ralph Beckett a solid hand.

Old Harrovian represents Andrew Balding and is upped in class following back-to-back triumphs in novice events, while Enemy enjoyed a fine winter overseas, winning a Meydan handicap and going close in the valuable Red Sea Turf in Saudi Arabia before finishing down the field on Dubai World Cup night most recently.

With John and Thady Gosden’s Israr a significant non-runner, the field is complete by Andrew Slattery’s Irish raider Sunchart.