Tag Archive for: Kevin Ryan

Mon Na Slieve enters Ascot reckoning for Ryan

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Mon Na Slieve appears to have earned himself a place on Kevin Ryan’s Royal Ascot squad after making an successful start to his career in the British EBF 40th Anniversary Novice Stakes at York.

A field of seven juveniles went to post for the five-furlong contest, with Karl Burke’s unraced colt Kylian all the rage as the 11-10 favourite amidst positive pre-race chatter.

The Richard Hannon-trained Mashadi set the standard on form following a narrow defeat on his Newmarket debut 10 days ago – but while he and Kylian came to the fore, both were ultimately unable to land a glove on the impressive Mon Na Slieve.

The 190,000 guineas purchase was a 17-2 shot to provide Ryan with another win on a track where he has enjoyed plenty of success in the past and raced on the speed from flag-fall under Tom Eaves.

Mashadi emerged as his biggest threat racing inside the last of five furlongs, but Mon Na Slieve never really looked in any danger of being reeled in and had a length and three-quarters in hand at the line.

Kylian was a length and a half further behind in third.

Ryan said of the winner: “We loved him at the breeze-up so I spoke to Brendan (McDonald, owner) and said I really wanted him.

“Brendan and I go back a long time, he part-owned Amadeus Wolf and has had a few nice ones, so it’s nice to have another.

Kevin Ryan is targeting Royal Ascot with Mon Na Slieve
Kevin Ryan is targeting Royal Ascot with Mon Na Slieve (Mike Egerton/PA)

“I was pretty confident coming but I kept it low-key as you never really know with unraced two-year-olds.

“He’s so laid back and for a breezer he’s got a great mind, not that a lot don’t, the lads do a great job with them and he came highly recommended.

“He was bought to go to Ascot, he’s really sharp and he’s all five furlongs but he relaxes. He could have dropped him in but he’s so professional he was able to make it.”

Royal lives up to Hi hopes with Classic second

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Connections of outsider Qipco 2000 Guineas runner-up Hi Royal were not surprised their colt outran his huge odds of 125-1 at Newmarket.

The Kevin Ryan-trained three-year-old only gave best to Chaldean inside the final furlong, despite veering across the track at one point, beaten a length and three-quarters at the line.

Royal Ascot may now beckon for the son of Kodiac, who was having just his fourth career start.

Bruce Raymond, racing manager to owner Jaber Abdullah, said: “That was no surprise as Kevin Ryan told us in the paddock that he thought the horse could run a big race and that he thought he would handle the ground.

“Kevin wants to get him home and see where we go next but he could be a Royal Ascot type.”

Oliver Cole, joint-trainer of third-placed Royal Scotsman along with his father Paul, is keen to take on the winner again at Royal Ascot.

“He’s run a massive race to be third, but he was a bit too keen in the early stages. He had no problem with the ground as he goes on anything,” said Cole.

“It was always the idea to come straight here and hopefully he can improve from this and we can have another crack at the winner at Royal Ascot.”

Aidan O’Brien’s Auguste Rodin, the 13-8 favourite, disappointed and came home 12th under Ryan Moore after failing to land a blow.

Stablemate Little Big Bear also disappointed and trailed home last under Wayne Lordan.

O’Brien said: “It was a little bit of a non-event. It was a non-event for Ryan’s horse and then Wayne’s horse got badly bumped and just got lit up. The whole thing was a bit of a non-event really. The travelling over is what it is.”

Lordan added of his mount: “He jumped smart and felt like he wanted to show me his pace. We didn’t go mad for the first two furlongs, something caught my heel and it wasn’t ideal after I’d gone two furlongs or so.

“It was a little bit of everything, so we’ll see what comes out of it.”

Kieran Shoemark, rider of Galeron who finished fourth as a 150-1 shot, said: “He’s run a massive race and he was well overpriced. I was wheel spinning early on, so he’s run well despite the ground. He’s a good horse.”

While Daniel Muscutt, rider of the fifth-placed Dubai Mile, confirmed he stayed the trip very strongly and that the Derby now beckons for him.

He said: “It was a great run. I hit the gates nicely and travelled comfortably. The ground has helped, he hit a bit of a flat spot but saw out his race really well and hit the line great.”

James Doyle, rider of the sixth-placed Noble Style, said: “He ran super and I’m delighted with him. It probably just stretched him a bit in this ground but he travelled tremendously. I got a lovely position in the race just behind Frankie (Dettori, on Chaldean), but his stamina just didn’t last out.”

David Egan felt Mill Reef winner Sakheer would be better off dropping back in trip after finishing seventh.

“I was really pleased with the way he ran. There was a lot of hustle and bustle in front of me but I took him back and he settled into a lovely rhythm,” said Egan.

“The race unfolded on the other side, which I wasn’t really anticipating. Chaldean was a great winner and he was drawn low, but I was expecting it to unfold on my side early. When I asked him to quicken he seemed to handle the ground, but maybe a mile on soft ground is stretching him too far.”

Theoryofeverything impresses on Doncaster debut

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Theoryofeverything could be set for bigger and better things following an impressive debut at Doncaster.

The John and Thady Gosden-trained colt is by Frankel out of the Group One-winning mare Persuasive and was bought for 325,000 guineas as a yearling.

Sent off the 100-30 second favourite in the hands of Rab Havlin on Town Moor, he looked to have his dam’s love of soft ground, as following a slow start, he ate up the ground to join the leaders approaching a furlong out before scorching clear to register a taking six-length success.

Connections are now likely to search for similar conditions for his next outing, with the Watership Down Stud Too Darn Hot Greenham Stakes at Newbury on April 22 mooted as a possible option.

“Considering he had quite a bad break and from where he ended up, he had quite a lot of ground to make up. He relished the ground conditions and I suspect the trainer will try to find somewhere with similar ground for his next start,” said Ted Voute, racing advisor for Theoryofeverything’s owner Prince Faisal.

“That will probably be Newbury I would say, as that often comes up softer than Newmarket and I suspect we will look for a spot with similar ground.

“I hope the trainer might consider the Greenham. I think that might be the logical next step and there’s also maybe a couple of races in France where we might have a chance of the ground coming up a bit softer.”

He went on: “We would have to supplement into a Classic, but his next run might show us a bit more and whether that is worthwhile or not.

“Otherwise the Prix Jean Prat and St James’s Palace Stakes are the other two we might look at, but they are in drier weather times and it could be the case we might have to hang on to him for the back-end and trying to find some Group Ones and keep entering until we get the right ground. He looks exciting.”

Kevin Ryan’s Aleezdancer (9-2 favourite) landed a gamble in good style in the Mental Health Awareness Handicap, relishing the testing conditions to win by a cosy two and a half lengths.

“The ground is vital to him,” said Ryan.

“We had a very frustrating year with him last year, albeit he won something – every time we had him ready for something the ground had gone.

Beverley Races – Tuesday May 11th 2021
Aleezdancer ridden by Kevin Stott on their way to winning the Racing TV Novice Stakes at Beverley racecourse last year (Mike Egerton/PA)

“He’s just very effective on that surface and we’re delighted that he got his head in front again.

“We’ll have to see what the handicapper does and he’ll have to take into consideration he has handled this ground better than most. So hopefully he is not too harsh on him and we’ll have to wait for similar conditions again. The ground will dictate where he runs.”

Charlie Fellowes’ Gorak (9-2 favourite) was equally impressive when obliging favouritism in the Music Live @ Doncaster Racecourse Handicap and there was no catching Bucephalus (12-1) in the Injured Jockeys Fund Handicap on his first start for Neil Mulholland.

Well-known fundraiser Jack Lander secured his second victory in the saddle when partnering Liam Bailey’s Clansman (15-2) to victory in the opening Flat Is Back At Doncaster Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap, while there was also an easy success for David Evans’ There’s The Door (15-2) in the Autism In Racing Handicap.