Tag Archive for: Newmarket

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.”

Pretty Polly a possible pick for Via Sistina

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A trip to Ireland for the Pretty Polly Stakes remains on the agenda for Via Sistina following her runaway victory at Newmarket last weekend.

Making her first appearance since winning a Group Three in France in November, George Boughey’s mare successfully graduated to Group Two level with a six-length romp in the Dahlia Stakes under a typically cool ride from Jamie Spencer.

The daughter of Fastnet Rock is now set for a tilt at Group One honours, with the Curragh on July 1 a possible target.

“She’s a good filly,” said Boughey.

“I think the likelihood is the Pretty Polly is probably the plan. This weather is changeable and no one really knows what is going on, but if we get a wet summer we might see a bit more of Via Sistina than we would in a usual year.

“She’s very effective on that (soft) ground and between a mile and a mile and a half, I don’t really know what her trip is.

“She showed loads of pace and there’s a big summer ahead for her.”

Chaldean in good shape after Guineas heroics

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Qipco 2000 Guineas winner Chaldean has taken his exertions at Newmarket on Saturday in his stride, according to connections.

The son of Frankel powered through rain-softened ground to land the mile Classic on what was, in effect, his three-year-old debut.

Having unshipped Frankie Dettori coming out of the stalls and running loose on his intended prep in the Greenham at Newbury, the frustration turned to delight for the 52-year-old Italian, who was riding in his 29th and final renewal of the race.

Having kept things simple, always close to the pace, Chaldean was sent for home early and never looked like he would be challenged once runner-up Hi Royal had started to empty.

It was a fourth success in the race for Dettori and a second in four years for trainer Andrew Balding, who had struck with Kameko in 2020.

Twelve years after the mighty Frankel had carried the famous Juddmonte green, pink and white colours to success in the race, his son took the laurels by a length and three-quarters.

European racing manager for the operation, Barry Mahon, said any celebrations were muted.

“The head’s not too bad. We had to go racing on Sunday, so the celebrations couldn’t be too extravagant, but hopefully there will be time to celebrate at some point,” he said. “Hopefully we’re not finished yet. We have a few more chances along the way.”

Chaldean will remain over a mile and head to the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot for his next start, with Paddy Power making him the 4-5 favourite to triumph in the Group One showpiece on June 20.

“He’s taken it well, he’s good,” added Mahon. “Andrew was happy with him when I spoke to him yesterday. He said he was quite tired on Sunday, but he said yesterday morning he was in good form again.

“The ground was very soft, yet on the Friday meeting, it was good to firm. They watered the ground in case the showers missed.

“I stayed the far side of the town and on Friday night, I promise you, there was a monsoon.

“The next morning I was talking to (trainer) David Simcock, who was on the racecourse side of town and he said they had rain, but nothing extravagant – a couple of millimetres. It is such a funny area.

“But he handled the ground, although it wouldn’t be his ideal conditions.”

Waipiro could try again to book Derby ticket at Lingfield

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Waipiro is a possible for the Lingfield Derby Trial after his Newmarket bid was scuppered on the way to the start.

The Ed Walker-trained Australia colt, who is a half-brother to Hong Kong hero Waikuku, was set to be an intriguing runner at Headquarters after a taking seasonal debut over course and distance late last month.

The Listed Newmarket Stakes was an intended stepping stone to the Betfred Derby – but Waipiro was unable to compete as rival runner Forca Timao kicked out on the way to the start and struck the arm of jockey Tom Marquand.

Marquand sustained a wound that required stitches and he was forced to step down, causing the withdrawal of Waipiro.

Marquand is healing having escaped any broken bones and Walker reports the horse to be none the worse as the blow did not reach him.

Lingfield will now be an alterative outing, though his trainer is conscious of ground conditions and will monitor the going throughout the week.

“He’s absolutely fine, unfortunately for Tom he took the blow,” he said.

“It’s obviously a real pain for us because Lingfield looks like it’s going to be on soft ground now and that (Newmarket) was the right spot for him.

“It’s frustrating, but he’s well and he’s being trained for Lingfield at the moment.

“I’d run him on good to soft but I wouldn’t run him on soft, so it’ll be dependent on which way things go this week.”

William Buick with Military Order at Newbury
William Buick with Military Order at Newbury (PA)

Waipiro is one of 14 contenders for the near 12-furlong contest, with Charlie Appleby’s Military Order the headline act following his effortless return in a Newbury novice event last month.

He is a general 6-1 shot for Epsom and could be joined by Listed-winning stablemate Noble Dynasty, although he holds an alternative entry in Thursday’s Dee Stakes at Chester.

Gooloogong, a 33-1 chance for the premier Classic, and Bertinelli could represent Aidan O’Brien.

Newmarket Stakes second Circle Of Fire could make a swift return, while Laafi, Artistic Star and Ndaawi also feature.

Ralph Beckett’s Bluestocking made a splash on her only juvenile start and is generally available at 14-1 for Epsom ahead of her possible return in the Oaks Trial Fillies’ Stakes.

A Juddmonte-owned daughter of Camelot out of Group One winner Emulous, Bluestocking beat the colts in style on her debut in a Salisbury novice heat in September.

Karl Burke’s Fillies’ Mile third Bright Diamond is among the 14 entries along with Sunset Point and Eternal Hope for the Appleby team and O’Brien’s pair of Be Happy and Lambada.

Agartha leads the way in the Chartwell Fillies' Stakes
Agartha leads the way in the Chartwell Fillies’ Stakes (Niall Carson/PA)

Joseph O’Brien has a strong potential team for the Group Three Chartwell Fillies’ Stakes with Agartha, American Kestrel and Honey Girl mounting a three-strong challenge.

Previous Group-race winners Sacred and Sandrine also feature, for William Haggas and Andrew Balding respectively.

White Moonlight, Just Beautiful, Secret Angel and Juliet Sierra are other names to note.

Hills eyeing Irish Guineas for Newmarket fourth Galeron

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Fourth in the Guineas, first in the Derby is the well-worn adage.

But while the Qipco 2000 Guineas has often been among the best trials for the Epsom Classic, Galeron, this year’s Newmarket fourth, is not likely to make the line-up, according to trainer Charlie Hills.

Having won the Goffs Million at the Curragh on his final start last season, Galeron finished a close-up third to Dear My Friend in a Newcastle all-weather Listed contest last month on his seasonal debut.

Despite that, the son of Camacho was sent off at 150-1 for Guineas glory.

Yet Hills had argued the bookmakers had overlooked him and his pre-race confidence proved spot-on as Galeron stayed on nicely in soft ground under Kieran Shoemark to finish five lengths behind Chaldean.

However, he would need to be supplemented for Epsom, so any thoughts of lining up in the mile-and-a-half colts’ Classic have been shelved for the time being.

Hills said: “It was a fabulous result. He did really well and I’m delighted with him, really.

“He just got a little bit further back than what we’d hoped – he got squashed coming out of the stalls. It was a bit rough at the start, but he came through them really well.

“Kieran said he didn’t really seem to be handling the ground too well, so you have to mark him up a bit on that.

“I don’t think he will get a Derby trip, but we certainly have to have a look at the Irish Guineas and keep a close eye on that. We’ll see how he is at the end of the week and then make a plan.

“He seems to have come out of the race really well.”

It was a great weekend for the Lambourn yard, with Mutasaabeq landing the Group Two bet365 Mile and Saxon King taking a decent handicap over the same Newmarket Rowley Mile.

And at Goodwood on Friday, Cicero’s Gift underlined his potential as a smart prospect when powering home to take another eight-furlong contest, a three-year-old conditions race, maintaining his unbeaten record.

The Muhaarar colt had previously won a novice on debut at Newbury in October and followed up on the all-weather at Wolverhampton in March.

Cicero’s Gift (right) May have booked his Royal Ascot ticket
Cicero’s Gift (right) May have booked his Royal Ascot ticket (Tim Goode/PA)

He stormed to a five-and-a-half-length success, trouncing five previous winners and although he holds a Dante entry, Cicero’s Gift is more likely to head straight to Royal Ascot.

Hills said: “It was exciting. I was really pleased with the way he lengthened away there.

“He is in the Dante, although my gut feeling is that he will go straight to the St James’s Palace Stakes. The gut feeling is to wait, but we have to see how he is. I think Ascot will really suit him.

“He is owned by Rosehill Racing, a syndicate that we set up. We have five horses who were bought relatively cheaply, about the 30-grand mark, and he looks an exciting horse for the future.”

Oaks option open for Caernarfon after fine Guineas effort

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Jack Channon will not rule out the possibility of running Caernarfon in the Betfred Oaks after she stayed on well to finish fourth in the Qipco 1000 Guineas at Newmarket on Sunday.

The daughter of Cityscape had won twice last term, signing off with success in the Listed Montrose Fillies’ Stakes over course and distance.

Having the first run of her three-year-old season in the mile Classic, Connor Beasley’s mount made up plenty of ground and was never nearer than at the finish in very testing soft ground.

Though she had no chance with winner Mawj and runner-up Tahiyra, who put over seven lengths between themselves and third-placed Matilda Picotte, Channon was more than satisfied.

“We were absolutely chuffed with her,” said the West Ilsley handler, who has this season taken over the training licence from his father, Mick.

“We knew once we had that rain, not so much that she needs soft ground, we just suspected all spring that a mile and a quarter or a mile and a half might be her optimum – that’s why we stuck her in the Oaks and the French Oaks – we thought the rain might slow it up (for others).

“It looked to be a very good race and they took six lengths out of them, three (furlongs) down, and she’s done extremely well to stay on all the way to the line.

“She has picked up two Group One-winning two-year-old fillies in the final furlong and I think it was strong form, and I was chuffed with her run.”

Caernarfon’s sire won over nine furlongs, although he was only tried once over 10, while her unraced dam is by Group One-winning sprinter Royal Applause.

However, while not bred to star over 12 furlongs, she has shown all the right signs that she could be a force, should she line up in the Epsom fillies’ Classic.

Channon added: “She could well be an Oaks filly. It is a big step up from a mile to a mile and a half, but I’ve always had the opinion that the best Oaks trial and the best Derby trial are in the Guineas’.

“She is an extremely well-balanced filly and she settles so well, which would give her every chance to stay if we wanted to try that.

“We have got her in over a mile and a quarter in France and we’ve also got her in over a mile and a half (at Epsom).

“We will probably look at one of those options close to the time, but we will see how she trains this week and see how she comes out of it first of all.”

‘She has run a wonderful race’ – Weld so proud of Tahiyra in defeat

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Dermot Weld felt the lack of a recent run cost Tahiyra, who finished a close-up second to Mawj in the Qipco 1000 Guineas at Newmarket.

The Aga Khan-owned daughter of Siyouni had been vastly impressive when taking the Moyglare on her last run in September.

However, her trainer felt that she would have benefitted from an extra couple of weeks and having made a tardy start from the stalls in the mile fillies’ Classic, she had plenty of ground to make up.

The fact that Chris Hayes’ mount got within half a length of the Saeed bin Suroor-trained winner, following a ding-dong battle from the dip, said plenty about her ability.

After the 6-4 favourite’s defeat, Weld said: “She ran a big race, probably the ground was a shade slow for her.

“We know she has a lot of pace, a lot of speed. She has run a wonderful race – she was seven and a half lengths ahead of the third.

“She has run a very good race. The ground just takes the real speed off her. She’s run, she’s quickened, and Chris Hayes has probably told you that there is another gear there we didn’t just quite get today.

“I’m thrilled with her, she has put in a wonderful performance. I would like to have seen the head-on, as Chris did feel she was carried across a bit.”

Weld left it until late before giving Tahiyra the go-ahead for Newmarket, after he felt she could have done with a little more time.

He explained: “Because of the weather and things we had, I had to be careful of my training of her.

“I would have liked to have got a prep race before today. She only had two runs as a two-year-old.

“The ideal plan was to give her a run in Classic trial a couple of weeks ago. The ground has been very heavy and I didn’t want to pull the guts out of her.

“So we came into the race slightly undercooked. We had her 95 per cent and we didn’t have her 100 per cent and we have got beaten half a length.”

When asked about the possibility of running in the Irish equivalent in two weeks’ time, Weld added: “We’ll see how she comes out of the race. She has had a tough, hard race. I have another Aga Khan filly called Tarawa that ran a very nice prep for the Irish Guineas at Leopardstown today – she was second (to Zarinsk). She is a very sweet filly and she was always on my mind for that, but let’s see.

Tahiyra was touched off by Mawj in the Qipco 1000 Guineas
Tahiyra was touched off by Mawj in the Qipco 1000 Guineas (Nigel French/PA)

“I’m very proud of her – she has run a great race. There’s lots of places we can go with her – she’s run big. I’m delighted with her. Full marks to the winner.”

Kieran Cotter will send Matilda Picotte to the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot after her third-place finish under Ronan Whelan.

Like the winner, she had a busy juvenile campaign, running six times, although she was trying a mile for the first time, having finished runner-up to Never Ending Story at Leopardstown on her three-year-old debut.

Matilda Picotte ran a cracker to finish third
Matilda Picotte ran a cracker to finish third (Niall Carson/PA)

Cotter said: “We are all here and are absolutely over the moon. It was brilliant – she got some cheer in the stands, I can tell you. There are about 20 or 30 of us here.

“We said coming here that third was up for grabs and we knew we had a serious chance of third. We knew she’d be running on fresh air late on, but she is a marvellous filly.

“The track is tailor-made for her, because she has so much pace and she can trap down, cruise down into the dip for the climb home.

“I doubt she will run over the mile again. We’ll go back down to six (furlongs) for the Commonwealth Cup. I think she’ll go straight there to Royal Ascot. We’ll make sure we enjoy the celebrations!”

Joe Fanning, who rode Dance In The Grass to finish fifth at odds of 200-1, felt she would benefit for going up in distance after staying on well.

Dance In The Grass was a fair fifth
Dance In The Grass was a fair fifth (Tim Goode/PA)

He said: “She ran a great race, I just got lost a bit halfway. She stayed on very well and is crying out for extra trip.”

Ryan Moore was a place behind aboard Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf winner, the Aidan O’Brien-trained Meditate.

“She ran respectably. The ground wouldn’t have been in her favour,” Moore said.

Olivia Maralda (125-1) was seventh under David Egan, who said: “I was pleased with the way she ran and I think she’ll be a better filly on top of the ground.

“I thought she was going to be fourth best the last two furlongs, but being on that tacky ground on the last couple of hundred yards up the hill caught her out. She’s a tough filly.”

Frankie Dettori had to settle for eighth on Lezoo
Frankie Dettori had to settle for eighth on Lezoo (John Walton/PA)

Frankie Dettori, victorious aboard Chaldean in the 2000 Guineas on Saturday, was eighth on his final 1000 Guineas ride.

His mount, Lezoo, was always up against it on ground that was too soft for her.

He said: “We tried but we’ll go back to sprinting.”

In contrast, 17-year-old sensation Billy Loughnane was having his first ride in a Classic and finished 14th aboard another 200-1 chance, Sweet Harmony.

He said: “It was a good run. Me and Spence (trainer Richard Spencer) thought we’d try something (and race on the near side) as it hadn’t been raced on for the last few days.

“It probably didn’t pay off in the end, but she’s run well and she’ll be putting her head in front soon.

“That was a class experience. It’s amazing the speed they go in those races! She’s run a cracker.”

Mawj digs deep to land epic Guineas for Bin Suroor and Murphy

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Mawj gained a scintillating success in the Qipco 1000 Guineas, getting the better of favourite Tahiyra after an epic duel up the Rowley Mile at Newmarket.

Trained by Saeed bin Suroor, the Exceed And Excel filly showed guts aplenty under a superb ride from Oisin Murphy to score by half a length.

The 9-1 winner had to do the hard work on the near side as the 20-strong field split into two groups – and it always looked like being a two-horse battle from the dip.

Tahiyra fell out of the stalls, but made silky-smooth headway under Chris Hayes and the Dermot Weld-trained filly looked the most likely winner a furlong out.

However, on her first start of the season, the Moyglare winner – sent off the 6-4 market leader – just lost out to the battle-hardened Mawj, who had twice won in Meydan over the winter.

The pair were seven and a half lengths clear of Kieran Cotter’s Matilda Picotte, who had helped the set the pace on the far-side group and stuck to her guns gallantly. Caernarfon was fourth at 50-1 for Jack Channonn.

It was a welcome return to the big-race winner’s enclosure for Bin Suroor and his third success in the race following Cape Verdi (1998) and Kazzia (2002), while it was Murphy’s second Classic after Kameko’s 2000 Guineas win in 2020.

Bin Suroor said: “I think this is Group One number 195 around the world.

“The filly was doing well before the race. If you saw her last year she was really tough and strong. She is a tiny filly, but she has a big heart. She is a Group Two winner here and unbeaten in Dubai.

“I spoke to Sheikh Mohammed before we ran her in Dubai over a mile. We tried her over a mile and she did well out in Dubai. I talked to Sheikh Mohammed before we declared her and it was a great decision from him, and the filly won well – we’re happy with her.

“Me and Charlie (Appleby) are a good team and he was with me for a long time before becoming the best trainer now. We’re good friends and have the best horses in the country, maybe even the world in our stables. We will sometimes have luck like with Mawj today, she’s a nice filly.

“We will keep options open and see how she comes out of the race. She’s entered in French Guineas but that is probably too close to this race, but she is also in the Irish Guineas so we will take to Sheikh Mohammed and will make a decision after a week.”

Former champion Murphy – who this season has returned to the saddle following a 14-month riding ban – said: “The sun is beating down, there are lots of people here and she walked round like she was half asleep. When I got on her back I started to believe it could happen.

All smiles from winning connections
All smiles from winning connections (Nigel French/PA)

“I was worried there wasn’t a lot of pace in the race and I rode her a bit like Frankie (Dettori) rode Chaldean yesterday – I set my own fractions on the wing with no cover. 

“It really was a very good training performance, she hasn’t run in nearly three months and I got a huge buzz out of that. These are such important races.”

Via Sistina oozes class in Dahlia Stakes cruise

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Via Sistina was a runaway winner in a strong renewal of the Howden Dahlia Stakes for jockey Jamie Spencer and trainer George Boughey.

The strapping daughter of Fastnet Rock, reportedly the biggest horse in the Newmarket yard, had won a Group Three at Toulouse in November, having finished runner-up on her first start for the yard in a similar contest at Newmarket.

Formerly with Joseph Tuite, the five-year-old was back down in trip to nine furlongs for her seasonal debut and relished the soft ground, travelling sweetly throughout the Group Two contest.

As the field split into two groups early, Spencer sat motionless on the far side as last season’s Falmouth winner Prosperous Voyage set the pace, and he was still on the bridle when the pace quickened.

With two furlongs to race Via Sistina, sent off the 5-2 favourite, was asked to quicken and she strode clear in tremendous fashion to score eased down by six lengths from Al Husn, who got the better of Astral Beau by half a length for the minor honours.

Boughey said: “She’s done very well over the winter and Jamie said he had them covered all the way.

“The ground is so key to her – she’s got a hell of a turn of foot in soft ground. Her work is good on decent ground, but when it’s soft I haven’t got anything to go with her, so this hasn’t come as a huge surprise. When the rain started to fall we were pretty happy.

Via Sistina in full flight
Via Sistina in full flight (Nigel French/PA)

“She’s done it with consummate ease there. She’s not so free now, she’s able to relax and that’s going to enable her to get better and better.

“Even at the back end of last year we were talking about the Prix de l’Opera on Arc day as a realistic possibility. It’s been soft for the last however many years on Arc day and we’ll work back from that.

“The Pretty Polly on Irish Derby day is possibly the next step and she’s not sort of pace, so I think she’s pretty versatile trip-wise.

“I don’t really know what her trip is, but the softer the ground the better for her really.”

Running Lion could be bound for Chantilly rather than Epsom

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John Gosden was hesitant to commit to a tilt at the Betfred Oaks with Running Lion following her dominant success in the Howden Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket.

The three-year-old was sent off at 100-30 for the Listed contest following a hat-trick of all-weather wins and was always travelling strongly in the hands of Oisin Murphy.

Once given her head, Running Lion soon put clear daylight between herself and her rivals and passed the post with four and a half lengths in hand over the runner-up Sumo Sam.

Betfred immediately slashed the winner to 7-1 for 20-1 for Epsom – but having seen her sire Roaring Lion come up short in the stamina department when third in the 2018 Derby, Gosden raised the French equivalent, the Prix de Diane, as a possible alternative.

“We’re delighted with her. We brought her down here for a piece of work and Oisin said we should go for the Pretty Polly rather than the 1000 Guineas as she’ll need the mile and a quarter, so we’ve made the right decision,” said the Clarehaven handler.

“Roaring Lion was a wonderful horse with all the Group Ones that he won. He won the Dante in tremendous style, we went to the Derby, he was the last one off the bridle and didn’t see out the mile and a half, so it will be very interesting with this filly whether she’s more Prix de Diane or a mile-and-a-half Oaks filly. We’ll have to give that a bit of thought.

“Anything’s possible and you’ve got more trials to come. There’s the Musidora at York and the Newbury trial and the filly of Sir Michael Stoute’s who won here on Friday (Infinite Cosmos) looked very classy, so we’ll see how it shapes up.”

John Gosden was delighted with Running Lion's performance
John Gosden was delighted with Running Lion’s performance (Mike Egerton/PA)

He added: “The jockey’s first reaction was to possibly stay at a mile and a quarter and I’m always interested as to what they say when they come back straight away, not when they’ve had time to think.

“We made the mistake with Roaring Lion, who hit the line strongly in the Dante but didn’t see out the trip in the Derby, so we’ll give it a lot of thought.

“The idea would be to go to one of the Oaks, which one it is I don’t know. We won the Diane last year (with Nashwa) and it’s a wonderful race, you just don’t want a bad draw.”

HMS President finished with a flourish to secure top honours in the £100,000 Howden Handicap.

Torcello gave a bold sight in front for much of the one-mile-six-furlong contest, but was unable to resist the late charge of Alan King’s 7-1 shot, with a neck separating them at the line.

HMS President (right) gets up to score at Newmarket
HMS President (right) gets up to score at Newmarket (Nigel French/PA)

Adjuvant also came home strongly to dead-heat with Torcello for second.

King’s assistant, Robin Smith, said of the Rossa Ryan-ridden winner: “I thought he got a bump early on and that lit him up and Rossa did a good job of managing him from then on.

“I thought if he could keep the horse on his outside (Adjuvant) behind him he’d keep finding and these big fields probably suit him as they go a gallop and come back to him if they go hard in front, like they did today.

“He’s a very talented horse and we’re very pleased to have him. The plan for some time has been to come here today and we’ll see where we go from here.”

Charlie Appleby followed up his earlier success with Adayar when newcomer On Point (8-11 favourite) dug deep to win the Howden British EBF Maiden Stakes.

The son of Blue Point is now likely to head to Sandown’s National Stakes before a Royal Ascot tilt.

“He’s been an honest little horse and a straightforward horse. He’s been very professional and we know the family on both sides so we were very keen to have a Blue Point winner.

“It’s fantastic and what you love to see is that he’s shown all the characteristics that his dad showed as a two-year-old, with showing up early and having natural speed. He was a bit fresh in the paddock when saddling beforehand, but you don’t mind that. You’d rather them get a feel for it all before the jockey gets on.

“As William (Buick) said, It’s hard to really assess as it was a bit of a two and a half furlong burn up, but he’s done it and knuckled down and we’ll hopefully get another run into him before we start making Ascot assessments. I’d say we’ll probably take a look (at the National Stakes), I’m always keen to try to get two runs in before Ascot.

“It’s a big day and a big occasion and sometimes you can lose a horse there (if you have only had one run previously). It takes a while to get them back and at least if they’ve cut their teeth a couple of times they’ve a bit better understanding of it all.”