Tag Archive for: Phil Kirby

Kirby outlines Royal Ascot aim for Farhan

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Phil Kirby is eyeing an appearance at Royal Ascot for Farhan after performing above expectations at Newbury on Saturday.

The five-year-old won the 2021 November Handicap and a valuable prize at York last season for John Butler before changing hands for 150,000 guineas in October.

Following a slow start, Farhan failed to make an impact when defending his November Handicap crown on his debut for new connections, but fared far better in filling the runner-up spot as a 40-1 shot in Saturday’s Group Three Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Stakes – better known as the John Porter.

Kirby said: “I was delighted – I thought he ran really well and hopefully he’ll come on for it.

“The plan is to go for the mile-and-a-half handicap on the Friday of Royal Ascot (Duke of Edinburgh Stakes), so I couldn’t really afford to come down in the handicap, but I might go the wrong way now!

“I was trying to find something competitive for him, as mad as it sounds, but he put up a really good show and probably didn’t need the run as much as I thought he would.”

Farhan was beaten just over two lengths by the Charlie Fellowes-trained Grand Alliance, with Max Vega a neck behind him in third.

With hot favourite Hurricane Lane failing to fire and the top-class Mojo Star suffering an injury that could be career-ending, Kirby is hoping the handicapper does not take the form too literally.

Trainer Phil Kirby
Trainer Phil Kirby (Phil Kirby Racing)

“He travelled and stayed on nicely, but I suppose we rode him to run well. We sort of took our time and tried to pick up the pieces if we could and it ended up better than we expected,” the trainer added.

“I thought it was a hot enough Group Three, but the favourite has run badly and the other horse got injured, so I don’t know what they’ll do.

“We’ll look towards Royal Ascot and I think there’s room for another run before then. There’s another Group Three back at Newbury (Al Rayyan Stakes, May 20) and there’s also a race at York for him around the same time, so he’ll probably go for one of the two.

“I don’t think he’s desperate for it soft, but I don’t think he wants quick ground – easy side of good or softer is fine.”

Kirby looking towards Topham target for Ben

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Phil Kirby’s popular campaigner Top Ville Ben could head next for the Topham Chase at Aintree.

The 11-year-old was pulled up when seen most recently in the Ultima at the Cheltenham Festival, but prior to that he was a gallant third in the Leopardstown Handicap Chase in early February.

The gelding already has some experience of the Grand National track having run in both the Becher and the National itself last season.

He may have pulled up before the third fence from home in the latter race, but he jumped well up until that point despite being seriously hampered on landing at the 10th.

Top Ville Ben at Aintree in 2019
Top Ville Ben at Aintree in 2019 (Paul Harding/PA)

Kirby will school the horse at home after feeling his jumping was less than fluent at Cheltenham, and a satisfactory session will see him head back to Aintree for the two-mile-five-furlong handicap.

The trainer said: “He’s an entry in the Topham, so that’s the plan at the moment.

“He was just a bit sticky at Cheltenham so we’re going to school him at home.

“We’ll school him and if he jumps well then the plan will be to go there, but he’s come out of the race at Cheltenham absolutely fine.”

Lone Star proves apt winner of Lady Buttons heat for Phil Kirby

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Lone Star honoured a former heroine of the Phil Kirby stable when winning the Racing TV Go North Lady Buttons Mares’ Hurdle Series Final at Musselburgh.

The race is named after Kirby’s popular and successful mare, a Grade Two winner who took 15 races throughout her career and was victorious in bumpers, over hurdles and fences.

Lone Star has been on the up all season, winning four of her last five starts by good margins, including a course-and-distance victory earlier in the month.

Under Joe Williamson she was an easy winner again this time, pulling away to win by a decisive nine lengths as the 3-1 favourite despite having gone up 10lb in the handicap since her last run.

“She’s really good, she’s progressing all the time,” Kirby said.

“It’s brilliant to win Lady Buttons’ race,  that’s an extra bonus. We set out our stall out for this race and it’s nice when it works out.

“For the last five or six runs, she’s just been getting better and better, I’m not sure where the end is yet but she keeps winning for now.

“She’s going the right way, where the end of it all is we’ll find out as we go along, but at the moment she’s going in the right direction.”

A step up in grade could now be on the agenda for the six-year-old, with the Listed bearrene.com Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham on April 20 pencilled in already.

Kirby said: “There’s the mares’ Listed race at Cheltenham in late April, there’s a novice there that’s probably where we’ll go next.”

Phil Kirby nominates Topham target for Top Ville Ben

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Phil Kirby is eyeing the Randox Topham Chase for Top Ville Ben following his brave third at Leopardstown during the Dublin Racing Festival.

The forward-going 11-year-old was one of only three UK raiders to line-up in Ireland over the course of the two-day meeting,but that enterprise was rewarded when the Green Oaks Farm stalwart brought home €13,500 of prize-money for connections following his placed effort in the Bulmers Leopardstown Handicap Chase.

Although sent off a rather unfancied 28-1 in the hands of Thomas Dowson, he gave a bold sight – jumping and galloping with aplomb close to the pace and only giving way late in the day to eventual winner The Goffer and Glamorgan Duke who picked up the silver medal.

Kirby was delighted to see the adaptable son of Beneficial run to form and also praised the warm hospitality both himself and Top Ville Ben’s owners received at Leopardstown.

He said: “He ran really well and we were really pleased.

“Obviously we would have liked to have won but the horse ran really well, the owners had a brilliant time and we were all very well looked after. It’s just a shame the ground dried up a little bit. I think with softer ground, he would have finished even closer.

“There were no excuses though, everything went to plan really and we were sat where we wanted to be and we came there with every chance – he just wasn’t quite good enough on the day. He’s done everything right though and I suppose he’s a bit exposed being a bit older than the rest of them.

“We gave our running, ran and jumped well and it was a great day out. You would certainly go back and it was good prize-money – it was definitely worth going that’s for sure.

“Hopefully there will be another nice day for him as long as the handicapper doesn’t do anything drastic – or anything at all really. I think he’s about right where he is.”

Top Ville Ben (left), The Goffer (centre) and Glamorgan Duke (right) jump the last in the Bulmers Leopardstown Handicap Chase at Leopardstown on Day two of the Dublin Racing Festival (
Top Ville Ben (left), The Goffer (centre) and Glamorgan Duke (right) jump the last in the Bulmers Leopardstown Handicap Chase at Leopardstown on Day two of the Dublin Racing Festival (Lorraine O’Sullivan/PA)

Ground will determine if Top Ville Ben will run again before his spring target and tackling the Grand National fences for a third time at Aintree on April 14.

“The main plan now will be the Topham,” continued Kirby. “Whether we have a run in between or not, we will have to see how things pan out. It’s a dry forecast so I can’t see anything happening too soon, but the plan would be hopefully we get some nice ground at Aintree and we’ll have a go at the Topham.

“I think if we got some soft ground he would go there with a nice chance. Although I think the drier it is, his chance dries up a bit with it. The more rain, the more in his favour it would be.”

Conditions are also set to dictate where Jason The Militant will be next seen with an outing at the Cheltenham Festival an option, provided rain arrives to slow the ground up at Prestbury Park.

“We’re a bit stuck with him really as he is probably a bit more ground dependent than Ben,” added Kirby.

“We’ll have to see how things go but there is a handicap at the Cheltenham Festival (County Hurdle) he can run in and there is also the Champion Hurdle. If that was to cut up and it came up soft, then there is probably worse places we could go to try to pick up some good prize-money.”

He went on: “I thought he ran really well for his first run back and he probably needed it a little bit. He didn’t do an awful lot wrong really, he was just given an impossible task in a handicap first time out for a while.

“We needed to get a run into him and the ground was a bit too quick but we got away with it. I wouldn’t really want to run him on ground like that too often.”

Kirby planning Leopardstown raid for Top Ville Ben

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Top Ville Ben is set to be tasked with a raiding mission to the Dublin Racing Festival having seen an intended engagement at Lingfield lost to the recent cold snap.

Phil Kirby’s 11-year-old was primed to defend his Cazoo Hurdle title during the Surrey track’s Winter Million weekend, but will now revert to fences for the Bulmers Handicap Chase at Leopardstown on February 5.

British runners have been in short supply at the Dublin track’s two-day showpiece, but Kirby has taken over Lady Buttons to mix it with Ireland’s best in the past and believes his stable stalwart has a fair chance of getting in the shake-up if reproducing his best.

Top Ville Ben clears a hurdle on his way to winning the Cazoo Hurdle during day one of The Winter Million Festival at Lingfield Park last year
Top Ville Ben clears a hurdle on his way to winning the Cazoo Hurdle during day one of The Winter Million Festival at Lingfield Park last year (Simon Marper/PA)

He said: “He’s most likely going there and that’s the plan at the moment. He’s a bit limited to where he can go but the owners are going to go over there, so I think that is where we are going to head.

“It’s a big prize and it’s going to be very competitive, but it is the sort of race we have to run in, so we’ll go over and give it a good go.

“Obviously you need to be very well handicapped for these races and whether we are or not, I’m not sure, but he’s probably at least fairly handicapped on the best of his form.

“I don’t mind going over there. If the owners can have a good day out and the horse has a chance, I’ll go anywhere.”

Kirby has also had to reroute new recruit Jason The Militant, who saw designated outings at both Lingfield and Haydock lost to the weather.

The former Henry de Bromhead inmate, who transferred to North Yorkshire for £50,000, is now poised to appear at Cheltenham on Saturday in handicap company where he will have to shoulder the burden of top weight in the SSS Super Alloys Handicap Hurdle.

He continued: “It’s certainly not ideal and the plan was definitely to run last weekend. But we are again a bit limited on what we do now and the ground is drying up as well.

“I think we’re just going to have to go and make a start to be honest. I did look in Ireland and there’s very little in Ireland for him as well, so I just thought we’ll most likely go there (Cheltenham), make a start and then work from there.

“Hopefully it won’t dry up too much, but we need to get a run into him as he’s been off long enough. He’s been grand, but I just think the ground might dry up more than ideal for him. We’ll go and see where we are.”

Bushypark back in business with North Yorkshire Grand National win

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Phil Kirby was thrilled to see the once prolific Bushypark bounce back to his best to claim the Vickers.Bet North Yorkshire Grand National at Catterick.

The nine-year-old won six successive races over obstacles between November 2020 and December 2021, but has since endured a spell in the doldrums.

However, having been pulled up on four successive occasions, Bushypark hinted at a return to form when runner-up as a 50-1 shot over hurdles at Newcastle last weekend and he was the 2-1 favourite turned out just five days later for a race his trainer won two years ago with Little Bruce.

While the well-fancied Legends Ryde refused to line up, it was clear from flag-fall that Bushypark was thoroughly enjoying himself as he fenced fluently at the head of affairs under Tommy Dowson.

Eclair De Guye emerged as the biggest challenger, but Kirby’s charge was not for catching and passed the post with three and a half lengths in hands.

Kirby said: “He lost his way for no reason, although he never looked great to be fair. He looked a bit poor and dry in his coat early on last year.

“I was panicking a bit as he didn’t even get round in his first few races for new owners, but he’s come back to form.

“We ran him last weekend and the plan was just to get round really and get those ‘P’s’ off his name.

“During his run he won three races in nine days, so I wasn’t worried about turning him out quickly and on his day he’s a proper horse for these kind of races.”

He added: “He’s been a great horse for us. We built a new yard up the road and we called it Bushypark, just because he won all those races for us.

“The pressure is off now. We can enjoy him rather than panicking all the time!”

Jimmy Moffatt is keen to raise Captain Westie’s sights following a successful debut for his yard in the Watch Racing TV Now Novices’ Hurdle.

The seven-year-old was second in an Irish bumper for Shark Hanlon and runner-up in a point-to-point for Tom Malone and was a 2-1 shot on his return from 424 days off the track.

Captain Westie proceeded to make every yard of the running under Charlotte Jones, jumping well in front and keeping enough in the tank to see off 5-6 favourite Broomfield Present by a length.

Moffatt, matching his best ever tally of 18 winners from last season, said: “We’ve had him about six months and it’s taken all that time to get him fit as he was literally the size of a minivan when he came to us and is not much smaller now!

“He’s going to have a short hurdling career as he’s going to go chasing and I wouldn’t mind having a crack at a decent race – something like the Prestige Novices’ Hurdle at Haydock which we won with Chief Dan George (in 2007).

“He’s not had any problems at all – he’s as clean as a whistle. I think he’s a nice horse, this wouldn’t be his track and he’ll improve a good bit.”

Roccowithlove in the Catterick winner's enclosure
Roccowithlove in the Catterick winner’s enclosure (Ashley Iveson/PA)

Atomic Angel (7-1) claimed the racingtv.com Mares’ Handicap Hurdle for trainer Susan Corbett and jockey Sam Coltherd, while the Joanne Foster-trained Roccowithlove gave a jumping exhibition on his way to winning the Millbry Hill Novices’ Handicap Chase in the hands of Emma Smith-Chaston.

Foster, who also saddled the third-placed Ballynagran, said: “I was quite surprised how well he went in that ground, but he’s been in really good form with himself.

“We bought him from Warren Greatrex for £3,500 and I only bought him to go point-to-pointing, but then we thought we’d keep running him (under rules) and we might come back here in two and a half weeks.”

Sue Smith’s Cerendipity (11-1) stayed on dourly to deny the hat-trick-seeking General Officer victory in the EBF “National Hunt” Novices’ Hurdle, with Thomas Willmott the winning pilot.

William Easterby steered 9-2 shot Bollin Neil to victory for his father Tim in the Every Race Live On Racing TV Handicap Hurdle.

A rare visit to Catterick for Harry Cobden paid dividends as he struck gold in the concluding Racing Again 25th January Handicap Hurdle aboard Milton Harris-trained 5-6 favourite El Muchacho.

He said: “I thought he was going to win easy enough and then the second horse picked up quite well when I got to him.

“He’s a nice horse, Milton’s done well with him and he’s obviously progressed.

“I don’t come here often. Mr (Paul) Nicholls doesn’t send many and I don’t think I’ve been here since lockdown, which must be nearly three years ago.”