Dermot Weld reports Tahiyra to have returned from Newmarket in good form following her brave second in the Qipco 1000 Guineas.
Making just her third start in the one-mile Classic, the daughter of Siyouni was sent off the 6-4 favourite in the hands of Chris Hayes and belied her trainer’s pre-race trepidation the race may have come a touch too soon by fighting out a thrilling finish with the Saeed bin Suroor-trained winner Mawj.
Ultimately the lack of a prep run may have played its part, but the Rosewell House handler described her performance as “excellent” and she lost little in defeat up against the race-fit winner.
Tahiyra holds entries in both the Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas and the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot where a rematch with Mawj is a possibility, but although happy his filly has recovered from her Rowley Mile exertions well, Weld will now take his time before electing a next port of call.
He said: “She’s come out of her excellent run at Newmarket very well, but no decisions will be made about her next start for another few weeks, certainly until closer to the Irish 1,000 Guineas.
“She ran an excellent race and has come out of it well.”
A plan is also yet to be finalised for the improving Azazat who built on an encouraging third to Betfred Oaks favourite Savethelastdance to open her account in style at Leopardstown on Sunday.
Azazat herself is a best price of 16-1 for the Epsom Classic on June 2, but the daughter of Camelot also holds an entry in the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Juddmonte Irish Oaks later in the season.
“She did it very well on Sunday,” continued Weld. “In her race previously she was beaten by Savethelastdance and I thought she did it very well.
“We’re likely to make a decision next week where she will run next and all options are on the table and are open.”
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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.
“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.
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.
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, 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.”
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Chris Hayes is determined to enjoy the fact he is riding the favourite Tahiyra in the Qipco 1000 Guineas at Newmarket on Sunday.
Not seen since a scintillating display in the Moyglare Stud Stakes on just her second start, the unbeaten Dermot Weld-trained filly has headed the market for the Classic all winter.
There had been some doubt as to whether she would be ready in time for Newmarket, but Weld confirmed earlier in the week she would take her chance and Hayes is understandably delighted.
“It’s great she’s been declared. Obviously she was very impressive last year and you’d have to be looking forward to her. To get the chance to ride the favourite in any English or Irish Classic is special, so we’ll enjoy it and hope for a bit of luck,” he said.
“Before Galway, she just felt a like a special filly in her work. She’d never blow you away but she just felt different, everything came with an ease to her. She excited me in Galway and when I got off that day, I felt she could potentially be a Group One filly.
“But if you’d said to me she would go and win the Moyglare next time, I wouldn’t have believed you and anybody being honest would say the same – to take that step up and put a field of that quality to bed with 100 yards to go, I don’t think anybody would have thought that.
“She looked terribly exciting that day, she seems to have wintered well so I’m looking forward to it.
“If I’m honest, since I got off her at the Curragh I’ve been looking forward to her next race tremendously. I just love riding her as she’s a pleasure to do anything with.”
Hayes won the Irish 1,000 Guineas on Weld’s Homeless Songs last year and is savouring the link with another potential star.
“I’m very excited, to get on any favourite in a Classic is rare, for me it’s the stuff of dreams so we’ll see what we can do. She’s in good shape and she’s trained by the right man, hopefully things go well,” he said.
“Meditate ran her race in the Moyglare, I know they said the ground was slower than ideal for her but we drew a long way clear of the third. Her form is rock solid.
“Obviously, like the boss has said, there’s always the question if they train on from two to three, but on her home work she appears to have and she’s just a pleasure. She’ll never get you excited going up the gallops but she turns it on at the races.
“That Moyglare form is rock solid and I certainly wouldn’t swap her for anything else.”
Aidan O’Brien’s Meditate was subsequently second in the Cheveley Park Stakes and then went to Keeneland where she won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf over a mile.
The winner of the Cheveley Park was the Ralph Beckett-trained Lezoo, the mount of Frankie Dettori, but she will be stepping up two furlongs in distance.
According to the market, Beckett’s first string is the Fred Darling winner Remarquee, who will be ridden by Rob Hornby.
Saeed bin Suroor’s Mawj will team up with Oisin Murphy for the first time after winning twice at Meydan earlier in the year.
In the first of those victories she beat Dream Of Love, while in the second she was a long way clear of Fairy Cross. Both of those are trained by Charlie Appleby and will attempt to gain their revenge.
Mammas Girl was impressive in the Nell Gwyn for Richard Hannon and is another unbeaten contender and she will be joined be stablemate Powerdress
Polly Pott, now with Ben Pauling following the retirement of Harry Dunlop, is another Group winner in the race.
Caernarfon will attempt to give Jack Channon a Classic winner in his first season, Matilda Picotte represents Kieran Cotter while Billy Loughnane continues his rapid ascent through the ranks with a first Guineas ride on Richard Spencer’s outsider Sweet Harmony.
Only Beckett’s Juliet Sierra and O’Brien’s Never Ending Story were not declared at the 48-hour stage.
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Tahiyra will attempt to maintain her unbeaten record as she takes on 19 rivals in Sunday’s Qipco 1000 Guineas at Newmarket.
Trained by Dermot Weld and owned by the Aga Khan, Tahiyra went straight from winning her maiden into Group One company for the Moyglare Stud Stakes and was an impressive two-and-a-quarter-length winner.
Back in second that day was Aidan O’Brien’s Meditate and the two will clash again.
O’Brien’s filly was subsequently second in the Cheveley Park Stakes and then went to Keeneland where she won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf over a mile.
The winner of the Cheveley Park was the Ralph Beckett-trained Lezoo, the mount of Frankie Dettori, but she will be stepping up two furlongs in distance.
According to the market, Beckett’s first string is the Fred Darling winner Remarquee, who will be ridden by Rob Hornby.
Saeed bin Suroor’s Mawj will team up with Oisin Murphy for the first time after winning twice at Meydan earlier in the year.
In the first of those victories she beat Dream Of Love, while in the second she was a long way clear of Fairy Cross. Both of those are trained by Charlie Appleby and will attempt to gain their revenge.
Mammas Girl was impressive in the Nell Gwyn for Richard Hannon and is another unbeaten contender and she will be joined be stablemate Powerdress
Polly Pott, now with Ben Pauling following the retirement of Harry Dunlop, is another Group winner in the race.
Caernarfon will attempt to give Jack Channon a Classic winner in his first season, Matilda Picotte represents Kieran Cotter while Billy Loughnane continues his rapid ascent through the ranks with a first Guineas ride on Richard Spencer’s outsider Sweet Harmony.
Only Beckett’s Juliet Sierra and O’Brien’s Never Ending Story were not declared at the 48-hour stage.
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Dermot Weld’s Tahiyra features amongst the 22 confirmations for the Qipco 1000 Guineas, the opening fillies Classic of the season.
The daughter of Siyouni is unbeaten in two outings having followed up an impressive debut victory at Galway by downing Aidan O’Brien’s Breeders’ Cup heroine Meditate in the Moyglare Stud Stakes last September and she has held a position towards the top of the ante-post lists ever since.
Tahiyra and Meditate dominate the top of the market for Sunday’s race at Newmarket and Weld has issued an update suggesting the favourite is likely to line up.
“We’ve left her in at the forfeit stage for the 1000 Guineas on Sunday and the present thought is she will run, but we will make a definite decision later in the week and see how she is,” Weld told the Nick Luck Daily Podcast.
“She’s coming all the time, she’s a filly that hasn’t really grown from two to three but I’m happy and I think she has progressed nicely over the last two weeks and the present thought is we will let her take her chance. We will not confirm that till later in the week.”
As well as Meditate O’Brien could saddle Never Ending Story, with Kieran Cotter’s Matilda Picotte, second to Never Ending Story recently, also on course for a raiding mission.
Richard Hannon leads the British charge with his Nell Gwyn winner Mammas Girl and could also be represented by Powerdress, while as well as Mammas Girl, owners Amo Racing could see Olivia Maralda make her debut for Roger Varian in the race.
Mawj got the better of Dream Of Love by a short head on her first run at Meydan before going on to trounce Nell Gwyn runner-up Fairy Cross in the next time out and that trio give Godolphin a strong hand in a race they last won in 2011 with Blue Bunting.
Ralph Beckett could saddle three in search of his first victory in the race with Fred Darling winner Remarquee, last year’s Cheveley Park champion Lezoo and Dick Poole winner Juliet Sierra all poised to step out onto the Rowley Mile.
It will be Lezoo’s first outing since storming to victory at the track last autumn and connections are keen to praise the efforts of the team at Beckett’s Hampshire base for ensuring their star filly makes the line-up.
“Lezoo goes for the 1000 Guineas and it’s a great feat by the team at Kimpton to have both Lezoo ready to run and Prosperous Voyage who will run in the Dahlia Stakes that day. Hopefully Frankie will ride both of them,” said Jamie McCalmont, racing manager for owners Marc Chan and Andrew Rosen.
“That’s a fair achievement and so much can go wrong – we’ve had a very cold and wet spring – and we’re really happy to be heading there on Sunday.”
Of those not confirmed, Karl Burke’s Electric Eyes was shortest in the betting, while John Quinn’s Breege and John and Thady Gosden’s Running Lion are other notable names to skip the May 7 contest.
Dermot Weld will give Tahiyra a workout later this week before determining whether or not she will take her place in the Qipco 1000 Guineas at Newmarket on Sunday week.
The Aga Khan’s beautifully-bred daughter of Siyouni is vying for favouritism with Meditate for the fillies’ Classic at Newmarket, having beaten Aidan O’Brien’s multiple Group One winner in a strong renewal of the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh.
That two-and-a-quarter-length victory, her second in two starts, came on her last run in September, with Meditate subsequently franking the form when taking the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Keeneland in November.
Pat Downes, who manages the Aga Khan’s Irish studs, reported Tahiyra in fine fettle ahead of a possible run on the Rowley Mile.
He said: “She is in great form and had a great winter, and we are very happy with her.
“Dermot has been keeping all his options open until he couldn’t – until he has to make a final decision. And that’s pretty much where we’re at.
“She will be doing a bit of work this week and I would imagine after this week we will be making a decision as to where she is likely to go.
“Meditate more than franked the form of the Moyglare in the Breeders’ Cup and she is very exciting. We are really looking forward to seeing her run again and see what happens from two to three.”
A half-sister to Tarnawa, who won the Prix Vermeille, Prix de l’Opera and the Breeders’ Cup Turf for Weld in 2020, Tahiyra has abundant stamina in her pedigree.
However, she showed plenty of speed in taking the seven-furlong Moyglare and may not prove herself to be an Oaks filly.
Downes added: “We couldn’t be happier with her – she’s in a very good place and we’re really pleased with her.
“We will take it one step at a time. Her sister maybe stayed better than we would have expected her to do, and as Dermot correctly said, Tahiyra shows more speed than Tanarwa did, so what her optimum trip will be in due course I really wouldn’t be able to say at this stage.”
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Dermot Weld is in no rush to commit ante-post favourite Tahiyra to the Qipco 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, with the Irish and French versions also under consideration.
A brilliant winner of the Moyglare Stud Stakes from subsequent Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Meditate, she has led the betting for the Newmarket Classic for some time.
However, Weld has offered no assurances the Aga Khan-owned filly will turn up at Newmarket and will only be swayed by the well-being of the half-sister to Tarnawa.
“I’m very satisfied with her, she’s wintered well. We had a very dry February and then a very wet March, so I’ve taken my time with her but I’m satisfied,” he told Nick Luck’s Daily Podcast.
“We’ve made no decision yet where she may start off. It may be the Irish Guineas, the French Guineas or the English Guineas but no decision will be made until later in the month, it depends on how she’s working.
“Some fillies come early in the season, some fillies take a little longer. It’s not a question of which Guineas (suits best), she’ll tell me when she’s ready.
“Horses grow their coat in the winter and in the spring they shed it. If you get a nice, mild spring obviously it happens quicker, but if you get a wet spring and cold weather, obviously they hold on to their coats a little longer and with fillies their performance is affected, it’s nature.
“I think she could well go 10 furlongs (later in the season). Tarnawa got a mile and a half – she won the Vermeille, the Breeders’ Cup (Turf) – but I’d say this filly has more pace, so we’d be happy over a mile at the moment.”
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Aidan O’Brien’s Little Big Bear has been crowned Europe’s champion juvenile for 2022.
Narrowly beaten on his racecourse debut at the Curragh, the son of No Nay Never went on to win each of his four subsequent starts, including the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot.
But it was his scintillating display on what proved to be his final juvenile appearance in the Group One Phoenix Stakes that saw him top the charts with a rating of 124.
Little Big Bear, who missed a planned step up to seven furlongs in the National Stakes, is O’Brien’s 12th European Champion Juvenile and is ante-post favourite for the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.
O’Brien said: “We always thought from day one he was very good and we were very surprised the first day that he got beat, but with two-year-olds that can happen.
“Every run after that we did what we thought he would do. We always thought he was a very smart horse.
“We were looking forward to the National Stakes. He always showed plenty of speed, but when he stepped up to six furlongs he did really improve and I remember Ryan saying he’d get seven on his ear after the Phoenix Stakes.
“He’s by No Nay Never who is a big influence on speed, but there’s a good chance that a mile could be within his compass this year. We’re looking forward to seeing what he can do.
“That (2000 Guineas) is what we’re thinking at the moment.”
Reflecting on Little Big Bear, Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board handicapper Mark Bird said: “His dominant performances in taking the Group Three Anglesey Stakes and the Group One Phoenix Stakes propelled him clear of his rivals in the race to be Europe’s top two-year-old from an early stage of the season and whetted the appetite for what promises to be an exciting three-year-old career.”
Not for the first time O’Brien made a significant impact on the upper echelons of the rankings, with Little Big Bear 5lb clear of stablemate Blackbeard (119), who in turn finds himself 1lb ahead of another potential Ballydoyle star in the impressive Vertem Futurity Stakes winner Auguste Rodin – clear favourite for the Derby at Epsom.
O’Brien said: “We think Auguste Rodin is a very good horse. We were nearly not running him in the Vertem Futurity as he’s a lovely, big, slick horse and we were worried about the ground.
“He’s a very good mover with a good mind, we always thought he’d be a better horse at three and we think he’ll get middle distances, so the plan with him is he’ll probably start in the Guineas and see where we go from there.”
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Victoria Road also features in the top 10 with a mark of 115, while O’Brien feels there is more to come from 114-rated Juvenile Fillies’ Turf heroine Meditate.
“With Meditate, the twice she got beat it was probably our fault,” he added.
“When she got beaten in the Moyglare, she’s a filly that has plenty of speed and we made the running with her over seven furlongs in soft to heavy ground, so that didn’t make a lot of sense when you look back.
“Then we might have panicked a little bit and ran her back in the Cheveley Park a bit too quick. She ran very well, but was probably a little bit flat.
“We were very happy going to America that she’d had a bit of time to freshen up and we knew the way we wanted to ride her this time. We always thought she was a very high-class, high-quality filly.
“It was only when we stepped Victoria Road up in trip that we started to get the best out of him.
“He could be a French Classic-type horse – French Guineas/French Derby-type horse.”
As far as the fillies were concerned, it was Meditate’s Moyglare Stud Stakes conqueror Tahiyra, with a mark of 118, who provided another major milestone in the career of the legendary Dermot Weld, ending the season as the trainer’s first ever European Champion Two-Year-Old Filly.
Bird said of Tahiyra: “She set off impressively in the illustrious hoofprints of her half-sister and Breeders’ Cup heroine Tarnawa, when winning at Group One level on just her second start.
“Providing Dermot Weld with his inaugural European Juvenile Champion filly, she is owner H.H. Aga Khan’s first juvenile female champion since Zarkava in 2007.”
O’Brien also gave mention to Justify filly Statuette, who was two from two last season but has not been seen in competitive action since landing a Group Two at the Curragh in June.
He said: “She’s a massive filly and I was surprised she came as quick as she did. We tried to back away from her and when we did she started to grow more.
“We’re very happy with her and we’ll take our time with her. We’ll train her for the Classics and see where we go, but we won’t force her.
“If it comes too quick for her we can go to Ascot, but I’m very happy with how she’s done physically.
“She’s going to be a filly to look forward to.”
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