Tag Archive for: Vadream

Vadream swoops late to grab Palace prize

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Vadream came from way off the pace to catch the long-time leader Live In The Dream and win the Howden Palace House Stakes at Newmarket.

The mare had won the Cammidge Trophy at Doncaster on Lincoln day but she finished in mid-division when sent out again quickly six days later for All-Weather Finals Day.

Having her first run over the minimum distance in this Group Three, she was perhaps not surprisingly taken off her feet in the early stages.

Part of the reason for that was the lightning pace set by Live In The Dream, who had everything on the stretch going into the dip.

Just when it looked as if Sean Kirrane was going to be celebrating the biggest winner of his career on Adam West’s speedster, Charlie Fellowes’ mare began to hit top gear.

Kieran Shoemark, who now has a 100 per cent record on her from two attempts, brought Vadream with a withering run nearest to the stands and the 7-1 shot got up by half a length. Manaccan was third.

Fellowes said: “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t delighted when the rain came last night and then more this morning.

“She just loves it (soft ground). She’s a very good mare, but she has to have her conditions and she got them today.

“I’d say the Duke of York (May 17)_is unlikely, it probably comes a bit soon. We’ll just run her where the conditions are right as she’s very clearly best on good to soft or softer.

“When she gets her conditions, she’s going to be very dangerous in whatever race she turns up in.”

Fellowes and Vadream on a ‘shot to nothing’ on Finals Day

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Charlie Fellowes is happy to roll the dice with Vadream and allow her to bid for a second big-race victory in less than a week in the BetUK All-Weather Sprint at Newcastle on Good Friday.

An impressive winner of last weekend’s Cammidge Trophy at Doncaster on heavy ground, the five-year-old turns out just six days later for the All-Weather Championships Finals at Gosforth Park.

Fellowes admits only time will tell how much that Town Moor romp took out of his star mare, but views a tilt at this £150,000 prize as a “shot to nothing”.

“You never know until you go to the racetrack so we’ll see, but she is a remarkable filly who takes her racing incredibly well,” said the Newmarket handler.

“She’s put all the weight back on that she lost – she was actually heavier on Thursday morning when we put her on the scales than she was before her race last week.

“It’s a shot to nothing. We know that it’s a tough ask as she put in a career-best performance on bottomless ground last weekend and if it’s left a mark it’s going to be a big ask, but all the signs at home are that she is fresh and well and ready to rock and roll again.”

Chief among Vadream’s rivals is Mick Appleby’s fast-improving sprinter Annaf.

The Muhaarar colt is a dual winner at Newcastle and is three from three since the turn of the year, completing his hat-trick with a Listed success at Lingfield in February.

Annaf holds strong claims on Finals Day
Annaf holds strong claims on Finals Day (John Hoy)

Appleby said: “I would like to think he has a very good chance. He seems to be going from strength to strength this season and can hopefully take another step forward. Even though he has not grown much in the last year, he has definitely got a lot stronger.

“He is probably the best chance we have had of winning one of the big ones on Finals Day. Edraak ran very well in the race last year and, with a bit of luck, hopefully Annaf can do it.”

Diligent Harry, trained by Clive Cox, finished a neck second to Annaf in the Kachy Stakes at Lingfield and has since gone one better at Newcastle before an unsuccessful trip to France.

“Diligent Harry won nicely up at Newcastle and then we took him over to France for his third qualifying run but sadly the saddle slipped, so there was nothing we could do about that,” said Cox.

“I am pleased to say that he has been in good order since then. There are no negatives with the track, given that he is a course and distance winner, and I would be very hopeful that he can put his best foot forward.”

Ado McGuinness saddles Harry's Bar
Ado McGuinness saddles Harry’s Bar (PA)

Irish hopes are carried by Ado McGuinness’ consistent speedster Harry’s Bar, who steps back in distance after finishing third in Listed company over seven furlongs at Wolverhampton four weeks ago.

McGuinness said: “Harry’s Bar is in great form and I was very happy with is run at Wolverhampton behind two high-class horses in Berkshire Shadow and Angel Bleu.

“We are going back to a straight six furlongs, although I think he does prefer racing around a bend. There are not many other options for a horse like him, so we have to take our chance.

“He ran in the race last year and was a little disappointing but he had just come back from Dubai having had a tough winter campaign, whereas this time around he is nice and fresh.

“He worked up the Curragh the other day with Hodd’s Girl (also runs at Newcastle) and they were both very good.”

Vadream in the frame for swift return at Newcastle

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Charlie Fellowes’ Vadream could switch back to the all-weather for Finals Day at Newcastle after her impressive Cammidge Trophy triumph at Doncaster on Saturday.

The five-year-old was in action early on in the year, running three times on the all-weather to secure a spot on Friday’s valuable card at Gosforth Park.

The intention was to keep her ticking over ahead of the turf season as she is a horse happier under a greater workload, a ploy that paid off when she was an easy four-and-a-half-length Listed winner on heavy ground on Town Moor.

Vadream is likely to take up a Good Friday entry, with Fellowes more inclined to target the six-furlong BetUK All-Weather Sprint Championships Conditions Stakes rather than the seven-furlong fillies’ and mares’ race she is also engaged in.

He said: “She has come out of the race really well, she takes her racing very well and is in good form. We have been discussing Good Friday and we are leaning towards going at this point.

Vadream winning the Pertemps Network Cammidge Trophy Stakes at Doncaster Racecourse
Vadream winning the Pertemps Network Cammidge Trophy Stakes at Doncaster Racecourse (Nigel French/PA)

“A decision hasn’t been made but we are leaning towards the six furlongs, she showed such a good turn of foot and I just think a stiff seven at Newcastle might be a bit too much.

“That does mean that we will lose the services of Kieran Shoemark as he’s booked to ride Diligent Harry, but we’ve got Hollie Doyle instead and she rode her absolutely beautifully at Ascot last season.”

Saturday’s victory was attributed partly to the testing ground, but also to some work the Fellowes team have done with the filly around exiting the stalls more sharply.

“She’s been a very frustrating filly to train, she’s always had the talent and ability but she’s also had this knack of just throwing her races away,” the trainer explained.

“She’s been slowly away which you just can’t do over six furlongs, you can’t give away lengths because the race is then over.

“We have tried something different with how we load her into the stalls and how we ride her out of them and it seemed to have worked, Kieran gave her an excellent ride I thought.

“I’d like to see her do it again, I’d like her to back it up with another run like that and then I’ll start to get excited!”

Good Friday will come up quickly after her weekend efforts but Vadream thrives on racing and has produced some of her best runs when in the midst of a busy spell.

Fellowes said: “If anything it is the other way around – the more she runs, the better she is.

“If she’s too fresh she can get incredibly worked up and turn into a real handful, when she’s not left for too long before races she’s much happier and more settled. That’s why we ran her three times on the all weather before Doncaster, though those tracks didn’t always suit her.”

After Newcastle a return to the turf beckons, with targets on both side of the Irish Sea already identified and a step back to five furlongs not out of the question.

Fellowes said: “First we need to see how she goes on Good Friday, then it’s likely she’ll have, not a break as such, but a bit of a gap and then come back out for something like the Duke of York and then perhaps head to Ireland where you’re more likely to get a bit of cut in the ground.

“It might be that in very testing ground she could run over five, which would open up so many options.

“The Flying Five, Haydock Sprint Cup, Prix de l’Abbaye, Champions Day – there are so many races where you know you’re going to get cut in the ground.

“Before any of that though I want to see her do it again and hopefully on Good Friday she’ll produce something like she did at the weekend.”

Vadream dominates Cammidge Trophy rivals

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Vadream made light work of the testing conditions at Doncaster to run out a decisive winner of the Pertemps Network Cammidge Trophy.

Fit from three runs on the all-weather, the Charlie Fellowes-trained mare was a 9-1 shot to strike Listed gold and claim her first victory since landing the Group Three Bengough Stakes at Ascot in the autumn of 2021.

After initially travelling strongly on the heels of the leaders, Vadream took over from the halfway stage and never really looked in any danger of being caught.

The further she went the further the five-year-old went clear and she was not hard pressed to pass the post with four and a half lengths in hand over Fast Response in the hands of Kieran Shoemark.

Fellowes said: “We ran her on ground that was too quick last season so we won’t be doing that again but what we did learn last year was that she always improves with racing.

“We gave her three runs on the all-weather before coming here. She loves soft ground and loves six furlongs and has always threatened to do something like that.

“Last year was frustrating with quick ground all summer but we know her a lot better this year, we’ll stick to cut in the ground and six furlongs is perfect.”

Charlie Fellowes was delighted with Vadream's victory in the Cammidge Trophy
Charlie Fellowes was delighted with Vadream’s victory in the Cammidge Trophy (Mike Egerton/PA)

Considering future plans, the trainer added: “She’s in on All-Weather Finals Day and Newcastle probably is the only all-weather track you could get away with it and think you have a big chance. She is the sort of filly you can back up quickly and then she’d have a little break.

“She’ll have an entry at York in May (Duke of York Stakes) and she might get an entry in Ireland where they get cut in the ground. Hopefully we have a wet summer.

“The owner loves racing. A lot of people would have had her covered this year but he said he’d waited a long time for a filly like this and as long as she’s in good heart, kick on.”