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Ryan Moore guides SNOW FAIRY to a
sensational win in the Epsom Oaks (Gr 1)
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Jockey Ryan Moore’s name has been accompanied by so many superlatives so often that one can’t think of new ones after he had ridden an Oaks-Derby double at Epsom. He was put to the supreme test when he weaved the Intikhab filly through traffic in the straight and even though she only just got home in the Oaks, she put up an exceptional performance. Snow Fairy rewarded her connections’ decision to
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supplement her entry to the Investec Epsom Oaks (Eng-G1) when she produced a scintillating run from near the back of the field to win the 232nd edition of the English classic.
Snow Fairy entered this race off a three-length win in her season debut in the Blue Square Height of Fashion Stakes at Goodwood. Trainer Ed Dunlop persuaded the Austrian...
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WORKFORCE
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Shatters course record on way to victory in the
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Epsom Derby (Gr1)
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For weeks Derby entrants from the Aidan O’Brien camp were favoured, and the pre-race mood was a deep confidence that the winner of the race would hail from the stables of Aidan O’Brien. Also, for months Newmarket had been awash with rumours about the brilliance of the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Workforce even before he hit the track as a three-year-old.
On that sunny famous day on the Epsom turf he proved the validity of all those
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comments by obliterating the Derby field in a record-breaking performance. Juddmonte Farm’s homebred Workforce unfurled an explosive burst of speed in the final quarter-mile to sail past At First Sight and surge away to a seven-length victory in the Investec Epsom Derby (Eng-Gr1) at Epsom Downs. Available at 6 to1 he annihilated his eleven rivals giving jockey Ryan Moore his first Derby win and his second English classic...
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THE WAY I SEE IT... — Rolf Johnson
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In winning the 231st Investec Derby, Workforce became fastest of all his 230 predecessors in the world’s most famous race.
Workforce’s demolition of his Epsom field in record time undid the lame statistic that a horse beaten in the Dante can’t win the Derby; unbuttoned solemn champion jockey Ryan Moore’s smile; and, not least, maintained the great race’s traditions – there was no sense of diminuendo this year after the 2009 heroics of the unforgettable Sea The Stars.
Comparisons with that champion though came after an all-too-brief period of reflection by the official assessors who next time out should consider wearing blinkers after seeing fit to give Workforce a higher rating than the immortal Sea The Stars.
Workforce proved far superior to lesser rivals – the second and third home at Epsom have yet to win a Group race of any description.
Runner-up At First Light, a 100-1 no-hoper, slipped the field, bar Workforce, while third home
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Rewilding looked raw.
The question of whether this year’s Derby field was ripe for plucking will only be answered in Workforce’s next objective, the Betfair King George & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot where his Dante conqueror Cape Blanco will be there to exact retribution on behalf of Ballydoyle.
The fancied Derby runners from Ballydoyle, Midas Touch and Jan Vermeer – the latter an uneasy favourite, were never ‘at the races’: Workforce was in another universe, at least from the moment he struck the front approaching the furlong pole, pulling away to win by seven long lengths.
At his Sefton Lodge stable Workforce is not called “Sefton” (after the police mount injured in an IRA Hyde Park bombing) for nothing. He has the physique to carry a knight in armour let alone a policeman.
If there is a changing of guard in the racing world (and Ballydoyle’s eclipse looked comprehensive at the time) Workforce is equipped to lead the parade - in every sense...
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ROYAL ASCOT
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There is no better way to start a five-day racing fest than the Royal Ascot way. There is no gradual buildup to the highlight of the day. Three Group 1’s, the Queen Anne Stakes, the King’s Stand Stakes and the St James’s Palace Stakes, followed by the Group 2 Coventry Stakes ensures that the fiercest of competition and the spirit of racing is at it’s highest from the word go. Glitz and glamour are in usual abundance and it is interesting to see a blend of modern, bizarre and tradition, fuse in harmony as only Royal Ascot can inspire.
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| A review of the Group races held during this five day racing fest. |
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| The Queen Anne Stakes (Gr1) 1600m £141,925 |
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Goldikova is a true champion, and she proved she was going to be as hard to beat as ever when gaining her eighth One victory while smashing the Longchamp track record over 1850m. She had never raced at Ascot before and her eight victories have come over a diverse spectrum of tracks, and she has twice travelled to the USA to capture the Breeders' Cup Mile.
Superstar mare Goldikova put in another trademark performance to land a thrilling opener at Royal Ascot, quickening away from her rivals, and then holding off a late challenge from Paco Boy. The 11-8 favourite sat behind a good pace set by Calming Influence and her jockey Olivier Peslier sent her on about two furlongs from home as Rip Van Winkle dropped away quickly. Richard Hughes began to make rapid progress on Paco Boy, and passing the rest, had almost got up to the idling Goldikova, who went on, had...
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| The King’s Stand Stakes (Gr1) 1000m £170,310 |
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Equiano scorched home in the King’s Stand Stakes (Gr1) by making virtually all the running in this Royal Ascot sprint race. The five-year-old stumbled coming out of his stalls, but Michael Hills soon had him in the lead in spite of drifting towards the centre of the course from his stall two draw. Equiano, at 9-2 kept on strongly to score by 1½...
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| St James’s Palace Stakes (Gr1) 1600m £141,925 |
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Canford Cliffs, who was bred by the Rodwells proved himself the best miler of his generation when he came through to beat his rivals with something in hand. It was a repeat of his Irish Guineas performance when he produced the finishing pace of a genuine classic horse
Canford Cliffs swept through the field and finally turned the table on stablemate Dick Turpin. Richard Hannon’s ...
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| The Coventry Stakes (Gr2) 1200m £56,770 |
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From the all conquering Richard Hannon stable and as the betting suggested, Strong Suit was strongly expected to win his only race so far, the 1200m event at Newbury where some of the best maidens in the UK are run. He oozed class throughout and won
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easily and in superfast time for a two-year-old.
Hannon and Hughes were probably lucky to land the Coventry Stakes, for if Richard Hills on the Hamdan al Maktoum’s Redoute’s Choice colt Elzaam had not eased down...
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| The Jersey Stakes (Gr3) 1400m £45,416 |
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This race for three-year-olds has been won by some really smart horses, but this year’s field didn’t look quite up to the standard, and it was won by the Mark Johnston, Oasis Dream filly, Rainfall in the colours of Sheikh Mohammed’s son, Hamdan. Ryan Moore
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settled the filly in front, but was soon joined by the Barry Hills-trained Johannesburg colt Red Jazz. These two had the race virtually to themselves, drawing gradually away from their rivals till...
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| The Prince of Wales Stakes (Gr1) 1800m £255,465 |
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Byword led home Twice Over, to give owner Khalid Abdullah a Prince of Wales’s one-two and 21-year-old jockey Maxime Guyon, rider of the French Derby winner Lope de Vega, victory on his first ride in Britain. The four-year-old who had chased home Goldikova on his previous start in the Prix d’Ispahan scored by ½ length for Guyon and trainer Andre Fabre, who was worried about the jockey’s relative inexperience. Guyon settled Byword close to the pacesetting Tazeez. Twice Over was towards the rear along with Presvis, while Glass Harmonium and Mawatheeq took up positions in the middle. Byword was niggled by Guyon as the field turned into the straight, and the response came from the 5-2 favourite, who cut back Tazeez...
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| The Windsor Forest Stakes (Gr2) 1600m £70,962 |
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Ryan Moore was seen at his strongest best when Strawberrydaiquiri ran out a thrilling short-head winner in this Group race. The Sir Michael Stoutetrained four-year-old, who was sent off at 9-2, disputed the lead most of the way and was then headed by the
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James Fanshawe-trained five-year-old Nayef mare Spacious entering the final furlong. The pair was then engaged in a furious tussle and it was the daughter of Dansili who just prevailed. The 7-2 favourite Antara was three lengths away in...
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| Queen Mary Stakes (Gr2) 1000m £51,093 |
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Height of Fashion’s Mr Prospector daughter Sarayir, is fast becoming the leading influence in the latest revival of the family of the Queen’s fine racemare for Hamdan al Maktoum. After her daughters, the 1000
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Guineas winner Ghanaati and Rumoush had shown their paces, her grand-daughter Maqaasid, a Gosden–trained Green Desert filly out of Sarayir’s Storm...
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| The Norfolk Stakes (Gr2) 1000m £51,093 |
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When Eddie Ahern rode the William Haggas- trained Approve in the Woodcote he was unable to keep the colt balanced but on the straight flat course at Ascot he had no such problem. The Oasis Dream colt, a maiden at Salisbury, put his experience to good use when running out a convincing winner at 16-1, showing a blistering turn of
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foot on his fourth start to see off Reckless Reward in a race in which leading fancies failed to fire.
The winner, owned by Highclere Thoroughbred Racing, is out of the dam Wyola, who is by Sadler’s Wells out of a speedy daughter of the French 1000 Guineas winner Culture...
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| The Ribblesdale Stakes (Gr2) 2400m £70,962 |
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| Saeed Bin Suroor landed back to back victories when Hibaayeb the 4/1 joint favourite, ran out an impressive winner in the hands of Frankie Dettori. They had won this race last year with Flying Cloud. Dettori |
rode a copy book race, sitting in a comfortable position before taking over the running from Principle Role, a furlong and a half out... |
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| The Gold Cup ( Gr1) 4000m £141,925 |
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Dermot Weld broke Aidan O’Brien’s stranglehold on the Gold Cup when Rite Of Passage shattered the course record while covering the 2½ mile race, and wore down the O’Brien-trained Age Of Aquarius in an epic duel. The 20/1 winner provided the two-time Melbourne Cup winning trainer his very first victory in this prestigious race while denying O’Brien his 5th consecutive success following the exceptional performance of Yeats. After dominating the race for the last four years it looked like Ballydoyle had an instant replacement as Johnny...
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| The Albany Stakes (Gr3) 1200m £39,739 |
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It was Hannon magic again when the Danehill Dancer filly Memory, who had impressed on her debut at Goodwood, got the momentum going to win by a head from the Exceed and Excel filly Margot Did, who was being ridden out strongly by jockey Hayley Turner.
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Sent off at 15/2 the juvenile did not get the best of starts and Hughes had to employ waiting tactics. As she has done on her previous outings, the daughter of Danehill Dancer took a long time to get going but found her impressive turn...
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| The Coronation Stakes (Gr1) 1600m £154,698 |
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Aidan O’Brien and Johnny Murtagh finally got off the mark for Royal Ascot 2010 as Danehill Dancer’s daughter Lillie Langtry sent off as the 7/2 favourite, ran out as an impressive winner in the race that is the top test for three-year-old fillies over the mile. The Irish landed a one-two with the runner’s up place going to Jim Bolger’s and Harry Dobson’s Gile Ne Greine who set off to make the running and would have succeeded if the winner was not around.
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| King Edward V11 Stakes (Gr2) 2400m £92,946.69 |
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The Mark Johnston 7/2 chance came into this race having won four out of five starts. His only defeat came when he was second to Green Moon in a 10f handicap race at Newbury, but he was giving weight there.
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Two furlongs from home he took over the running from Epsom Derby runner-up At First Sight and drew away to win decisively from the North Light colt Artic...
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| The Queens Vase (Gr3) 3200m £39,739 |
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Mikhail Glinka snatched victory by a nostril from Theology in a thrilling finish. Ryan Moore took Total Command to the lead about two furlongs out in the two mile race, but he was soon joined by Mikhail Glinka,
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who in a magnificent staying performance fought back gamely under Johnny Murtagh, in a rousing battle, emerging victorious by a very narrow...
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| Hardwicke Stakes (Gr2) 2400m £70,962.50 |
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The Highclere syndicates added yet another prize to their Ascot tally when the Sir Michael Stoutetrained Dansili four-year-old Harbinger went on to notch up his third successive win. Harbinger hit the front two
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furlongs out, after which the race was never in doubt. The Derby winning jockey Ryan Moore never had a moment of worry on the winner, who was following up...
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| The Golden Jubilee Stakes (Gr1) 1200m £255,465 |
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A great week at Ascot for Australian blood culminated in the brilliant victory of Coolmore’s import, Starspangledbanner, a son of Choisir, who blazed the tracks in both the King’s Stand and this race a few years ago, before being retired to stud in both hemispheres, where he has undeniably left his mark. Choisir won this race in 2003 and went on to win the July Cup. Aidan O’Brien warned Murtagh that he would need a parachute to slow down the four-year-old, such was his blistering speed.
Murtagh stole the advantage breaking from his inside draw and was never headed as the 13/2 joint favourite blitzed his way to victory.
O’Brien said: “If he hits the gates the way we thought he would, then we knew it would be straightforward as there is no horse that can lead him. He worked coming here and did the second last...
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Kieren Fallon’s first winner at the meeting after four years…his three in 2006 included a Yeats in the Gold Cup- came at the expense of the Queen. In a terrific finish he got Afsare up to beat the Royal colours carried by Quadrille in the Hampton Court Stakes. When it was announced that the 9/4 favourite had won, there was a huge cheer suggesting that, in these austere times, one’s first loyalty is to one’s pocket rather than one’s monarch. How times have changed!
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A 1-2-3 for O’Brien with Cape Blanco’s
win in the Irish Derby (Gr1)
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Cape Blanco led home an Aidan O’Brien-trained 1-2-3 in Irish the Derby to give the master trainer a historic fifth consecutive victory in the Curragh classic. O’Brien had achieved the exact feat three years earlier when Soldier Of Fortune came out top of a Ballydoyle trio at the Curragh. And this
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success was his eighth victory in the race.
Cape Blanco had defeated the Investec Derby winner Workforce in the Dante Stakes and was a mystifying disappointment in the French Derby. Johnny Murtagh’s ‘tough decision’ to keep faith in the Prix du Jockey Club...
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LOPE DE VEGA
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Ranks Second To Workforce Among
The Classic Generation In Europe
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Prix du Jockey Club Group 1 race at Chantilly 6th June, over 2,100 metres. Near the finish; first Lope de Vega ridden by M Guyon and trained by Andre Fabre, second Planteur ridden by A Crastus and trained by E Lellouche.
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June is always a big month for French racing, with the annual 3-year-old 2100metres Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) on 6th June and Prix de Diane (French Oaks) on 13th June, French Classic races taking place at Chantilly.
This year, Lope de Vega (Shamardal) ridden by Guyon and trained in
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Chantilly by Andre Fabre, was an emphatic 10.2-1 winner of the 22 runner, Prix du Jockey Club, despite starting from the unfavourable stall 20 on going that was officially listed as soft. This horse, named after the 17th Century Spanish playwright covered the distance in 2mins 7.1 seconds...
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Lope De Vega
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The prolific Spanish poet and dramatist Lope de Vega is generally considered as second only to Cervantes among his nation’s writers of the classical period. His namesake, having added the Prix du Jockey Club to an earlier score in the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, now seems entitled to rank second only to Workforce among the Classic generation in Europe.
The Sharmardal colt had an impossible act to follow a day after Workforce’s stunning triumph at Epsom and no interpretation of his form can make him more than a local champion at this stage. But his Chantilly display was nevertheless highly impressive – he dominated his 21 rivals ...
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