Scottish Grand National 2023: Favourite Kitty’s Light wins at 4-1
Favourite Kitty's Light wins the Scottish Grand National at Ayr despite a late attempt to disrupt the race by protestors.
Month: April 2023
Possible Derby Storylines Beginning to Take Odd Shapes
While horseplayers, handicappers, and public touts have all the fun sifting through their facts and figures for the 149th Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve coming up May 6, we poor ink-stained wretches of the Fourth Estate must sit around twiddling our thumbs, wondering what kind of result we'll be stuck with and praying it will be a tale our grandchildren can tell. Or at least gets a few dozen retweets.
Chaldean Dumps Dettori As Isaac Shelby Posts Greenham Win
There was high drama at the beginning of Saturday's G3 Watership Down Stud Too Darn Hot Greenham S. at Newbury when Frankie Dettori parted company with G1 Dewhurst S. hero and leading G1 2000 Guineas contender Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) upon exiting the stalls, which allowed Manton Thoroughbreds VII's reopposing Dewhurst seventh Isaac Shelby (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}–Kentucky Belle {Ire}, by Heliostatic {Ire}) a free run to make all for a second pattern-race triumph in the seven-furlong feature. Last term's G2 Superlative S. victor was swiftly into stride, away from the early carnage, and gained immediate control. Unflustered on the front end for the most part, the 15-2 chance was shaken up approaching the final furlong and, with just the riderless Chaldean for company in the closing stages, kept on strongly to hit the line with an impressive three-length buffer back to G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte victor Charyn (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), himself 5 1/2 lengths clear of Doncaster maiden winner Theoryofeverything (GB) (Frankel {GB}).
Brian Meehan, absorbing a first success in the contest, commented, “He is smart and I've always thought so. Things went wrong at Newmarket and he came back lame, but luckily it wasn't serious. We got him right within a couple of weeks and, touch wood, he's been 100 per cent since. I was so disappointed in the Dewhurst, because he was not the finished article and there was so much more to come. Mentally he's always been a calm horse, but Newmarket was only his third run. He has won a Group 2 on good-to-firm and he seems to go on everything. Chaldean was very unfortunate and nobody wants to see that happen to anyone. It is a shame for Andrew and Juddmonte.”
However, Isaac Shelby will not be returning to Newmarket anytime soon, according to the trainer, and is set on a course for ParisLongchamp's May 14 G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches. “He is in the French Guineas, which was always the plan. He didn't go to the [G3] Craven because I was spooked by Newmarket and I don't want to go back there until he's a little older and more mature. It will be the French Guineas and then we'll take it from there.”
Despite an unexpected turn of events for the 5-4 favourite, trainer Andrew Balding reflected in positive tones. “He was fit and well and ready to run a big race, but it was one of those unfortunate things,” he said. “We are just thankful it was a trial, the horse seems to have come back fine and Frankie is fine. It is real bad luck, but it is what it is and we've got two weeks to the [G1 2000] Guineas. The Guineas was always the main aim and that's where we're going. He pulled up pretty quick, but it would have been a big problem if had he gone and done another circuit of the track. He's had a decent workout and probably enjoyed it.” Juddmonte's Barry Mahon added, “It was one of those freak things. The main thing is the horse is okay and the jockey is okay. Frankie said the horse beside him just came over and caught his leg and ripped it out of the stirrup. The horse was a little slow [from stall seven] and the horse on his outside [Streets Of Gold] came across [from stall eight] and caught his leg. No harm done and the horse has had a day out, which was the whole aim of today.”
Pedigree Notes
Isaac Shelby, one of 19 pattern-race winners for his sire (by Dubawi {Ire}), is the third of four foals and one of two winners produced by an unraced half-sister to GII Mac Diarmida H. victor Ramazotti (Honor Grades) and to the dam of dual stakes scorer Vow To Recover (Broken Vow). The April-foaled chestnut is half to an unnamed 2-year-old colt by Al Kazeem (GB). His second dam, the stakes-placed Mine Inning (Mining), is a daughter of Listed Revidere S. second Weed It Out (Clever Trick), herself kin to four pattern-race winners headed by GI American Derby hero Pocket Zipper (Full Pocket). Descendants of Weed It Out also include Listed Debutante S. winner She's My Warrior (Warrior's Reward), Listed Minnesota Derby scorer Thealligatorhunter (Overanalyze), Listed Oak Tree Sprint S. victrix Annie's Candy (Twirling Candy) and the Puerto Rican champion juvenile Wicked Runner (Wicked Strong).
Saturday, Newbury, Britain
WATERSHIP DOWN STUD TOO DARN HOT GREENHAM S.-G3, £90,000, Newbury, 4-22, 3yo, c/g, 7fT, 1:32.65, sf.
1–ISAAC SHELBY (GB), 128, c, 3, by Night Of Thunder (Ire)
1st Dam: Kentucky Belle (Ire), by Heliostatic (Ire)
2nd Dam: Mine Inning, by Mining
3rd Dam: Weed It Out, by Clever Trick
(£92,000 Ylg '21 GOFFUK). O-Manton Thoroughbreds VII; B-Elaine Chivers (GB); T-Brian Meehan; J-Sean Levey. £51,039. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0, $136,191. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Charyn (Ire), 128, c, 3, Dark Angel (Ire)–Futoon (Ire), by Kodiac (GB). (250,000gns Ylg '21 TATOCT). O-Nurlan Bizakov; B-Grangemore Stud (IRE); T-Roger Varian. £19,350.
3–Theoryofeverything (GB), 128, c, 3, Frankel (GB)–Persuasive (Ire), by Dark Angel (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (325,000gns Ylg '21 TATOCT). O-Prince A A Faisal; B-Cheveley Park Stud Ltd (GB); T-John & Thady Gosden. £9,684.
Margins: 3, 5HF, HF. Odds: 7.50, 14.00, 6.00.
Also Ran: Zoology (GB), Wiltshire (GB), Streets Of Gold (Ire), Knight (Ire), Grey's Monument (GB), The Ridler (GB), Classic (GB). DNF: Chaldean (GB) – unseated rider.
High drama in the Greenham!
Hot favourite Chaldean unships Frankie Dettori coming out of the stalls, leaving Isaac Shelby to make all the running under @LeveySean!
Brian Meehan appears to have a good horse on his hands but is he a genuine 2,000 Guineas contender? pic.twitter.com/8rJ0hLwvf9
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) April 22, 2023
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Wootton Bassett’s River Tiber A New TDN Rising Star
Some TDN Rising Stars are marginal calls, but Ballydoyle's River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}–Transcendence {Ire}, by Arcano {Ire}) entered the “no-brainer” category at Navan on Saturday with a 10-length blitz of his rivals in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden. Always travelling strongly for Ryan Moore tracking the leader in the five-furlong 164 yards contest won by fellow TDN Rising Star and stablemate Aesop's Fables (Ire) (No Nay Never) 12 months ago, the 5-6 favourite was let loose approaching two out and devoured the uphill climb to the line to leave the well-fancied Ken Condon-trained Zona Verde (Ire) (Calyx {GB}) in his wake.
“His homework has been strong at home and it is great that he brought the same to the track,” stable representative Chris Armstrong said. “He's a lovely horse and you love everything about him–athletic, physical and a good mind. He's one that could go to the winners' race in Naas or maybe something like the Marble Hill at the Curragh, and then hopefully on to Ascot. Something like the Coventry.”
“He's very exciting and another nice horse hopefully for Wootton Bassett,” Armstrong added. “It is unfortunate the rain coming today, but Navan is a lovely track to start them. Aidan has brought a lot of good horses here before–we start them here and they have always progressed plenty from it. It is a lovely track and always well-presented. I suppose his class got him through, he travelled very strongly and when Ryan asked him to lengthen and pick up, the response was there immediately.”
River Tiber, who was a 480,000gns Book 1 purchase, is the fourth TDN Rising Star for Wootton Bassett with the promising 3-year-old colt Padishakh (Fr) also in his armoury for this season. He is the second foal and first winner for the unraced dam, a daughter of the Swedish listed winner Cover Girl (Ire) (Common Grounds {GB}) who produced the Listed Harry Rosebery S. scorer and G2 Flying Childers S. and G3 Molecomb S.-placed Mister Manannan (Ire) (Desert Style {Ire}) and his Luther Burbank H.-winning and G3 Cornwallis S. and GIII Senorita S.-placed full-sister Shermeen (Ire).
Shermeen is responsible for a trio who represented Coolmore in some form in the G1 Phoenix S. and G2 Railway S. winner and G1 Vincent O'Brien National S. runner-up Sudirman (Henrythenavigator), the G3 Hampton Court S. runner-up Roman Empire (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and the latter's full-brother Star Of India (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who captured last year's Listed Dee S. and has gone on to add Australia's Listed Rosehill Gold Cup to his tally. Transcendence's yearling colt is by Mehmas (Ire).
https://twitter.com/i/status/1649766618837180416
1st-Navan, €16,000, Mdn, 4-22, 2yo, 5f 164yT, 1:19.59, sf.
RIVER TIBER (IRE), c, 2, by Wootton Bassett (GB)
1st Dam: Transcendence (Ire), by Arcano (Ire)
2nd Dam: Cover Girl (Ire), by Common Grounds (GB)
3rd Dam: Peace Carrier (Ire), by Doulab
(480,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT). Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $10,550. O-Tabor/Smith/Magnier/Westerberg/Brant; B-Pier House Stud (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
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