Century Dream (Ire) | Horse Racing Free Tips

Century Dream Retired to Norton Grove Stud

Group 2 winner Century Dream (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}–Salacia {Ire}, by Echo of Light {GB}) has been retired and will stand at Norton Grove Stud next year. A stud fee for the G2 Celebration Mile and dual G3 Diomed S. victor will be announced later.

Bred by Rabbah Bloodstock Limited, the A. Belhab-raced 7-year-old's best performance was a third in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. in 2018, while throughout his 35-start career, he was also placed another four times at group level. Overall, Century Dream's record stands at 10 winners and another eight top three finishes to go with $723,357 in earnings.

Trainer Simon Crisford said, “Century Dream was an incredibly tough and consistent performer throughout his career winning five stakes races over a mile. He was a stable star for us over the past six seasons and was a pleasure to train. He is an extremely good-looking son of Cape Cross who will be a fabulous addition to Norton Grove's stallion roster.”

Added Bruce Raymond, Racing Manager of Rabbah Bloodstock of the half-brother to Group 1 winner King of Change (GB) (Farhh {GB}), “Century Dream was a wonderful racehorse. He was a Group 2-winning miler and amazingly consistent at the highest level– he never ran a bad race. He is a beautifully bred horse who I am sure will be a great addition to the stallion roster at Norton Grove Stud.”

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Sussex Test for Poetic Flare

At his best when the ground is on the quick side, Jim Bolger's G1 2000 Guineas and G1 St James's Palace S. hero Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) has to deal with a testing surface as he faces up to his first test against the fillies and older horses in Wednesday's G1 Qatar Sussex S. Only sixth on very soft in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains at ParisLongchamp May 16 and a short-head second to Mac Swiney (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) on soft-to-heavy in the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas at The Curragh six days later, the homebred is more vulnerable than he would have been without all the rain that has arrived but Jim Bolger is undiminished in his belief in the homebred. “Poetic Flare has been very well since the St James's Palace Stakes. We're very happy with his work and he seems to be improving further,” he said. “He's only had a break in as much as he hasn't been racing, but he's a horse who I have to keep moving and so it hasn't exactly been a holiday.”

“It was fast ground when Poetic Flare won at Ascot and it might well be that he's better on that better ground, but he seems to handle all going and he's pretty good on soft too,” he added. “My preference would be for good ground, but I'm not much given to worrying anyway. Whatever it is, I'll take it. I'm very happy with my horse and I don't worry too much about anybody else's.”

How the fillies stack up against the colts remains to be seen, but TDN Rising Star Snow Lantern (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Alcohol Free (Ire) (No Nay Never) are among the elite of their sex and their own private duels have seen them win one apiece. Jeff Smith's Alcohol Free was in front of Rockcliffe Stud's homebred on ground similar to this in the G1 Coronation S. at Royal Ascot June 18, but she was only third as Snow Lantern prevailed in the G1 Falmouth S. at Newmarket July 9. Snow Lantern's trainer Richard Hannon had been considering the G1 Nassau S., but opted to stick with her proven route for now. “The decision to run here was in part ground-led, but we wanted to keep her at a mile,” he said. “She is learning to settle now and we don't want to upset her equilibrium.”

“If she gets beaten and is not good enough, we can give her a break and come back in the [G1] Sun Chariot in six weeks' time,” Hannon added. “She's doing nothing wrong over a mile and going a mile and a quarter on this ground might have been a bit of a stretch. If she relaxes, she'll get a mile and a quarter but we can do that next year. Sky Lantern was beaten here in the Prestige, where she looked like winning all the way but was a little bit weak as a 2-year-old. This filly is very versatile and if she got beaten I'd rather it was that she didn't handle the track than she was not good enough. This is soft and then some, but she showed she handled the ground at Ascot.”

Oisin Murphy knows Alcohol Free inside out and is hoping that the easing in the ground will help her in her rematch with Snow Lantern. “Alcohol Free is in great form and any rain won't inconvenience her,” he said. “I was pleased with her when I rode her on Saturday and hopefully she'll run a big race. She won't have any problems with the track at Goodwood. She prefers to meet the ground and the first half of the race at Goodwood is going uphill and then it's practically flat in the straight which will suit her fine.” Trainer Andrew Balding added, “It looks like conditions should be ideal. The turning track seemed to suit her really well when she won at Royal Ascot, so I think Goodwood will suit her really well. At Newmarket in the Falmouth it wasn't the plan to make the running and she rather set it up for the others. Hopefully if there's some sort of pace to aim at, she's got a fairly electric turn of foot.”

Ballydoyle's duo are the GI Breeders' Cup Mile first and third Order of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB}) and Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), with the former coming back to winning form in the seven-furlong G2 Minstrel S. on contrasting ground at The Curragh July 18. Lope Y Fernandez was runner-up in the G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot last time June 15, which represented his fifth placing at the highest level, and whether he can prevail at last in this company is a matter of how strong the 3-year-old milers are. “We are looking forward to Lope Y Fernandez and we think he's come forward again since Ascot,” Aidan O'Brien commented. “We are very happy with him. He's very straightforward and is progressing well. Order of Australia has come out of his win at the Curragh very well and the Sussex Stakes is a race which could suit him.”

Representing the form of Ascot's G2 Summer Mile July 10, Juddmonte's Tilsit (First Defence) and Abdulla Belhabb's Century Dream (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) were first and second there with the former looking a cosy winner. Successful in the G3 Thoroughbred S. over this track and trip 12 months ago, Tilsit is one who has crept under the radar and as a lightly-raced relative of Kingman (GB) warrants respect. “He's probably come out of Ascot the best he's come out of any race–he's in great form,” Tilsit's trainer Charlie Hills said. “He won a group 3 at the meeting last year, so we know he handles the track.”

In the G3 Markel Molecomb S. for the fastest of the juveniles, Clarendon Thoroughbred Racing's Fearby (Ire) (Havana Gold {Ire}) holds pole position after his five-length success in the Listed Dragon S. over this five-furlong trip at Sandown July 2. Golden Horde carried the AlMohamediya Racing silks to success in the G2 Richmond S. two years ago and are carried by another Clive Cox-trained colt in Chimgan (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}), who was strong at the finish on his winning debut at Nottingham July 5. The G3 Whispering Angel Oak Tree S. is a wide-open affair, with the June 17 Buckingham Palace H. and July 4 Listed Queen Charlotte Fillies' S. scorer Highfield Princess (Fr) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) one of the more progressive fillies in the line-up for the seven-furlong contest.EST

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Century Dream On Top In the Celebration Mile

Robbed of Benbatl (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) due to the testing ground at Goodwood, Saturday’s G2 Ladbrokes Celebration Mile become a duel between another two top-level performers Century Dream (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) and Regal Reality (GB) (Intello {Ger}) with the former claiming the bragging rights. Returning refreshed from a break having finished fifth in the G1 Prix d’Ispahan at Chantilly July 19, Century Dream who was left as the 11-4 favourite following the withdrawal of Godolphin’s standard-setter tracked Regal Reality in second before swooping two out and drawing clear under coaxing from James Doyle to score by 4 1/2 lengths. Sir Busker (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}) denied Regal Reality second by 1 3/4 lengths as the winner proved a class apart. “They went a good pace and he settled really well and travelled really well into it,” Ed Crisford commented. “The ground is the key to him–he gets through it better than most.”

Abdulla Belhabb’s Century Dream came back from a wind operation to successfully mark his seasonal return in the G3 Diomed S. staged over this trip having been switched from Epsom to Newbury. That was his second win in that contest, with his 2018 triumph on the famous Downs his first in pattern company and he rounded off that campaign with a close third in Ascot’s G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. That is where the winner is headed again according to Ed Crisford. “We will go wherever the ground is soft–the [G1 Prix du] Moulin looks very punchy this year with Pinatubo, so whether we go there or swerve that, I don’t know. He has run well at Ascot before and finished fourth in the Queen Anne and third in the QEII a couple of years ago and he likes Ascot. He runs well there and you are pretty much going to get soft ground. Palace Pier, winning the St James’s Palace and in the way he won in France the other day when it was soft, he has shown to be an exceptional three-year-old. We are an older horse and we think we can run well, I think we can serve it up to him, but it would be a tough one.”

William Knight said of the talented but quirky Sir Busker, who was stepping up from handicap company, “We all want to win so it is slightly disappointing coming second, but at the same time Century Dream is a good horse, especially on that sort of ground. Going forwards, it was good to see him perform well in that sort of company though. He is now rated 111 so that makes life tough in any sort of handicap, so we will have to stick to these type of races. I think we would probably drop him back into either a listed or group three race on his next start.”

Century Dream’s dam Salacia (Ire) (Echo of Light {GB}) is also responsible for last year’s QEII hero King of Change (GB) (Farhh {GB}) who was also second in the G1 2000 Guineas. The second dam Neptune’s Bride (Bering {GB}) annexed the G3 Prix Fille de l’Air and is in turn a daughter of the G3 Prix de Ris-Orangis winner Wedding of the Sea (Blushing Groom {Fr}). Also connected to the game and tough, seven-times graded stakes-winning Hail Hilarious (Fast Hilarious) and the California Oaks winner and GI Santa Barbara H. runner-up Countess Fager (Dr. Fager), Salacia’s 3-year-old filly Banna (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) is as-yet unraced, as is her 2-year-old filly Royal Event (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}), while her yearling filly is by Sea the Stars (Ire).

Saturday, Goodwood, Britain
LADBROKES CELEBRATION MILE S.-G2, £60,000, Goodwood, 8-29, 3yo/up, 8fT, 1:40.38, sf.
1–CENTURY DREAM (IRE), 130, h, 6, by Cape Cross (Ire)
1st Dam: Salacia (Ire), by Echo of Light (GB)
2nd Dam: Neptune’s Bride, by Bering (GB)
3rd Dam: Wedding of the Sea, by Blushing Groom (Fr)
O-Abdulla Belhabb; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Limited (IRE); T-Simon & Ed Crisford; J-James Doyle. £34,026. Lifetime Record: 26-9-2-3, $598,935. *1/2 to King of Change (GB) (Farhh {GB}), G1SW-Eng, $995,418. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Sir Busker (Ire), 130, g, 4, Sir Prancealot (Ire)–Street Kitty (Ire), by Tiger Hill (Ire). (€25,000 Ylg ’17 TIRSEP). O-Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds XI Racing; B-Ms Ann Foley (IRE); T-William Knight. £12,900.
3–Regal Reality (GB), 130, g, 5, Intello (Ger)–Regal Realm (GB), by Medicean (GB). O/B-Cheveley Park Stud (GB); T-Sir Michael Stoute. £6,456.
Margins: 4HF, 1 3/4, 4 3/4. Odds: 2.75, 4.00, 3.20.
Also Ran: Positive (GB), Duke of Hazzard (Fr), Urban Icon (GB). Scratched: Benbatl (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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