Tag: Epsom Downs

Bolshoi Ballet ‘Very Sore’ Following Cazoo Derby

Coolmore partners' Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who sustained a cut to his hind leg in the G1 Cazoo Derby before finishing seventh, is reported to be 'very sore', but that the injury will not take significant time to heal. The dual Group 3 winner was favoured at Epsom on Saturday.

“He was very sore this morning,” said trainer Aidan O'Brien. “We played back the videos of the race. At the top of the hill he had it, so he obviously got it in the first 150 yards. Usually with a horse if that happens late in a race it doesn't affect them much because their blood is up, but this happened very early so it suggests it was a good reason for a disappointing run. It was just off the tendon at the back. The lads thought seven to 10 days is when we should be able to do something again with him.”

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Horse No One Wanted: Pyledriver Wins Fairytale Edition Of The Coronation Cup

It was a battle for the ages in the Coral Coronation Cup which saw underdog Pyledriver and rising star Al Aasy fight it out for Group 1 glory at Epsom Downs.

It was Pyledriver, a horse who couldn't be sold for £10,000 (about US$12,000) two years ago, who won the war in the end for trainer William Muir. Having lost the lead with two furlongs to go, he showed incredible heart to knuckle down and deny Al Aasy at the wire. William Haggas' runner looked to have done enough in the closing stages but was just denied victory.

Things hadn't gone to plan early doors for Al Aasy having missed the break. He was settled in at the rear and the strong pace helped him find a rhythm.

The eventual winner Pyledriver was happy enough in midfield in the opening stanzas. Rounding the turn the race began to take shape, and it was Martyn Dwyer who seized the initiative down the straight. He opted to send his mount on and had all his rivals beat, bar the closing Al Aasy, at three furlongs out.

Al Aasy made effortless ground coming down the straight, with Jim Crowley's urgings sparking rapid progress as they came to the two furlong marker. He breezed past Aidan O'Brien's Japan, and it became a two horse race.

The crowds returning to Epsom for the first time this year were not disappointed. As Al Aasy moved to within a neck of his rival with seemingly plenty to give. He took a narrow lead and this looked for a moment to have settled the race.

However, Pyledriver was in no mood for settling for 2nd and knuckled down in the final stages to get his head back in front in the final strides to claim the Coral Coronation Cup.

Welcome cheers rang around Epsom, and nobody was more delighted than jockey Martyn Dwyer, who said after the race: “I'm so proud of the horse. On a personal level, there's times when I've hated racing. But days like this I can't describe in words.”

The post Horse No One Wanted: Pyledriver Wins Fairytale Edition Of The Coronation Cup appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Friday’s Cazoo Oaks Attracts 14

The 1 1/2-mile £395,000 G1 Cazoo Oaks has drawn a field of 14, including ante-post favourite and 'TDN Rising Star' Santa Barbara (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) for Coolmore partners and Aidan O'Brien who will leave from stall four.

Joining the G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas fourth from Ballydoyle is G3 Tattersalls Musidora S. heroine Snowfall (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), G3 Kilcarn Stud Flame Of Tara Irish EBF S. victress Divinely (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the Group 3 placed Willow (Ire) (American Pharoah), and La Joconde (Ire) (Frankel {GB}).

Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), runner-up in the G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 2 for the Sangster family, James Wigan and trainer Jane Chapple-Hyam, drew post seven. One to her inside is Mark Johnston's Dubai Fountain (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), the winner of the Listed Cheshire Oaks on May 5 for Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum.

Shadwell's listed winner Zeyaadah (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}) is one of three for trainer Roger Varian, the others are Musidora third Teona (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the colours of Ali Saeed and the Gredley Family's Save A Forest (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), second to the Archie Watson-trained and Apple Tree Stud-owned Sherbet Lemon (Lemon Drop Kid) in the Listed Novibet Oaks Trial Fillies' S. Third to Sherbet Lemon that day was Qatar Racing's Ocean Road (Ire) (Australia {GB}) who will leave from stall five for Hugo Palmer with Champion Jockey Oisin Murphy in the irons.

Rounding out the field are Mantonbury Stud's Technique (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) from the Martyn Meade yard and supplementary entry Mystery Angel (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}) for Nick Bradley Racing 27 and Partner. The Ben Curtis trainee won the Listed Betfair Pretty Polly S. and was fourth in the Musidora to Snowfall.

Nick Bradley said of his £22,500 supplementary entry, “It looks a stronger race than we'd have liked, but we are where we are. The track will suit and she appears to be in very good form–she's in better form at home than she was going to York.

“She looks overpriced a little bit at the moment, I think. We're hopeful of a good run.”

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Watering to Continue at Epsom

Epsom Downs will receive more water on Wednesday morning, the racecourse announced on Tuesday. Epsom Downs Clerk of the Course and Head of Racing Andrew Cooper issued a going update on Tuesday evening in advance of the June 4-5 Cazoo Derby Festival.

“We've maintained a going report here of Good, Good To Firm in places and we produced a Turftrax GoingStick reading of 7.1, which is actually what it was on Sunday morning,” said Cooper in a statement.

“It had increased to 7.4 yesterday morning and the watering that we've done has improved matters a touch and brought us back to a stage where we were two days ago–which is historically pretty much good ground. However there is definitely ground that's on the quicker side on bits of the course though, hence that going description.

“We've had another hot day and it looks a hotter day still tomorrow, with talks of 26 or 27 degrees in the South East. Epsom is often a degree or so lower than the maximum because we're quite elevated here and often have a bit of a breeze so it would often be hotter at Sandown than here in terms of actual temperature.

“The plan here and now is to embark on a watering programme again tomorrow but quite exactly how much we'll leave until the morning. We'll take stock of the forecasts but I'm sure we'll be doing something quite widespread because we know we'll lose 3mm of moisture of soil here on a day like today.

“I'd say that we are now where we want to be in terms of a broad aim for Friday–as opposed to anything any slower or anything any quicker. That's quite a good ground condition to go into a two-day meeting on, which means you can probably let nature take its course thereafter and be no worse than Good To Firm on Saturday.

“You'd have called us Soft on Monday of last week but by Friday you wouldn't have called it any slower than Good To Soft. All courses up and down the country are drying out at the moment but Epsom Downs being chalk-based is rather free draining and it can turn very quickly.”

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