Tag: Frankie Dettori

Galileo Thursday Double As Kyprios Wins The Gold Cup

Thursday's G1 Gold Cup maintained its place at the heart of Royal Ascot with a thrilling and dramatic finale as Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Ryan Moore outgunned Mojo Star (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) and Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), with the latter falling foul to ill fortune for the second consecutive year. Sent off the 13-8 favourite on the back of his wins in Navan's Listed Vintage Crop S. Apr. 23 and Leopardstown's G3 Saval Beg Levmoss S. May 13, Kyprios who represents the consortium of Moyglare Stud, whose colours he sports, and messrs Magnier, Tabor, Smith and Westerberg was held up in mid-division early out wide and out of trouble. It was a typical Gold Cup without much movement until the scramble out of the back straight and with Frankie panicking into angling off the rail he ended up nine-wide in the run for home as the Ballydoyle representative stayed on past Mojo Star in the final 150 yards. At the line, Kyprios had the measure of Amo Racing's seasonal debutante by half a length, with 3/4 of a length back to Stradivarius who paid for the errant passage he was forced to take.

Ryan Moore revealed it was far from straightforward afterwards. “It wasn't a nice race to ride,” he said. “I had to move him to the outside and I don't like doing that, but I felt I had to keep Kyprios going. Mojo Star has come to us, but this fella kicked in then and it was comfortable at the line. It wasn't a true test today and I don't think we saw the best of him. It was a more complicated race than it should have been and I think he was much the best. To be fair, Aidan had him earmarked for this a year ago! He knows what he is looking for and identified the right horse in him and it all worked out right.”

Kyprios was burying the memories of his three prior unhappy visits to this country, which had resulted in well-beaten efforts in the 2020 G3 Zetland S. and Listed Lingfield Derby Trial last May and an injury sustained in the stalls before this meeting's G2 Queen's Vase. Unbeaten in Ireland and still a lightly-raced project, the chestnut was tardy from the gates here and possibly further back than Moore would have wanted as Earlofthecotswolds (Fr) (Axxos {Ger}) enjoyed an easy time in front but it was Dettori who had the real issue as Stradivarius was hemmed against the rail and essentially trapped.

As Moore wound up the eventual winner approaching the home bend, Stradivarius was caught behind a wall and as he took a diagonal path to daylight the Willie Mullins raider Burning Victory (Fr) (Nathaniel {Ire}) loomed full of running up the inside route he could have enjoyed had Frankie held his nerve. Mojo Star looked to have pulled off a remarkable training performance from Richard Hannon until deep inside the last furlong, but Kyprios was too strong for a record eighth Gold Cup for Aidan O'Brien. “The horse was very brave,” he said. “We brought him here last year, but he came out underneath the stalls and his back was badly bruised and he didn't get to race any more. He missed the St Leger, so it was always the plan that we would train him with this race in mind and give him two preps for it.”

“He had the same tenacity that he showed all the other times and Ryan was very strong on him. It was great Stradivarius was here–it makes these races even more special and incredible. Kyprios is light-bodied and a good mover who looks after himself and they are all the things that he will need. He did it today and hopefully he can do it in the years to come. He could go to Goodwood next or something like the Irish St Leger.”

Richard Hannon said of Mojo Star, who came so close to emulating Le Moss (Ire) in winning this on his seasonal bow, “The Gold Cup next year will be the plan. He's very manoeuvrable. He can go back to a mile and a half and, now he gets two and a half miles, anything in between. I worked him with my milers–with Lusail and Chindit at Kempton and I thought he might have worked the best and wondered if he ought to be in the Queen Anne, or something! I thought then he might run a big race if he got the trip and he got the trip. It is gutting, it really is galling. We've had too many seconds this week, but it will come. The horse is a real pleasure to be associated with, and his day will come. He's been second in three group ones, now–Derbys, St Legers, Gold Cups; there aren't many of them.”

Reflecting on the deflating experience of watching helpless as Stradivarius became the victim of circumstance once again, John Gosden said, “I was bit surprised from having been in the box seat that we dropped back so far. The problem is when they sprint, you had to come wide to get a run and he had to come widest of all. He had a chance the last furlong and the race slipped on him as they had gone a steady pace. Stradivarius is a great horse to get here and to now run in five Gold Cups–to have the longevity he has had. He came back in and had a neigh, so he seems happy. Great credit to the horse and the owner-breeder to keep him racing. There are younger horses there that are first and second. I just wish we had been a little handier and not had to go through a wall of horses.”

Dettori added, “The younger horses had more legs than me at the end. I had every chance to get them, but they were stronger than me. He's been a great hero and came out flying. I had to pull out wide and the only place I could go was the outside and everything was getting tight. When I've pulled him out plenty of times, usually he's got the electric turn of foot, but he's not four anymore, he's eight. I laboured a bit at the end and I was never going to get them. He has been a star. You have to pass on the baton to the younger ones. He did his best and we're very proud of him.”

Kyprios becomes the third top-level winner for Moyglare's incredible Polished Gem (Ire) (Danehill) alongside his full-sister Search For a Song (Ire), who captured two renewals of the G1 Irish St Leger, and the G1 Prince of Wales's S.-winning sire Free Eagle (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}). He is her last known foal, with her tally of eight black-type winners also including the seven-times group scorer Custom Cut (Ire) (Nonowcato {GB}) and the G2 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares S. winner Sapphire (Ire) (Medicean {GB}). Kyprios's other two full-siblings are the listed scorer and G2 Blandford S. runner-up Amma Grace (Ire) and last year's Chester Cup winner Falcon Eight (Ire).

Polished Gem is a full-sister to the GI Matriarch S. heroine Dress To Thrill (Ire), with both being out of the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Trusted Partner (Affirmed) who is also the third dam of the G1 Vincent O'Brien National S. hero Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}). The third dam Talking Picture (Speak John) collected the GI Matron S. and GI Spinaway S. before producing five stakes winners, with the G2 Premio Legnano winner Easy To Copy (Affirmed) the ancestress of the G1 Grand Prix de Paris and G1 Sydney Cup hero Gallante (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}).

Thursday, Ascot, Britain
GOLD CUP-G1, £500,000, Ascot, 6-16, 4yo/up, 19f 210yT, 4:26.52, g/f.
1–KYPRIOS (IRE), 129, c, 4, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Polished Gem (Ire) (Broodmare Of The Year-Ire), by Danehill
2nd Dam: Trusted Partner, by Affirmed
3rd Dam: Talking Picture, by Speak John
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Moyglare Stud, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Westerberg; B-Moyglare Stud Farm Ltd (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. £283,550. Lifetime Record: GSW-Ire, 7-5-0-0, $434,026. *Full to Search For A Song (Ire), 2x Hwt. Older Mare-Eur at 14f+, MG1SW-Ire, SW & GSP-Eng, $951,390; Falcon Eight (Ire), SW-Eng & GSP-Ire, $202,827; Amma Grace (Ire), SW & GSP-Ire; and 1/2 to Free Eagle (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}), Hwt. Older Horse-Eur at 9.5-11f, G1SW-Eng, GSW & G1SP-Ire, $926,416; Sapphire (Ire) (Medicean {GB}), Hwt. Older Mare-Ire at 11-14f, MGSW & G1SP-Ire, GSW-Eng, $518,947; Custom Cut (Ire) (Notnowcato {GB}), Hwt. Older Horse-Ire at 7-9.5f, MGSW-Eng & Ire, $951,925; and Valac (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), GSW-Aus, $356,631. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Mojo Star (Ire), 129, c, 4, Sea The Stars (Ire)–Galley (GB), by Zamindar. (130,000gns Wlg '18 TATFOA; 220,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT). O-Amo Racing Ltd; B-Barbara Prendergast (IRE); T-Richard Hannon. £107,500.
3–Stradivarius (Ire), 130, h, 8, Sea The Stars (Ire)–Private Life (Fr), by Bering (GB). (330,000gns RNA Ylg '15 TATOCT). O/B-Bjorn Nielsen (IRE); T-John & Thady Gosden. £53,800.
Margins: HF, 3/4, NK. Odds: 1.63, 7.50, 2.00.
Also Ran: Burning Victory (Fr), Tashkhan (Ire), Princess Zoe (Ger), Bubble Smart (GB), Alignak (GB). Scratched: Trueshan (Fr). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

 

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The Major Talking Points From Day Two at Royal Ascot

From State Of Rest (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) silencing his doubters once again to Irad Ortiz's week going from bad to worse, there was plenty to digest from day two at Royal Ascot. Brian Sheerin fleshed out the main talking points from another thrilling day's action. 

Eldar Eldarov Owner is Living the Dream 

HH Shaikh Khalid, owner of Eldar Eldarov (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), told ITV Racing that his dream in racing is to find a horse good enough to stand as a stallion. Eldar Eldarov could well be up to fulfilling that dream one day judging by his hard-fought victory in the G2 Queen's Vase.

What do breeders want in a stallion? A horse who showed class on the track, but also one who had a will to win and was tough. Eldar Eldarov displayed all of those qualities in keeping his unbeaten record intact by snaring Zechariah (Ire) (Nathaniel) in the final strides.

Kew Gardens (Ire), Stradivarius (Ire) and Leading Light (Ire) all feature among the roll of honour for the Queen's Vase throughout the past decade and it's safe to assume that Eldar Eldarov will go down as one of the better winners of the 1 3/4-mile contest given the victory represented just the third start of his career.

Eldar Eldarov looks sure to develop further as a stayer and is likely to take high rank in the G1 St Leger at Doncaster later in the season. 

It should also be noted that this horse had an abundance of options throughout the week but Roger Varian and his team chose correctly as the step up in trip has clearly seen him in an even greater light. 

He looks a smart horse in the making and, if successful in the St Leger, will go some way in delivering his owner's dream.

Time to Give State Of Rest the Respect he Deserves

What on earth does State Of Rest have to do to start getting the respect he deserves? Here is a horse who has won Group/Grade 1 races in America, Australia and France, yet he was allowed to go off at odds just shy of 10-1 on the World Pool and returned 5-1 in a five-runner Prince Of Wales's S.

Of course, this is all being said with a heavy helping of hindsight, because State Of Rest needed to bounce back from a below-par effort in the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh, when the race didn't go to plan. 

Like State Of Rest, Shane Crosse had a few questions to answer after that third-place effort behind Alenquer (Fr) (Adlerflug {Ger}), and he did just that with an exhibition in front-running riding. 

Crosse got the fractions right and saved enough to fend off Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {Ire}) who, despite having much more to prove than State Of Rest, was sent to post a 10-11 favourite. 

It's hard to imagine what more State Of Rest needs to do to start getting the credit he deserves. He has been brilliantly handled by Joseph O'Brien to win four races at the highest level–in three different continents–and it's about time he started getting the credit for being the top-notcher that he is. 

From Bad to Worse for Ortiz

Wesley Ward made a big call last week in pledging his Royal Ascot allegiance to Irad Ortiz, in doing so relegating leading European riders like Frankie Dettori to the substitutes bench.

The pair got off to a difficult start on Tuesday when Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) missed the kick completely in the G1 King's Stand S. before trailing home in last position, after which, Ortiz revealed he was looking at the withdrawn Mondammej (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) when the gates opened. 

Things went from bad to worse on Wednesday when Ortiz picked up a five-day ban for careless riding for a dangerous maneuver aboard Love Reigns (Ire) (US Navy Flag) in the G2 Queen Mary S. 

Unlike Golden Pal, Love Reigns broke like a bullet from the stalls in the Queen Mary S., but Ortiz then allowed the filly to drift across to her left, forcing leading fancy Katey Kontent (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) off her running line. 

Love Reigns could only manage fourth behind the hugely impressive Dramatised (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) and the stewards took a dim view of Ortiz's riding at the start of the race by dishing out that ban. 

Luckily for the top American-based rider, he has a number of chances to redeem himself, including with Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) in the G1 Commonwealth Cup on Friday. 

Predictably, many people made the argument that a seasoned professional like Dettori, who knows Ascot better than most, would never make the same mistake at the gates as Ortiz did aboard Golden Pal.

Therefore, there was a certain irony that Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire})'s bid for Prince Of Wales's glory was all but over after Dettori failed to move the blindfold in time, costing John and Thady Gosden's charge valuable lengths at the start.

Turns out all of these top jockeys are human, eh?

Big Bear an Important Ballydoyle Winner

Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never) ran out an important winner of the Listed Windsor Castle S. for Aidan O'Brien, who had sent out 21 runners since recording his last winner, no less than Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 Oaks.

There has been a school of thought that O'Brien has been dealing with an above average bunch of 2-year-olds this season, evidenced by the fact that he has sent out 13 winners from 26 runners domestically, which equates to a whopping 50% strike-rate.

Blackbeard (Ire) (No Nay Never) ran a perfectly respectable race when fourth in the G2 Coventry S. on Tuesday but nothing beats a winner and the success of Little Big Bear will provide the Ballydoyle team with confidence heading into the rest of the week. 

O'Brien has The Antarctic (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), a brother to Battaash, to look forward to in the G2 Norfolk S. on Thursday while Meditate (Ire) (No Nay Never) is likely to go off a short-priced favourite for the G3 Albany S.

It may have taken the O'Brien team a little time to click into gear at the royal meeting this year but it will be a surprise if the success of Little Big Bear is not built upon. 

TDN Rising Stars Come Of Age

There is an old saying that self praise is no praise but, in the case of the TDN's 'Rising Stars', the hugely popular designation is showing a 100% strike-rate in the juvenile races at the royal meeting thus far. 

Impressive G2 Coventry S. winner Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}), G2 Queen Mary heroine Dramatised and the Windsor Castle hero Little Big Bear were all flagged as 'TDN Rising Stars'. Don't say you weren't told. 

 

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This Side Up: A Long Fellow, And The Longest Reign

The bit that most concerns us, naturally, is that the race is not to the swift–albeit ours is a business that will also disclose, fairly reliably, that nor is the battle to the strong; bread to the wise; riches to men of understanding; or favor to those of skill. “Time and chance happen to them all.”

So, yes, we all know that before anything else we require a little luck. But the whole point of Epsom, as the definitive measure of the Thoroughbred, is that while your horse must certainly be swift and strong, he also requires agility and, above all, endurance. And that latter element certainly sets the tone for the 243rd running of what remains, with all due respect to the even older St Leger, the most venerable horserace on the planet.

Because on Saturday, by some poignant alignment of the stars, the Derby will have a far broader reach than has lately been the case in Britain, thanks to two single spans of human life that have indelibly shaped even an institution that has doughtily survived empires, wars and, of course, plagues.

The race is being run in memory of Lester Piggott, the only jockey to win it nine times, whose epic tale drew to a close last Sunday. And it will also be a centerpiece of a four-day national holiday for the unprecedented 70th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne.

For a long time, the monarch had hoped to insist that one perennial ritual would retain its place in the Jubilee pageant, but even her indefatigability has its limits, at 96, and she has reluctantly accepted that she will not make it to the royal box at Epsom. Until last year, when social distancing intervened, she had missed only three Derbies since the Second World War.

Though she has won the other four Classics, she has never got closer to the Derby itself than immediately after her coronation, when Pinza had the effrontery to deny the young Queen's runner by four lengths. But that does not alter the fact that her passion for the Thoroughbred, and its proud English heritage, has proved a priceless boon to the sport through a reign that has measured a profound demographic alienation from to its roots in rural life.

The year after Pinza beat Aureole, the teenaged Piggott made his precocious Epsom breakthrough on Never Say Die, who had started life on Jonabell Farm and so became the first Kentucky-foaled Derby winner. Never Say Die! An apt enough maxim, for a man who would serve a prison sentence before coming out of retirement at 54 and winning the GI Breeders' Cup Mile 10 days later. That was such an outlandish tale that we tend to overlook what a last-ditch gamble was Royal Academy, as a yearling, for a trainer with whom Piggott had shared four Derbies in their mutual heyday–all with North American-breds.

In Vincent O'Brien no less than Piggott, then, we see how competitive longevity discloses an element of stubbornness, nearly of obduracy, as the vital spark of all achievement. And we also see it in Frankie Dettori, the only jockey since Piggott to find a niche in British popular culture, though still seven Derbies behind him at the age of 51.

Dettori rides Piz Badile (Ire) (Ulysses {Ire}) for Donnacha O'Brien, who is less than half his age. The Niarchos family must be pretty excited by the possibility of the ultimate dividend from such a bold mating, both sire and dam being out of daughters of Lingerie (GB). That mare herself condenses much the same kind of transatlantic cross-pollination as was integral to O'Brien and Piggott's golden age: her sire was an Epsom Derby winner, by another Epsom Derby winner foaled in Virginia; and her dam, Arc runner-up Northern Trick, was by Northern Dancer from an American family. And while both the parents of Ulysses won Epsom Classics, from top to bottom Piz Badile's pedigree is basically held together by loop after loop of Mr Prospector and Northern Dancer.
So while an Englishman is this week asking you to indulge a parochial theme, it does contain one or two more universal strands. For one thing, all breeders build their families with that same competitive perseverance: a willingness to ride out the inevitable ebb tides and, if you want to breed a Classic winner, a degree of obstinacy in favoring blood that hasn't been diluted by fast-buck fads.

That, as I am always reminding people, is actually a far bigger problem among British and Irish breeders than it is in Kentucky, where they do still want speed to be carried through two turns on the first Saturday in May. The Epsom Derby has paid a price for that, over recent years, but it feels as though we are slowly witnessing a turn of the dial and 17 runners should certainly assure the Queen a fitting cavalcade. One ongoing factor is the emergence of so many promising sons of Galileo (Ire) to contest the succession, many of them relatively affordable. The late king retains his customary footprint in this field, but it tells you everything that his son Nathaniel (Ire)–sire of warm favorite Desert Crown (GB)–is still standing at just £15,000 despite coming up with champion Enable (GB) among five Group 1 winners in his first three crops.

The late Galileo | Coolmore photo

 

But never say die. Aside from Galileo, Desert Crown's three other grandparents were foaled in North America. In the next generation, the ratio reads one from Britain, seven from America; and the next offers one from Britain, and 15 from America. In its puerile addiction to precocity and dash, and its disdain for stallions like Nathaniel, the European commercial market will eventually drive far-sighted and ambitious breeders back over the water to mine those speed-carrying reserves in Kentucky.

Like all his predecessors, the 243rd Derby winner will be a living, breathing register of selective breeding across eras defined by emperors of the breed like Galileo and Northern Dancer. But even as long a game as breeding is sustained by daily commitment, by the accretion of small decisions over the years. That's not so different from the indomitability we celebrated in Piggott, and the same steadfast adherence to standards being saluted in a Queen born just before Bubbling Over won what was only the 52nd running of the Kentucky Derby.

He became the sire of Hildene, dam of one Preakness winner in Hill Prince and now seventh dam of another, in Early Voting. A long game, then, and a “Long Fellow” too. That was what they used to call Lester, on account of his unwonted height; so let's make one last cultural transfer, and invoke the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. For the same poem that urged us to leave “footsteps on the sands of time”–albeit few of us will leave an imprint quite like those we trace, back through the decades, at Epsom on Saturday–concludes with these lines:

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

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Limiti Di Greccio And Inspiral To Miss Irish 1000 Guineas

Limiti Di Greccio (Ire) (Elzaam {Aus}) and Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}), both of whom held prominent positions in the betting for Sunday's G1 Irish 1000 Guineas, have been ruled out of making their respective seasonal return in the Curragh Classic.

Paddy Twomey, who trains Limiti Di Greccio, told TDN Europe that his hugely exciting filly will be aimed at races in the autumn after she encountered “a small training problem” while connections of G1 winning 2-year-old Inspiral are charting a path towards the G1 Coronation S. at Royal Ascot with their charge.

Inspiral failed to sparkle in a key gallop under Frankie Dettori on Saturday, after which, her joint-trainer John Gosden advised connections to skip the Irish 1000 Guineas and wait for Royal Ascot.

Speaking on Monday, Cheveley Park's Chris Richardson said, “She's not going to Ireland. John's recommendation is let's go straight to Royal Ascot for the Coronation Stakes.”

Inspiral, unbeaten in four starts as a 2-year-old, with that brilliant juvenile campaign culminating with G1 Fillies' Mile glory at Newmarket, was also ruled out of the 1,000 Guineas last month with Richardson explaining at the time that the filly had not been “100 per cent straightforward” in the spring.

Connections are now concentrating on having Inspiral in top shape ahead of the Royal meeting.

Richardson added, “Frankie had a sit on her on Saturday and just felt we needed a little bit more time, so we'll give her that and hopefully have her cherry-ripe and spot on for the Royal meeting.”

Time is also what Limiti Di Greccio needs, according to Twomey, who pointed to the G1 Matron Stakes in the autumn as being the new target for Martin Schwarz-owned filly.

Twomey said, “She picked up a minor training setback and is not ready to run at the Curragh on Sunday.”

He added, “The plan is to train her with a view towards the second half of the season where races like the Matron Stakes could be targeted.”

In the absence of Limiti Di Greccio and Inspiral, the Aidan O'Brien-trained Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Dermot Weld's Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), herself having skipped Newmarket and more recently ParisLongchamp, are general 5-2 joint-favourites for the Irish 1000 Guineas.

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