Tag: G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint S.

Kinross Powers To British Champions Sprint Triumph

Marc Chan's 'TDN Rising Star' Kinross (GB) (Kingman {GB}–Ceilidh House {GB}, by Selkirk) registered a belated first top-level triumph in ParisLongchamp's G1 Prix de la Foret at the beginning of this month and doubled that tally with a dominant display in Saturday's G1 Qipco British Champions Sprint S. at Ascot. Ninth contesting last year's renewal of the six-furlong dash, the gelded 5-year-old initiated his latest purple patch with victories over seven furlongs in August's G2 City of York S. and September's G2 Park S. before claiming a career high on Arc day last time. Frankie Dettori positioned the eventual winner behind the leaders racing in the smaller stands' side group and had the ideal slot in third passing halfway. Easing forward to lead soon after passing the quarter-mile marker, the 3-1 favourite held a commanding advantage entering the final furlong and was on cruise control in the closing stages to easily outclass 150-1 outsider Run To Freedom (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}), geared down, by an impressive 2 1/4 lengths. Last year's winner Creative Force (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) finished a neck away in third.

“What a horse, he doesn't need work and just trains himself,” exclaimed trainer Ralph Beckett. “He pulled a shoe off last Thursday and had no shoe on for three days. He's got paper-thin soles, so we had to sweat a bit. I think he's quick enough to win a July Cup and I've always had a little bit of a hankering for him to do it at this trip. Now was the time, even with a [GI] Breeders' Cup Mile on the horizon. He'll go there as well, with any luck. He's better off running than galloping and fast ground over six [furlongs] is a bit of a struggle, but soft ground over six is no bother to him. I was delighted to see him travel so well and it's just great. What a horse he is, we're blessed to have him and you wait a long time for horses like this. I trained his mother, she ran in the [G1] Oaks, so for him to be as effective over this trip gives us a real kick.”

Dettori added, “Ralph has been training fantastically this year. I kicked earlier than I usually would with him. I know seven [furlongs] is his optimum trip so I said let's go, come and catch me. Kinross loves the conditions and Ralph has found the key to this horse. He keeps him happy at home and doesn't do much with him. He is in tremendous form.”

Henry Candy was delighted with the performance of runner-up Run To Freedom and said, “That was absolutely superb. The cheekpieces have made all the difference to him, he loved the ground and he loves Ascot. In the past, without the cheekpieces, he wouldn't concentrate and the jockey couldn't ride a race. The other day, when he was fourth here, David [Probert] said something came up at the two-furlong pole, set him alight and he went too soon. So today we had the confidence to tell Dane to ride a proper race on him. He definitely needed a little bit of headgear on and, if he can keep his concentration, he will be a serious horse next year. He's a great big frame of a thing now and, if he fills out a little bit more, he could be exciting. I thought he would nearly win today. He's in great form.”

Kinross, kin to the unraced 2-year-old colt Seahouses (GB) (Sea The Moon {Ger}), is the fifth of six foals and one of four scorers produced by Listed Gillies Fillies' S. victress Ceilidh House (GB) (Selkirk), herself kin to the dam of G3 Solario S. winner and G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains runner-up First Selection (Spa) (Diktat {GB}). His dual stakes-winning second dam Villa Carlotta (GB) (Rainbow Quest), herself a daughter of multiple stakes-winning G3 Rockfel S. second Subya (GB) (Night Shift) from the family of G1 Irish Derby-winning sire Law Society (Alleged), is a half to GI Hollywood Derby second Battle of Hastings (GB) (Royal Applause {GB}) and to the stakes-placed dam of South African Grade 1 performers Mljet (SAf) (Jet Master {SAf}) and Felix The Cat (SAf) (Black Minnaloushe).

Saturday, Ascot, Britain
QIPCO BRITISH CHAMPIONS SPRINT S.-G1, £500,000, Ascot, 10-15, 3yo/up, 6fT, 1:15.57, g/s.
1–KINROSS (GB), 130, g, 5, by Kingman (GB)
1st Dam: Ceilidh House (GB) (SW-Eng), by Selkirk
2nd Dam: Villa Carlotta (GB), by Rainbow Quest
3rd Dam: Subya (GB), by Night Shift
O-Marc Chan; B-Lawn Stud (GB); T-Ralph Beckett; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £283,550. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Fr, 21-8-1-1, $1,200,916. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Run To Freedom (GB), 130, c, 4, Muhaarar (GB)–Twilight Mistress (GB), by Bin Ajwaad (Ire). 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O-Godfrey Wilson; B-Mrs C R D Wilson (GB); T-Henry Candy. £107,500.
3–Creative Force (Ire), 130, g, 4, Dubawi (Ire)–Choose Me (Ire), by Choisir (Aus). (€400,000 Ylg '19 GOFOR). O-Godolphin; B-Owenstown Bloodstock Ltd (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby. £53,800.
Margins: 2 1/4, NK, HF. Odds: 3.00, 150.00, 4.00.
Also Ran: Rohaan (Ire), Tenebrism, Vadream (GB), Perfect Power (Ire), Art Power (Ire), Go Bears Go (Ire), King's Lynn (GB), Fresh (GB), Naval Crown (GB), Ventura Diamond (Ire), Brad The Brief (GB), Double Or Bubble (Ire), Gulliver (GB), Garrus (Ire), Castle Star (Ire).

 

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Marquand ‘95% Certain’ To Ride Perfect Power On Champions Day

Tom Marquand is “95% certain” to be aboard multiple Group 1-winning sprinter Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}) in the G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint S. on Oct. 15, according to owner Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum's racing manager Bruce Raymond. The colt's usual rider, Christophe Soumillon, will be serving part of his 60-day suspension for elbowing another jockey out of the saddle in a race, during that time period. A dual Group 1 winner as a juvenile, the bay's most recent victory was in the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. His latest two efforts were sevenths in the G1 July Cup S. at Newmarket in July and in Deauville's G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest on Aug. 7.

Raymond said, “We've hopefully got Tom Marquand booked. William [Haggas] has Jon and Julia Aisbitt's horse [Tiber Flow (Ire) (Caravaggio)] in the race. He may run that, but he might just let Tom off to ride ours.

“Tom is very keen to ride ours and we're 95% certain we've got him.”

Raymond added of the Richard Fahey trainee's most recent effort, “Richard said he'd got a bit sore–not jarred up–just a bit sore.

“Hopefully the weather will break before the weekend, as he could do with softish ground. You never know this time of year. If it came soft, I would be favouring him a lot. Not just because it is Ascot, but because he is fresher than most.

“He is still a 3-year-old, but he is a mature 3-year-old. I've seen him working and he's good and fresh and he's in top shape.”

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Adayar Heads Star Cast of Champions

Godolphin's June 5 G1 Epsom Derby and July 24 G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. hero Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) will be one of the 10 starters in Saturday's G1 QIPCO Champion S. at Ascot after Charlie Appleby pushed go on Thursday morning.

Fourth in last Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp, the homebred has given all the right signals in the interim period and adds substance to a renewal robbed of Snowfall (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) who has been re-routed to take the place of the absent Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares S. Drawn in nine, Adayar is set to re-engage the King George runner-up Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB})–who has stall two–with only Mohamed Obaida's supplemented Aug. 14 G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano and Oct. 2 G2 Prix Dollar scorer Dubai Honour (Ire) (Pride of Dubai {Aus}) wider out.

Appleby revealed that connections were buoyed by an impressive piece of work on Wednesday.

“It was an easy piece of work to confirm his wellbeing and he did it so well,” he explained. “We discussed it with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed and the decision was taken to run. We are all looking forward to the rematch with Mishriff, particularly over this trip. Adayar beat Mishriff comfortably in the King George and then Mishriff came out and dominated the Juddmonte International at York over the distance of Saturday's race. We are happy to meet him over the mile and a quarter, which is the trip where we believe Adayar's potential lies next year.”

Aidan O'Brien revealed that Love returned an unsatisfactory blood result on Thursday, leading to the shift of the June 4 G1 Epsom Oaks, July 17 G1 Irish Oaks and Aug. 19 G1 Yorkshire Oaks heroine Snowfall to the Fillies & Mares which has attracted a field of eight. Ballydoyle's May 2 G1 1000 Guineas and Aug. 3 G1 Prix Rothschild heroine Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) will take on Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum's five-times group 1-winning Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and the Sept. 5 G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp hero Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the 10-runner G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. sponsored by QIPCO.

There will be 20 runners in a wide-open renewal of the G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint S., where Yoshiro Kubota's 'TDN Rising Star' Dragon Symbol (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}) bids to atone for a series of top-level near-misses, while the opening G2 QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup sees the G1 Prix du Cadran one-two Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}) and Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) square up again. The latter has been given the green light by the Gosdens and owner-breeder Bjorn Nielsen to attempt to repeat his 2018 win in the race which saw Moyglare Stud's Search For a Song (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) left out of the reckoning by Dermot Weld. Other high-profile absentees alongside her and Love are the Fillies & Mares-targeted La Petite Coco (Ire) (Ruler of the World {Ire}) and Free Wind (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

William Haggas has already had a season to savour and the barometer for his stable's health is the fact that he has a trio engaged in the Champion, headed by last year's winner Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}). Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum's title-holder is coming back off a 105-day absence, having finished runner-up in the G1 Eclipse S. at Sandown July 3.

“Addeybb's ideal ground is when it passes an inspection on the morning of the race and he sloshes through that,” Haggas said. “This is going to be soft, but I'm not sure it will be soft enough for him. He stays well and his record right-handed is fantastic, but this is a hugely competitive, fantastic race. We weren't able to get a prep into him, but he's taken a lot of graft this year and his record fresh is excellent. We think we've got him pretty ready.”

Shadwell's Al Aasy (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) has suffered three defeats since his impressive wins in the Apr. 18 G3 John Porter S. and May 15 G3 Aston Park S. at Newbury, with a latest fourth in that venue's Sept. 18 G3 Dubai Duty Free Legacy Cup his most deflating. His trainer has long held him in the highest affection and said, “We all know that Al Aasy doesn't find as much under pressure as it looks like he might, so I hope his jockey waits a bit. At Newbury, he went three and a half from home and it exposed him. The horse is much better than that, he should have won there and we'll see what he has to offer as he's a strong stayer at a mile and a quarter. He may not be good enough, but he's talented and he's no mug even in a race of this quality. I love him and he's a very good horse who has been rubbished by everyone, so I'd love to see him run a good race.”

Of Dubai Honour, who is one of six 3-year-olds in the feature, he added, “He won really easily in the Guillaume d'Ornano, but they went really hard there whereas in the Dollar they went slow and he showed a real turn of foot. There's nothing else for him until Hong Kong in December and when I suggested it, the owner nearly bit my hand off. He's an intriguing runner, but Mishriff was awesome at York and I could do without Adayar. He's a bloody good horse and I'd be frightened of him, even over a mile and a quarter. He'll be hard to pass. This year we have nine runners on the day, when we normally have one or two, so we are blessed to have so many nice horses and we've hopefully got them in good shape.”

All bar the retired Wonderful Tonight (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) return to defend their crowns in their respective races this year, with Trueshan and Addeybb joined by the Sprint winner Glen Shiel (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) and Al Asayl France's The Revenant (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who heads back to the QEII. It is in the latter contest that Haggas saddles what could be his leading contender on the fixture in the unbeaten Baaeed, who could arguably be the most exciting of the eight Group 1 winners in the line-up for what looks the strongest race on the card and the mile championship decider of 2021. Despite his profile, the head of Somerville Lodge is not getting carried away.

“Whilst I've been very impressed with what he's done in such a short space of time, he's got a big task on Saturday,” he said of the Shadwell homebred. “Not only is there Palace Pier, who is a remarkably consistent and tough horse, but there's Alcohol Free, Mother Earth, The Revenant and Benbatl–it's a hell of a strong race with lots of good horses. Without undermining those behind him in the Moulin, we'd had a little hiccup and a rushed preparation for that and I'm pretty sure we didn't see him at his best. The bit none of us know is what he's got left, but Jim [Crowley] is very fond of him and he's a lovely horse to deal with. He's as fit as we want him and ready to go in what is probably the best mile race of the season.”

Nick Smith, Ascot's director of racing and communications, is keen for the 10th Champions Day to play out to an expected crowd of around of 25,000.

“You couldn't have asked for a lot better,” he said after the declarations were made on Thursday morning. “The weather is pretty sound, so it will probably be the best renewal we've had since Excelebration and Frankel kind of bookended the card early on. The final declarations are great. The stayers' race is looking like the race of the year over that trip, which is slightly unexpected after a strong Cadran, but great to see. The Champion S. and the QEII are probably joint highlights with Adayar running now against Mishriff–the King George one and two. You've got to say that now has become the outstanding clash. It's not bad to have Baaeed and Palace Pier as the appetiser, so we're really thrilled. It's going to be a great day.”

On the climax to the close race for the Flat jockeys' championship between Oisin Murphy and William Buick, Smith added, “It will probably go to the wire now. It's an intriguing added dimension, especially if it ended up going to the Balmoral [H]. It's fascinating really. The declarations didn't need another story, but it certainly is another thread. We'll have a crowd of about 25,000 with the weather looking set. It will still seem reasonably comfortable. It will be a tremendous day and a fantastic way to see the season out with a real bang.”

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G1SW Golden Horde Sore, Will Skip Champions Day

Golden Horde (Ire) (Lethal Force {Ire}) is out of contention for the Oct. 17 G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint S. after sustaining a setback, the Racing Post reported on Sunday. The AlMohamediya Racing colourbearer won the G1 Commonwealth Cup S. at Royal Ascot earlier this season, before running third in the July 11 G1 Darley July Cup S. and fifth in the Aug. 9 G1 LARC Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville. The 3-year-old colt reported home third in the G1 Betfair Sprint Cup S. at Haydock when last seen on Sept. 5.

“He’s not going to be confirmed tomorrow for the race, I’m sorry to say,” trainer Clive Cox told Racing Post. “He was found to be sore after his work on Wednesday and we’re just not happy with him. We’ll monitor the situation, but we’re not going to be able to sigh off the season as intended by running at Ascot. he’s been tremendously consistent and winning the Commonwealth Cup first time up this season was amazing.”

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