King's Stand S. | Horse Racing Free Tips

Oxted Sidelined, Has Surgery

Oxted (GB) (Mayson {GB}), who doubled his Group 1 tally with a victory in the G1 King's Stand S. this year at Royal Ascot, will sit out the remainder of the season after having surgery to remove a knee chip.

Trainer Roger Teal said the chip has been there for some time, but the decision was made to remove it after the gelding's third-place finish in his attempt to defend his title in the G1 July Cup on July 10.

“We've always known he's had a floating chip which hasn't been a problem, but after he hung in the July Cup we sent him for an MRI scan,” said Teal. “You could actually see on the scan that the chip had moved and it was just between the joints, so the best thing was to have it removed as it had just gone in the wrong place. The fact he's a gelding means we are here for a long time, not a short time, so we all decided to have it removed now and hopefully he can have time to recover for next season.

“The surgery went well, there's no cartilage damage and because he only had one race left this season, we didn't want to risk him if it was in the wrong place. He's home, he's happy and has had his dressing changed today and it all looks good.”

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Battaash Greenlighted For Goodwood

Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) has exited his fourth-place finish in last week's G1 King's Stand S. in good form and is on course to attempt a fifth straight win in Goodwood's G2 King George S. on July 30. The 7-year-old gelding was making his first run since last summer when folding in the late stages after attending a hot pace in the King's Stand.

“He's come out of the race really well actually, he's been cantering away this week and we're really pleased with him,” said trainer Charlie Hills. “They went really fast and with it being first time out it just caught him out. It's a stiff five furlongs at Ascot, it has never really played to his strengths and he just got tired and a bit leg-weary in the last half furlong. He's also there to be shot out when it transpires like that. We'll go to Goodwood now, his races are pretty obvious.”

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Extravagant Kid On Course For July Cup

G1 Al Quoz Sprint winner and G1 King's Stand S. third Extravagant Kid (Kiss The Kid) has stayed on in Newmarket following his Ascot exploits, and the American raider will target the G1 July Cup on July 10.

After placing in three stakes races in America earlier this year, the 8-year-old gelding Extravagant Kid hit a new level of form when winning the Al Quoz Sprint over six furlongs at Meydan under Ryan Moore, and put in an admirable performance at Royal Ascot under Frankie Dettori when dropped down to five furlongs. He goes back up to six furlongs for the July Cup.

“I don't think going back up to six furlongs will be a negative,” Walsh said. “Although it is a little stiffer than Dubai, you are going downhill a lot of the way. It is probably as far as he needs to go but I think he will be fine. We gave him plenty of time to get over his travelling turnaround [after Dubai] but you would think he would be in a better position now having had that run at Ascot.”

Dettori's services have become available for the July Cup with the news on Tuesday that G1 Commonwealth Cup winner Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) would skip the race, but Walsh said a decision on a jockey has not been made.

“I'm not sure yet who will be riding him as we haven't looked into it yet and I will know more next week,” Walsh said. “We only decided to leave him in the race at the start of the week. It would be fantastic if we could get Frankie as he is always good to have.”

Walsh attributes Extravagant Kid's purple patch at age eight to the horse's enjoyment of traveling.

“Travelling with him is a new dimension and he seems to like it,” he said. “It has brought out the best in him. As an older horse, travelling just adds something a bit different. He is eight now and is probably in his prime. He is not going to be up to this standard forever so we will just enjoy it.”

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Walsh Seeking Ascot Redemption

Brendan Walsh was assistant trainer to Mark Wallace when Benbaun (Ire) (Stravinsky) finished second, beaten a short head, in the 2006 edition of the G1 King's Stand S. Now a Grade I-winning conditioner in his own right, the Irish-born, Kentucky-based Walsh is looking for his G1 Al Quoz Sprint victor Extravagant Kid (Kiss The Kid) to go one better in next week's King's Stand.

Despite being eight years of age, Extravagant Kid is in the form of his life.

“I think the travel and a different track, when you get to an age like him–an eight-year-old–you are trying to find something a little different,” Walsh said. “They have pretty much seen it all before, and this for him suits his character and it's really picked him up–maybe that's what most of his improvement is accredited to.

“My assistant Charlie Lynch is with him. He says he hasn't missed a beat since he got there, pretty much like he was doing in Dubai. You can't beat that. We've prepared him for it, and it looks like it's all going to plan.”

In addition to his Newmarket stint, Walsh spent time working in Dubai for Godolphin, so traveling horses is nothing new.

“The Dubai thing was in my mind for a couple of years. I travelled a lot of horses with Godolphin back in the day and I thought this was the right year to go with Extravagant Kid,” he said. “He thrived in Dubai when he got there, and he seems to be thriving in Newmarket since he got there. I've got no real hang-ups about it. I think it's as we would want it, and if we get a good trip we will see if he's good enough or not.”

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