Tag: Mostahdaf (Ire)

Inspiral To Avoid Ascot; Paddington To The QEII

Storm Babet has decided the final shape of the fields for Saturday's Qipco Champions Day fixture, with the softening ground ruling Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) out of the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. and making up Aidan O'Brien's mind as to where to point Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}). That four-times group 1 winner takes up his engagement in the QEII, leaving a total of nine to take part in the G1 Qipco Champion S. Heading the list for the 10-furlong highlight is last year's winner Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}), with the improving Horizon Dore (Fr) (Dabirsim {Fr}) and Derby runner-up King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) declared alongside Shadwell's G1 Juddmonte International and G1 Prince of Wales's S. hero Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), who had been a doubt earlier in the week due to the dire forecast. There are 11 engaged in the QEII, with The Aga Khan's Tahiyra (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) a doubt to tackle Paddington if the ground worsens again, while Imad Al Sagar's Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) has been diverted from the Champion by the Gosdens.

Cheveley Park Stud's managing director Chris Richardson said of Inspiral on Thursday, “We've obviously been monitoring the weather and the rain that's fallen. I know John Gosden walked the track yesterday, there's been a subsequent 12 millimetres and it looks like there's more to come. As we know, when she ran on soft ground in the Sussex at Goodwood in the summer, Frankie looked after her as it wasn't the sort of performance she was enjoying. The decision now is whether the Breeders' Cup [Filly & Mare Turf] is an option. John is going to speak to Mrs Thompson about it and then we'll know more, but it's very much up to her to decide whether she wants the filly to go to America. They're liaising between them and there's decisions to be made on whether she runs again this year and whether she's kept in training next year. She's a wonderful filly, Mrs Thompson is the owner of the horse and will make the decision.”

In other news, the G1 Commonwealth Cup and G1 July Cup hero Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) will not run in the G1 Qipco British Champions Sprint. Steve Brown said of the 3-year-old, who was disappointing in the G1 Haydock Sprint Cup, “He wasn't just tracking through as normal behind with his movement. It looks minimal, but given the ground conditions, which are obviously going to be pretty testing, we're just not prepared to take any chances with him. It's as simple as that really.”

Marc Chan's defending Champions Sprint title-holder Kinross (GB) (Kingman {GB}) will face 14 in the six-furlong bonanza, there are 14 declared for a wide-open G1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares S., and Ballydoyle's star stayer Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) faces seven in the G2 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup. The storm has resulted in 13mm of rain falling, with further rain forecast on Friday.

Ascot's clerk of the course Chris Stickels is ready to switch the Long Distance Cup, Filly & Mares and Champion S. to the drier inner hurdles track for the first time since 2019. “If we have heavy ground on any part of the round course, we can move the round course races to the inner track and we have to decide that before 8 a.m. on Saturday,” he explained. “Looking at the forecast for Friday, I would say that is quite likely. I think the rain we will get overnight will turn us back to soft on the round course and maybe even if we get the top end, some heavy places on the round course. It's a shame we are a week later in the calendar this year and even today, John Gosden said if we were racing today the ground would have been perfect.”

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Frankel’s Mostahdaf Makes All For International Glory And A Record Sixth Success For Dettori

Just 35 minutes after Ryan Moore had given a copybook off-the-pace ride in the G2 Great Voltigeur, Frankie Dettori provided a masterclass of his own with a pillar-to-post exhibition aboard Shadwell's Mostahdaf (GB) (Frankel {GB}–Handassa {GB}, by Dubawi {Ire}) in a stellar renewal of York's G1 Juddmonte International as the Knavesmire crowd was treated to high-end examples of elite horsemanship on the opening day of the Ebor Festival.

The G1 Prince Of Wales's S. victor was sharply into stride and soon held a three-length buffer, with Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) his closest pursuer through halfway. Dettori offered his rivals an opportunity to close when checking on their proximity and allowing his mount to fill his lungs approaching the half-mile pole. Shaken up in front with a quarter-mile remaining, the 3-1 second favourite was not for catching when push came to shove and he kept on strongly under a late urging to provide the rider with an outright record sixth triumph in the extended 10-furlong contest. Mostahdaf hit the line with one-length advantage as stablemate Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) rallied late and usurped the valiant Paddington for second in the dying strides.

Last term's G3 Gordon Richards S. and G3 September S. victor was undone by ground conditions when last of 20 in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and embellished his earnings column with a wide-margin tally in Riyadh's G3 Neom Turf Cup on seasonal return. Mostahdaf was no match for Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}), finishing fourth in Meydan's Mar. 25 G1 Dubai Sheema Classic, before bouncing back in style with a four-length triumph at Royal Ascot last time. His winning time of 2:06.40 here was the quickest since Sea The Stars (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) outgunned three rivals in 2009.

“I've always thought he was a very good horse and he was electric when he won the Neom Cup,” said John Gosden of his charge, who punched his ticket for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic in November. “We then stupidly tried him over a mile-and-a-half again, against the Japanese world champion [Equinox], and got put in our box. I think it will be 10 furlongs all the way now. You could probably get away with a mile-and-a-half at the Breeders' Cup, round a few bends and down a hill, but I don't think we'll see that. I'll see what the owner wants to do. She's done wonderfully well and her father would be so proud of her. The Irish Champion has to be a possibility, but I always like to get home and make a decision after 10 days. Some are trying to persuade me to run him in the Breeders' Cup Classic on the dirt, but I don't know about that. I don't think he has to have a big gap between his races, it was just that he'd raced in the winter and then took on the great Equinox over a mile-and-a-half. You then need a holiday and he did well for it.”

Analysing Dettori's pitch-perfect ride and the effort of runner-up Nashwa, the trainer continued, “I think Frankie is like many of us, he's getting better with age. It was the plan to make it a real test today as there was no point letting Ryan [Moore] do his own thing. It was like Roberto and Brigadier Gerard all over again, but the filly finished second and the other boy [Paddington] has been very busy. Nashwa showed her class today, having got stuck in the mud in the Nassau, and it was brave of the owner to run her.”

Shadwell's racing manager Angus Gold added: “To win the races we've done this year has been incredible; the Prince of Wales's, the King George, the Nassau and now this. It's been an amazing year. We have to enjoy it and be grateful. This was a proper race, but I was sad for York and the crowd there were only four runners. It was a quality race on paper and it lived up to its billing. We knew if we stood any chance of beating Paddington, we had to do something different rather than let him have his own way out in front again. Frankie proved a good substitute [for the suspended Jim Crowley] to have on the day. We weren't too worried changing tack as long as Frankie got the pace right.”

Aidan O'Brien admitted it may have been too much of a stretch to bring 'TDN Rising Star' Paddington back so soon after Goodwood's G1 Sussex S. and explained, “He ran a great race, but maybe I just pulled the elastic band too long and that's the reality. He had a tough race in Goodwood on soft ground and it just told today. He was just a little bit down in himself and maybe I should have waited and gone to Leopardstown [for the G1 Irish Champion] to give him a bit more time. He's only a baby 3-year-old and Ryan felt he was just a little bit flat. He was in good form and obviously we were happy to come here, but you don't really know until the speedometer goes to red. Frankie went evenly strong all the way and Ryan said he didn't travel with his usual fluency, but he still ran very well.” Looking to the future, O'Brien added, “We'll see how he is and everything's a possibility, but he definitely won't go to the Irish Champion. It will depend on what the lads want to do. We have fairly given it to him, we backed him up fairly tough and he did have a tough one the last day. I would have to say maybe I shouldn't have ran him, but that's the way it is.”

Pedigree Notes

Mostahdaf, the fifth of nine foals, is one of four scorers out of Listed Garnet S. victrix Handassa (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), herself kin to GII San Gabriel S.-winning GI Frank E Kilroe Mile placegetter Desert Stone (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and G3 Earl of Sefton S. third Euginio (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}). The March-foaled homebred is full to the unraced 2-year-old colt Mutaawid (GB) and a weanling filly. He is also a half-brother to G1 Falmouth S. and G1 Sun Chariot S. heroine Nazeef (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and a yearling colt by Kingman (GB). His second dam Starstone (GB) (Diktat {GB}) is an unraced half-sister to Group 1-winning sires Pastoral Pursuits (GB) (Bahamian Bounty {GB}) and Goodricke (GB) (Bahamian Bounty {GB}).

Wednesday, York, Britain
JUDDMONTE INTERNATIONAL S.-G1, £1,000,000, York, 8-23, 3yo/up, 10f 56yT, 2:06.40, g/f.
1–MOSTAHDAF (IRE), 134, h, 5, by Frankel (GB)
1st Dam: Handassa (GB) (SW-Ire), by Dubawi (Ire)
2nd Dam: Starstone (GB), by Diktat (GB)
3rd Dam: Star (GB), by Most Welcome (GB)
O/B-Shadwell Estate Company Ltd (IRE); T-John & Thady Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £567,100. Lifetime Record: GSW-KSA, 16-10-2-0, $3,000,193. *1/2 to Nazeef (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), MG1SW-Eng, $409,959. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Nashwa (GB), 131, f, 4, Frankel (GB)–Princess Loulou (Ire), by Pivotal (GB). O-Imad Al Sagar; B-Blue Diamond Stud Farm (UK) Ltd (GB); T-John & Thady Gosden. £215,000.
3–Paddington (GB), 127, c, 3, Siyouni (Fr)–Modern Eagle (Ger), by Montjeu (Ire). (€420,000 Ylg '21 ARQDOY). O-Tabor, Smith, Magnier, Westerberg & Brant; B-Dayton Investments Ltd (GB); T-Aidan O'Brien. £107,600.
Margins: 1, NK, 6. Odds: 3.00, 6.50, 0.67.
Also Ran: The Foxes (Ire).

 

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York: Can Paddington Run Continue in the Juddmonte International?

   When a horse like Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) comes along, the challenge is to find a new narrative as big-race win follows big-race win. There is no up-and-down to colour the story, no bouncing back from adversity, no heroic turnaround from setback. It is a clear case of superiority winning out each time, as it feels to watch Man City's relentless march through football's major tournaments on the other side of the Pennines. Sometimes, the truth is the horse does the talking and it is clear that we are dealing with a colt with a metronomic rhythm to his racing which at present shows no sign of being upset.

As far as Wednesday's G1 Juddmonte International is concerned, it is up a trio with varying credentials in Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and The Foxes (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) to halt the momentum of Ballydoyle's at once unassuming and impressive colt. He needs this win to match the five-in-a-row Group 1 tally of one of the current regime's initial superstars Giant's Causeway, who was beaten in the Irish 2000 Guineas in which Paddington began his sequence. Shape shifting between supreme miler and 10-furlong horse just like the “Iron Horse” before him, he remains in pursuit of the seven consecutive elite-level triumphs of more Rosegreen royalty in Rock Of Gibraltar (Ire).

After mastering the stern uphill climax of the Eclipse and the unorthodox gradients of Goodwood, fast and deep turf, the latest test comes on the Knavesmire's level playing field which catches out only the complacent. What can possibly go wrong? Aidan O'Brien can't pinpoint a weakness. “He's an amazing horse really and all he's done is progress with each race,” he reiterated on Tuesday. “There's nothin much else I can say about him, every time we've asked him a question he keeps coming up with it. The ground is fine and we know he stays the trip. He went to the Coral-Eclipse for his first run over a mile and a quarter, so this is a little bit further on a flatter track.”

This is Frankie's last chance to edge Lester Piggott for the outright record of six wins and it would be a freakish turn of fortune if Jim Crowley's suspension meant that it came on Wednesday on Shadwell's Mostahdaf. One of the least heralded of the big guns that lined up for Royal Ascot's G1 Prince of Wales's S., the Clarehaven slow-burner left nobody in any doubt that he was the only member of that particular cast made for a fast-ground mile-and-a-quarter test as he dished out a humbling beating to Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) et al.

The evidence of Riyadh and Royal Ascot suggest Mostahdaf is finally the finished article, but the question is whether that extra strength brought about by maturity is the equivalent of the seven pounds weight-for-age he advances to Paddington. John Gosden is looking forward to finding out now that the cards have fallen right with the wet spell behind us. “There's no change in Plan A, it was always to give him the time,” he said. “He benefited from time between Saudi Arabia and running in Dubai through to June and, again, we've taken a similar spacing with him.”

On Mostahdaf's surge up the Rankings, Shadwell's racing manager Angus Gold admits to having underestimated the 5-year-old as he headed to the Royal meeting. “If I'm honest, I was a bit surprised to see him win [the Prince of Wales's] quite like that, but I probably shouldn't have been after the way he won in Saudi earlier this year. He was very impressive there and really quickened,” he said. “I thought he ran well in the Sheema Classic at Meydan too, where Equinox just killed him off the bend and he didn't get home but I was still surprised to see just how well he was travelling against a proper group one field at Royal Ascot and just how well he quickened.”

Ballydoyle vs The Gosdens is the modern-day customary tale in these kind of events and it is significant that the Newmarket father-and-son axis bolster their challenge with Imad Al Sagar's beloved Nashwa here. Last year's G1 Prix de Diane heroine failed to see out this trip on testing ground on her return mission in Goodwood's G1 Nassau S., but had previously looked to be peaking in the G1 Falmouth S. over a mile and this faster surface is a prerequisite over this distance these days.

Hollie Doyle is keen to put the 4-year-old's latest effort behind her and she could be the fly in the ointment with her invaluable fillies' allowance. “They had an easy time on the front end and Nashwa moved up like the best filly in the race, but she'd possibly been further back than ideal on that ground which probably blunted the turn of foot she showed in the Falmouth,” she said. “She takes her races very well and I'm hearing good reports from home through Teddy Grimthorpe.”

Already a winner over this course and distance in the G2 Dante S., King Power Racing's The Foxes (Ire) has to do much better than a subsequent fifth in the Derby and second in the GI Belmont Derby Invitational. “The others may be proven at a higher level, but I do feel The Foxes is an improving horse and we haven't seen the best of him yet,” racing manager Alastair Donald explained. “It looks like he'll get his preferred conditions of fast ground and we know he likes the course and distance. It might end up being a trappy race and, you never know, it's worth being there.”

 

Gregory The Key Player In The Great Voltigeur…

With Mostahdaf facing such a stern challenge on Wednesday, Frankie might give the York faithful the flying dismount they crave after the preceding G2 Great Voltigeur S. where Wathnan Racing's unbeaten  Gregory (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}) looks a solid proposition. Despite carrying a three-pound penalty for his G2 Queen's Vase exploits over two furlongs further than this mile-and-a-half contest, he looks a genuine stayer with speed. Ballydoyle's representative Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) had the pace to be third to The Foxes in the Dante and to get closest to one of his generation's bigwigs King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in a slowly-run G2 King Edward VII S., so if Gregory can usurp him and Godolphin's G3 Bahrain Trophy winner Castle Way (GB) (Almanzor {Fr}) with the odds slightly against him the St Leger will loom even larger on his horizon.

 

Big Moment For Keatley In The Acomb…

Adrian Keatley has been slowly making a name for himself from his British base and in another Wathnan Racing acquisition in Ballymount Boy (Ire) (Camacho {GB}) he has the right material to make waves in the always-important G3 Tattersalls Acomb S. Looking in need of this extra furlong when a length second to the subsequent G1 Prix Morny hero Vandeek (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) in the G2 Richmond S. over six at Goodwood earlier this month, he sets the standard and it is just a case of whether he can contain the flow of unexposed types.

“We thought a lot of our horse going to Goodwood, so we weren't by any means surprised by his run and we appreciate that the winner now looks very good as well–it's all stacking up,” his trainer said. “He went from a four-runner novice race at Hamilton into a group two and it was a massive step, a massive ask, and he answered all the questions bar one. We think he could be a top-class seven furlong horse or miler for the future.”

With two Guineas winners in Phoenix Of Spain (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) winning this in the last five years, it pays to watch the untested colts closely and Cogitate (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) is one of the more intriguing. Trainer Charlie Hills said of the Newbury novice scorer, “His work has been good and we think he could be a nice horse for the future. He travelled very well [at Newbury], he's got a good attitude and a good temperament–I was really taken by his first run. He's a big, scopey horse and he should be a nice horse for next year as well.”

Also in the mix is Ballydoyle's Naas maiden winner Edwardian (No Nay Never), the Eve Johnson Houghton-trained Ascot maiden scorer Indian Run (Ire) (Sioux Nation) and the course-and-distance winner Loose Cannon (Ire) (Territories {Ire}) from the William Haggas stable.

 

Classic Rematch In Yorkshire Oaks…

Thursday's G1 Pertemps Network Yorkshire Oaks will see the G1 Irish Oaks one-two Savethelastdance  (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Bluestocking (GB) (Camelot {GB}) square up again after a field of 10 was confirmed on Tuesday. Shadwell's G1 Nassau S. heroine Al Husn (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) is the key member of the older brigade, while in the supporting card's six-furlong G2 Lowther S. the G2 Queen Mary S. runner-up and Weatherbys Super Sprint winner Relief Rally (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) encounters eight rivals including Ballydoyle's impressive Curragh maiden winner Cherry Blossom (Ire) (No Nay Never).

 

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Paddington Heads Four In Mouthwatering Juddmonte International

Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) heads a field of four for the G1 Juddmonte International S. at York with Aidan O'Brien's star three-year-old bidding for a fifth success at the highest level.

His chief threat is Shadwell's G1 Prince Of Wales's S. hero Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). The John and Thady Gosden-trained colt will be accompanied by stablemate Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who bids to rebound off a third-placed effort in the G1 Nassau S at Goodwood.

King Power Racing's Derby fifth The Foxes (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) will have his first start since last month's GI Belmont Derby Invitational in New York where he finished an unlucky second.

Opening day on the Knavesmire will also feature the five-runner Sky Bet G2 Great Voltigeur S., in which Wathnan Racing's undefeated G2 Queen's Vase victor Gregory (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}) will line out in advance of a possible tilt at next month's G1 St Leger.

The pattern-race action gets under way with the seven-furlong G3 Tattersalls Acomb S., which has attracted six juveniles headed by another Wathnan Racing acquisition, Ballymount Boy (Ire) (Camacho {GB}).

He was last seen finishing second to G1 Prix Morny hero Vandeek (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) in this month's G2 Richmond S. at Goodwood. The Adrian Keatley trainee will exit from gate two for his first start in fresh silks.

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