Tag: My Prospero (Ire)

Ascot Braced for Frankie’s Champions Day Farewell

As if conjuring the renowned Babet as a personal Tempest for his [probable] European goodbye, racing's true Duke of Milan rides back into his beloved Ascot on Saturday as the eye of the storm for a suitably dramatic instalment of the Qipco Champions Day. While this fixture has fast become a resounding success, despite its mid-October nook being that bit too far into the wet season to deliver a fair playing field, it always needs at least one dynamo per year to power it into the headlines. Officials are lucky that the 2023 edition is already taken care of. It's a fitting goodbye to a totem, a genuine racing institution and, quite possibly, a national one too who 27 years ago used the old Ascot Festival card that boasted the QEII as its showcase to carve out his unfathomable Magnificent Seven.

We all know that the imperative glorious farewell victory will come, but from where? Will it be a late gift from King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in the G1 Qipco Champion S., the key race of them all? Dettori will hope that it comes much sooner in the afternoon to release the enormous emotional pressure. There is the 2000 Guineas hero Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S., his old friend Kinross (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in the G1 Qipco British Champions Sprint, and the aptly-titled Free Wind (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares S. Away you go, Prospero.

Ahead of one of his biggest days in the saddle, the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame jockey is trying to hold it together. “I'll try to keep my emotions in check until after my last ride, but obviously all my friends and family will be there. I'm sure I'll shed a tear on the day, but at the moment I'm really trying to focus on the races and give my friends and family something to shout about on the day,” he said.
King Of Steel's trainer Roger Varian summed up the general feeling ahead of the rider's tumultuous farewell. “We're happy to have him on our horse on Saturday and on the big day, when the goggles come down, he's one of the very best there has ever been and the season he's had tells everyone he is still riding at the top of his game,” he said.

Adding to the sense of occasion is the fact that Dettori will sport the Godolphin royal blue he is most synonymous with as he partners the G2 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup contender Trawlerman (Ire) by his renaissance horse Golden Horn (GB). Hugh Anderson, managing director of Godolphin, is keen to stress the import of the situation. “For Godolphin, Frankie Dettori has been a huge part of our history,” he said. “For my whole adult life–and I'm a little bit older than Frankie–he has been the top jockey or one of the top jockeys in this country and I think his contribution to the sport has been incalculable. I'm very pleased he is going to be wearing Godolphin blue on what is potentially his last Champions Day and we hope he does well.”

Paddington | PA Media

Ballydoyle Big Guns Are Rolled Out…

Despite the feeling of inevitability that things will ultimately fall his way, there are of course 52 reasons why Frankie won't ride a single winner and six of them are from Ballydoyle, with the TDN Rising Star Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) having been on the receiving end of Dettori's magic as he suffered a momentum-stopping defeat to Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 Juddmonte International. Prior to that, he had hoarded the Irish 2000 Guineas, St James's Palace, Eclipse and Sussex and his role in a rich renewal of the QEII will tell us where he stands among the season's kingpins. If Paddington isn't a mortal lock, the yard's Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) could well be as he continues his improbable comeback from his well-documented strife in the Long Distance Cup.
Aidan O'Brien reflected on his key duo earlier this week. “Paddington loves racing and loves work–when you build up his work, he starts putting on weight and that's just the way he is,” he said. “He's a good strong traveller and quickens very well and handles all types of ground. He goes like a real miler, even though he's won over a mile and a quarter. I couldn't believe Kyprios made it back to any race really–I couldn't believe the day he went out of the parade ring at The Curragh he was actually there. He was just barely ready to run and we think he's made progress since then.”

Allez France?

While the feature Champion has been kind to France since moving to Ascot and the focus is understandably on Horizon Dore (Fr) (Dabirsim {Fr}) to cap a momentous autumn for Gousserie Racing, there is also the prospect of the QEII-bound Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) to keep Yeguada Centurion and Christopher Head in the big time that they have become accustomed to during the current campaign. Those keen to write off the latter after three excusable defeats will be well served to remember that he dismantled Horizon Dore in Chantilly's nine-furlong G3 Prix de Guiche when the ground was given as officially heavy. Patrice Cottier's emerging star has moved up in trip subsequently while Big Rock has gone the other way, so a sensational double for this Gallic pairing is not a far-fetched scenario.
Pauline Chehboub said of Horizon Dore in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf qualifier, “He is doing well, he is in good form with some freshness. He is stronger than at the start of the season. He needed time this year, so we chose to stay in France for the first part of the season and now it's time to travel and see him at group one level.”

Girl Power…

Nashwa | Scoop Dyga

This day is all about bringing the best together and, luckily, the two power contests boast three power players among the females. It just so happens that Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) represents double trouble in that regard, with Hollie Doyle combining to make for a potent threat in the QEII that has for so long looked tailor-made for her. More about pure muscular pace than stamina at four, Imad Al Sagar's beloved filly bullied her sex in the G1 Falmouth S. and comes back to that mile trip after two huge efforts attempting to carry her speed over 10 furlongs.

Hollie Doyle, who will have already steered her perennial hero of the hour Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}) in the Long Distance Cup, is geared up for her latest dose of the Nashwa treatment. “It really hasn't mattered to me which race they chose,” she said. “Nashwa seems just as good at a mile as a mile and a quarter, so the trip doesn't seem to be an issue and she goes on any ground. The figures say she's improved significantly again, which is mad, so I'm delighted she's staying in training.”

What Nashwa has in brute strength, The Aga Khan's Tahiyra (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) possibly makes up for in tactical elan but this potentially horrible going is not what she needs and Dermot Weld will be quick to spare her a gruelling examination in the QEII–a “Win and You're In” for the GI Breeders' Cup Mile–if the expected torrents come this way. Any volume of rain is of no concern to the Champion S. siren Via Sistina (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), whose performance in Newmarket's G2 Dahlia S. in May still stands as one of the season's major moments. What she achieved subsequently, even when winning at a higher level in The Curragh's Pretty Polly, did not have that same elevated feel but the ground has come right for another tour de force from Rebecca Hillen's star of the George Boughey show.

“She looks amazing for this time of year and her best performances come after a break, which she's had since Deauville two months ago,” Boughey said. “Oisin [Murphy] already knows her well, having ridden her work when she was with Joe [Tuite].”

Not A Bridge Too Far…

Bay Bridge | Megan Ridgwell

When it is on the soft side, it is fair to describe last year's Champion S. hero Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}) as one of the best of the middle-distance division. His success over Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and My Prospero (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) in this 12 months ago, and more importantly his brushing aside of Mostahdaf in the G3 Brigadier Gerard S. last May, mark him as a special talent when conditions are kind. On the Polytrack, James Wigan and Ballylinch Stud's flag-bearer again showed what he is capable of on his penultimate start in the G3 September S. and it is possible to excuse all defeats around those wins mostly on surfaces too quick.

Sir Michael Stoute's sole runner in the card's pattern races is probably still the one to beat in the feature and the master trainer's assistant James Savage is giving out the right vibes. “We've been very pleased with how Bay Bridge came out of the Arc, which was a tough race on ground that dried out throughout the day,” he said. “He ran well at Longchamp and was only beaten about six lengths, having done a little bit too much in Richard's hands in the early and middle parts of the race.”

“We are pretty sure he stayed the mile and a half, as he did at Kempton, but you'd have to say that going back to Ascot in conditions we've been waiting for all year he'd have a great shout,” he added. “I think Mostahdaf is a very, very good horse, and so is Horizon Dore, so in my opinion it's just as strong a race as last year, but conditions will hopefully be very much in our favour once again and he's training very well.”

Time Calls For Charlton…

Another subplot to the fixture is the last Champions Day for Roger Charlton as he nears the handover to son Harry at the end of the season. They saddle the fast-improving Time Lock (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the Fillies & Mares and her impressive defeat of the re-opposing Sweet Memories (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in Newmarket's G3 Princess Royal S. last month marks her down as one of the favourites. “She is in great form and is on the right path, growing in confidence with her success. It looks very competitive with a big field but she's in as good form as any of the others at the moment,” Harry said. “It's hard to be too confident, as the conditions aren't ideal. We'd be going with more confidence if they weren't looking at so much rain, as good ground would have been ideal, but she handles soft.”

Inner Track Decision Made…

Ascot announced that the inner flat course will be used for the middle-distance races on Saturday, with the going at soft, heavy in places on Friday. It was good-to-soft, soft in places on the inner track then and soft on the straight course. As a result of the change, the Long Distance Cup will now be run over 82 yards shorter, the Fillies & Mares will be 78 yards less while the Champion Stakes remains at 10 furlongs.

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Royal Ascot: Prepare For Battle Royal In The Prince Of Wales’s

Arguably the week's most momentous race, Wednesday's G1 Prince of Wales's S. is as tight as it gets between a trio of hardcore middle-distance soldiers from all the right establishments. From Moulton Paddocks' 2021 Derby winner Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) to Freemason Lodge's Champion S. winner Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}) to Ballydoyle's Irish Champion hero Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), this renewal could come down to small margins and tactical decisions, much as it did last year. Not yet a Group 1 winner, but so obviously an imminent one, the William Haggas-trained My Prospero (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) is right in there too and should he take this back to Somerville Lodge there will be no hint of surprise anywhere.

Perhaps this Prince of Wales's will be more about these horses' weaknesses than their strengths, with any cracks sure to be exposed by the other three in what promises to be a showcase for the sport's competitive elite. Aidan O'Brien and his collective have had to endure as much disappointment as joy with Luxembourg so far, with physical ailments taking him out of last year's Derby picture and leading to his no-show in the Arc. With the master of Ballydoyle, the real story is usually read between the lines of his comments, particularly post-race, and significantly this colt was described as “not for kids” by him following his courageous all-the-way Tattersalls Gold Cup triumph last time. That brought up his stable's 400th top-level winner since it started in motion in June 1993 and you get the sense that this is the latest in a line of those to emanate from Rosegreen with a disposition of granite.

Adayar, who provided Frankel with his first Derby winner before bringing the King George back into the Classic-crop conversation here two years ago, has had his own spell in the wilderness only to bounce back from adversity. So close to winning the Champion here in October, this mighty thoroughbred has enjoyed a far smoother preparation in 2023 and will carry the aspirations of all those Derby worshippers out there.

Bay Bridge, who can be seen as at least a moral dead-heater of this 12 months ago once study of the sectionals is carried out, probably needs more rain for this race to breach a tipping point away from the others. That said, even on a sound surface this is a valid member of a list of rarities cultivated down the decades by racing's ace horticulturalist Sir Michael Stoute. Despite losing Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) out of the picture, the trainer's assistant trainer James Savage is under no illusions as to what is required on Wednesday afternoon. “The mile-and-a-quarter division is as strong as I have seen,” he stated.

Wednesday opens customarily with the G2 Queen Mary S., where the Karl Burke stable responsible for last year's tour de force Dramatised (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) is the most feared once again by bookies and opponents alike thanks to the Nottingham effort of Beautiful Diamond (GB) (Twilight Son {GB}). “I'm hoping she will be there in a ding-dong,” commented Bruce Raymond, racing manager for her owner Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum. “The timing of the race is tight from her run at Nottingham, but really that's an after-the-race excuse.” One of Royal Ascot's top sires Dark Angel supplies the yard's other key hope, the Listed Marygate Fillies' S. winner Got To Love A Grey (GB), as well as the Richard Fahey-trained Hilary Needler Trophy scorer Midnight Affair (Ire) as England's re-emerging North maintains its high standards.

This is no ordinary Queen Mary, with added spice provided by a big US presence not just about Wesley Ward but also George Weaver and Thomas Morley. The good news for all is that we get to see Johnny Velazquez, Joel Rosario and Javier Castellano and possibly Irad Ortiz, Jr. too if he gets over the ill-timed bout of food poisoning that ruled him out of Tuesday's action. Flying the TDN Rising Star standard is Laurence Holder's Yarmouth winner Born To Rock (Ire) (Soldier's Call {GB}).

In the G2 Duke of Cambridge S., Frankie renews his partnership with Andrew Rosen and Marc Chan's G3 Princess Elizabeth S. winner Prosperous Voyage (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), despite the Gosdens saddling last year's G1 Sun Chariot S. third Grande Dame (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}). Is that a clue? Chan's racing manager Jamie McCalmont said of Prosperous Voyage, who upset Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 Falmouth S. last July. “It's a bit different competition to Epsom here, but she didn't have a hard race there and that should set her up for a good performance.” Grande Dame gives Doreen Tabor a strong hand, with the G3 Valiant S. scorer Jumbly (GB) (Gleneagles {Ire}) sporting the first colours from Owning Hill having cost 1.25million gns at Tatts December.

Frankie's unbeaten Listed Cocked Hat S.-winning mount Gregory (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}) is a big deal for Wathnan Racing in the G2 Queen's Vase, where the Royal colours are carried by the Stoute runner Circle Of Fire (GB) (Almanzor {Fr}). This race also marks a landmark moment for the Crisfords as they saddle their first runner for Godolphin after the operation acquired the well-touted Chesspiece (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}).

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Dubawi’s Modern Games Has The Most Bite In The Lockinge

Successful at the elite level at two Breeders' Cups, in a Poule d'Essai des Poulains and a Woodbine Mile, Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}–Modern Ideals {GB}, by New Approach {Ire}) finally did it in the UK as he swooped to dominate Saturday's G1 Al Shaqab Lockinge S. at Newbury. Drawn on the extreme towards the stands' rail, the 3-1 favourite was in the right place if the preceding London Gold Cup was anything to go by and William Buick was able to enjoy the perfect draft behind My Prospero (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}). It was the 22-1 outsider Chindit (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) who played the penultimate hand inside the final furlong, but Modern Games was quickly on his case which led to one of those bizarre moments that happens rarely.

As the eventual winner passed the Hannon runner, Chindit turned his head to bite him as Godolphin's Noverre (Rahy) had done to Keltos (Fr) (Kendor {Fr}) in this same contest 21 years ago. With only Buick's hand slightly compromised by that act, the chestnut forged ahead to register a 1 1/2-length success, a record-stretching ninth in the race for the royal blue livery. There was a length back to the revived Berkshire Shadow (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in third, with a head separating that 33-1 shot and My Prospero.

“There are no idiosyncracies in this horse,” Buick said before revealing a minor nick to his left hand. “He is straightforward and it turned out exactly as I hoped it would. He's a real top-class miler and you forget that this is his first group 1 in this country. He can make things happen around him rather than relying on other things and the pace was with us. I was quite comfortable throughout and I always had them covered.”

Had it not been for Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in last year's G1 Sussex S. and a resurgent Bayside Boy (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S, Modern Games would have already had this particular monkey off his back and the fact that he was the premier miler in the line-up hardened by a second in Keeneland's GI Maker's Mark Mile last month only took root late as he was hammered into favouritism. Buick was happy to track in the small group racing towards the stands with Mutasaabeq (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) out on his own in the overall lead in the centre and Chindit also solo in between.

With a possible bias towards racing on the front end during Newbury's two-day meeting, the onus was on Buick to make up ground and it was notable that Modern Games was already at work heading to three out. Many were in contention with two furlongs left, but after last year's Lockinge third Chindit had blown the race apart a furlong later there was only one serious pursuant and as the former leading juvenile was overthrown late he made his displeasure known.

Charlie Appleby is content to tread the obvious path of the Queen Anne and Sussex for the winner, the second in a group 1 this month for the dam after the Saeed bin Suroor-trained 1000 Guineas heroine Mawj (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}). For the team at Moulton Paddocks, the ultimate aim remains several months off. “What we'd really like to do is go back for a third Breeders' Cup,” he stated. “Not that it is a necessity, but it would be lovely to see if we can do the treble. We will work back from the Breeders' Cup and look at the Sussex, as logically we should do, and the Queen Anne along the route.”

“I'm delighted for all of the team, but also for the horse, because he deserves to win a group one in England and he will go down to date as one of the best sons of Dubawi there has been,” Appleby added. “He has got older and he warms into his races. We saw that unfortunately in the later stages in America. This horse started off his career with the likes of Native Trail and Coroebus, he was going out in the mornings with some star milers then. He was one of the few horses who put Baaeed under the pump. I felt he gained a lot of support and recognition from that day onwards here in England.”

Both second and third are also set for the Queen Anne, with Richard Hannon saying of the runner-up, “He travelled great and was a happy horse. He has improved physically. He has a middle to him now, which he didn't have earlier in his career. There is one of these coming his way.” Andrew Balding added of the 2021 G2 Coventry S. winner Berkshire Shadow, “He's a grand horse. He ran very well in the 2000 Guineas last year and his form tailed off a bit, but he's a different horse this year. I think he will win us a decent race, because he really likes fast ground. Yesterday's rain wasn't that helpful for him.”

My Prospero will also take in Royal Ascot, but as expected it will be the Prince of Wales's for the only one of the first four not to have a prep race this Spring. “He needs further,” trainer William Haggas said. “He was going to get stuffed and then he stayed on again. He is just not quick enough for these, but he should come on for that. He will be a player in the Prince of Wales's Stakes. That will just do him good.”

Pedigree Notes

Modern Ideals, who was a twice-raced maiden in the Sheikh Mohammed maroon silks for the Andre Fabre stable, is fast becoming one of Godolphin's key broodmares. Her third foal was the useful Listed Windsor S. winner Modern News (GB) (Shamardal), but that was only the beginning as she went on to throw this industrious bigwig and then the aforementioned Guineas heroine Mawj. She is a daughter of Gerald Leigh's Epitome (Ire) (Nashwan), who was responsible for Godolphin's G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere-winning sire Ultra (Ire) (Manduro {Ger}) as well as the G3 Prix Minerve scorer Synopsis (Ire) (In The Wings {GB}) and the listed-placed Epic Similie (GB) (Lomitas {GB}). She in turn produced the G2 July S. runner-up Figure Of Speech (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and is the second dam of the Cutler Bay S. scorer Behind Enemy Lines (GB) (Sioux Nation).

The third dam is the Italian champion Proskona (Mr. Prospector), who produced the GII Canadian H. winner Calista (GB) (Caerleon) and is the ancestress of Leigh's G1 Prix Lupin and G1 Criterium International-winning sire Act One (GB) (In The Wings {GB}) among an almost endless list of graded-stakes and group performers. Proskona is kin to Riverman's stellar producer Korveya, dam of Woodman's high-class duo Bosra Sham and Hector Protector and fellow Poulains hero Shanghai (Procida). Modern Ideals' 2-year-old filly is by Mastercraftsman (Ire).

Saturday, Newbury, Britain
AL SHAQAB LOCKINGE S.-G1, £350,000, Newbury, 5-20, 4yo/up, 8fT, 1:36.09, gd.
1–MODERN GAMES (IRE), 128, c, 4, by Dubawi (Ire)
     1st Dam: Modern Ideals (GB), by New Approach (Ire)
     2nd Dam: Epitome (Ire), by Nashwan
     3rd Dam: Proskona, by Mr. Prospector
O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby; J-William Buick. £198,485. Lifetime Record: Champion Male Turf Horse-US, MGISW-US, GISW-Can, G1SW-Fr, 15-8-4-1, $3,519,989. *1/2 to Mawj (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), G1SW-Eng, $662,085; 1/2 to Modern News (GB) (Shamardal), SW & MGSP-Eng, MSP-UAE, $225,210. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Chindit (Ire), 128, h, 5, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Always A Dream (GB), by Oasis Dream (GB). (65,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT). O-Michael Pescod; B-J C Bloodstock & R Mahon (IRE); T-Richard Hannon. £75,250.
3–Berkshire Shadow (GB), 128, g, 4, Dark Angel (Ire)–Angel Vision (Ire), by Oasis Dream (GB).
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. (40,000gns Ylg '20 TATOCT). O-Berkshire Parts & Panels Ltd No1 Fanclub; B-Cheveley Park Stud Limited (GB); T-Andrew Balding. £37,660.
Margins: 1HF, 1, HD. Odds: 3.00, 22.00, 33.00.
Also Ran: My Prospero (Ire), Mutasaabeq (GB), Lusail (Ire), Light Infantry (Fr), Checkandchallenge (GB), The Wizard of Eye (Ire), Laurel (GB), Jumby (Ire), Jadoomi (Fr). Scratched: Triple Time (Ire).

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Bay Bridge Upsets Baaeed In The Champion

Caught off guard in Royal Ascot's G1 Prince of Wales's S. and Sandown's G1 Coral-Eclipse, James Wigan and Ballylinch Stud's Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}–Hayyona {GB}, by Multiplex {GB}) made it third time lucky at the highest level when upsetting the hitherto undefeated Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and a stellar field in Saturday's G1 Qipco Champion S. at Ascot. The race is a qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland next month. Having appeared set fair to join the upper echelons when routing his rivals by five lengths and more in May's G3 Brigadier Gerard S. at Sandown, the 4-year-old bay failed to justify odds-on favouritism when usurped by State Of Rest (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) over course and distance in June and didn't fire as expected when fifth behind Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}) in Sandown's annual highlight in July. The eventual winner occupied an ideal slot in third behind a steady tempo through halfway and the 10-1 chance shifted gears rounding the home turn, moving into second at the top of the straight. Hooking up with the revitalised Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in the leading wave passing the quarter-mile marker, the expected surge of Baaeed failed to materialise in speed-blunting conditions as the 1-4 favourite's stablemate My Prospero (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) joined the mix inside the final furlong. An enthralling battle ensued with Derby-winning jockey Richard Kingscote teasing every last drop out of Bay Bridge to edge ahead in the closing stages for a career high, with Adayar outbobbing My Prospero by a nose for second. Baaeed lost no caste in defeat and ran on to finish 1 1/4 lengths further adrift in fourth.

Surprisingly, Bay Bridge's success provided Sir Michael Stoute with a first positive outcome on the programme since Champions Day was recalibrated in 2011 and a first in the contest for the veteran conditioner since Kalanisi (Ire) (Doyoun {Ire}) outgunned Montjeu (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) in 2000. “Bay Bridge was very brave and I am absolutely thrilled,” Stoute said. “The staff have done a great job with this horse and we are all delighted. He was in very good shape coming here. He came back from Sandown with a knock and we had to back off him, so he's been very consistent this year with the exception of that race. We thought the favourite was unbeatable, or I did, but I thought he had a great chance of being second, because he was in terrific shape. I'm delighted to have won two Group 1 races this year, the staff have been brilliant and it's down to them.”

While Stoute was rekindling memories of yore, it has been a breakthrough year for winning rider Richard Kingscote. “It is surreal really,” he said. “I guess we came here knowing we have a nice horse, but we were taking on one of the best around. You cannot be afraid of one horse. They've always liked Bay Bridge back home and it's perfect to ride beautiful horses like this. He looked like he would have a big one in him and, on that ground, he showed he is a really lovely animal. He was a bit fresh and ran with enthusiasm for the first three-quarters of the race. He was going well into the turn and, when the others tried to put a bit of pace into it, he responded and knuckled down when William [Buick] came to us on Adayar. He put in a very good effort.” Reflecting on a banner season, Kingscote continued, “I am very grateful to everyone for having me. Two spectacular horses have made it a great year.”

Last year's G1 Derby hero Adayar was making his first start in elite-level company since running fifth in last year's renewal and his renaissance thrilled Charlie Appleby. “We know Adayar's back on the top table again and I am delighted,” the trainer commented. “It is always in the back of your mind when you've won a conditions race, but he is where he was when he left off last year. There were no excuses there, William said they didn't go quite as strong a gallop as you would like, but he committed when he did. That was always the plan and he stuck to his guns well. We were beaten by a horse that we know has always had plenty of potential there and has been waiting for the ground.”

Reflecting on a first defeat in 11 starts for Baaeed, William Haggas admitted, “It is deflating, but he is still a good horse and I'm sad he didn't win for him and his connections as well as all the people at the yard who have worked tirelessly to get him there. There you go, it's horse racing. Jim [Crowley] felt Baaeed just couldn't pick up in the ground. All I know is he didn't win and I need to watch it again. I was busy watching the others as well and I tend not to make an assessment straight after. Let's hope this is eradicated from people's minds quite quickly. My Prospero couldn't quite nut Adayar on the line for second, so it looks like we'll have to wait for next year until we have a go at the Trainers' Championship. My Prospero ran a magnificent race and has lots to look forward to. He is a beautiful horse, a great big horse and I think he has a good future. Dubai Honour ran well, but James [Doyle] said they went no gallop for him.”

For rider Jim Crowley, Baaeed's defeat was down to one factor alone. “The ground, simple as that,” he insisted. “I turned into the straight and, normally, he would be able to do it on good to soft, but that kick just wasn't there. It was heavy weather really and as soon as I went for him I knew I was in trouble. In the past, it has just been instant, but it just wasn't there, simple as that. It is unbelievable the journey we have been on. He is a very special horse and it is sad that he does not finish his career unbeaten as we have come so far. Baaeed has captured the imagination and I'm sorry we couldn't do it today. He is a special horse still.”

Bay Bridge is the fourth of seven foals and one of two scorers from three runners out of a half-sister to G2 Prix Eugene Adam victor Shimraan (Fr) (Rainbow Quest). He is kin to the hitherto unraced 2-year-old filly Stormy Sea (GB) (Territories {Ire}) and a yearling colt by Time Test (GB). His stakes-winning third dam Shemaya (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}), who produced G1 Prix du Jockey Club second Shamkiyr (Fr) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), is kin to G3 Prix Allez France victrix Shemima (GB) (Dalakhani {Ire}), herself the dam of G3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial winner Cormorant (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) and Listed Prix Madame Jean Couturie victrix Shemala (Ire) (Danehill). Descendants of Shemala, herself a daughter of G1 Prix de Diane heroine Shemaka (Ire) (Nishapour {Fr}), include G1 Grand Prix de Paris hero Shakeel (Fr) (Dalakhani {Ire}).

Saturday, Ascot, Britain
QIPCO CHAMPION S.-G1, £1,300,000, Ascot, 10-15, 3yo/up, 9f 212yT, 2:09.46, g/s.
1–BAY BRIDGE (GB), 133, c, 4, by New Bay (GB)
1st Dam: Hayyona (GB), by Multiplex (GB)
2nd Dam: Shemriyna (Ire), by King Of Kings (Ire)
3rd Dam: Shemaya (Ire), by Darshaan (GB)
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-James Wigan & Ballylinch Stud; B-London Thoroughbred Services Ltd (GB); T-Sir Michael Stoute; J-Richard Kingscote. £737,230. Lifetime Record: 10-6-1-1, $1,284,847. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Adayar (Ire), 133, c, 4, Frankel (GB)–Anna Salai, by Dubawi (Ire). O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby. £279,500.
3–My Prospero (Ire), 129, c, 3, Iffraaj (GB)–My Titania (Ire), by Sea The Stars (Ire). O/B-Sunderland Holding Inc (IRE); T-William Haggas. £139,880.
Margins: HF, NO, 1 1/4. Odds: 10.00, 6.00, 22.00.
Also Ran: Baaeed (GB), Stone Age (Ire), Dubai Honour (Ire), Helvic Dream (Ire), Mac Swiney (Ire), Royal Champion (Ire).

 

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