Hall-of-Famers and Returning Heroes

NEWMARKET, UK–With a line-up that included Hurricane Lane (Ire), Global Storm (Ire) and West Wind Blows (Ire), the G2 Jockey Club S. was ushered in, appropriately, with a deep rumble of thunder and crack of lightning. The threatened storm didn't amount to much, and by the time Hurricane Lane had blasted away from his rivals to cinch an important comeback victory by six lengths, the sky was brightening as much as the mood of Charlie Appleby.

The trainer was visibly relieved to have his 2021 dual Classic winner back in the top spot, perhaps even more so after his stable-mate  Native Trail (GB) hadn't quite sparkled earlier on in the G2 Bet365 Mile. 

“When you have a horse that has given us, and the team, what he has given us, of course you feel for them,” said Appleby. “You want them to do it and you want them to carry on. We will see if he is a Hardwicke horse in the summer, if the ground comes right. I always said I wanted to work back from an Arc. That might be a bit bold, but we will see.”

Appleby had already struck early in the opening race of the QIPCO Guineas Festival. Hopefully, the King and Queen Consort will have been so wrapped up in preparations for the coronation that they may not have noticed that the one horse to beat their highly promising colt Circle Of Fire (GB) was co-bred by their racing manager John Warren's Highclere Stud.

In fact, the Listed Newmarket S., provided a one-two for the Haras d'Etreham stallion Almanzor (Fr) when Godolphin's Castle Way (GB) led home the royal runner. The winner is a half-brother to the champion miler Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}), who is now ensconced at Darley's Dalham Hall Stud.

Ever the professional, Warren first addressed the matter of the staying-on run from the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Circle Of Fire in his post-race debrief, with a hint that he may head to Royal Ascot for the G2 King Edward VII S.

“He looks as of he will go up another gear if he goes over another couple of furlongs,” Warren said. “Ryan [Moore] thought that they went steady early on and probably thought that if they'd gone a bit quicker earlier on it would have suited him even better.

“It's annoying that [the abandonment of] Sandown has knocked us out timing-wise, so we'll have to get our heads around that, but without even talking to Michael yet he looks to me like he'll be a lovely horse for Ascot, and the owners will be able to attend, which will be nice.”

He added, “The most important thing is that he's with a trainer who will be able to get a proper handle on where we are going to pitch, but Ryan was impressed with him and there were some pretty nice horses in that race as a benchmark. He's out of a Galileo mare so it won't be a surprise if he will want a few furlongs more.”

Turning to Castle Way, the sixth foal of the Nayef mare Beach Frolic (GB) who was sold for 2.2 million gns in the year her current three-year-old colt was foaled, Warren was understandably similarly impressed. Castle Way himself, who was bred by Highclere in partnership with Floors Stud, was a 425,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 yearling in the year that his illustrious half-sibling stormed to success in the G1 St James's Palace S. and G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois.

He said, “That was tremendous. We were excited about that. He was a beautiful yearling and made a good price as a yearling. She's been a wonderful mare and the family has done us proud. I am pleased that Coolmore have the mother now, which is great.”

Warren also added that Highclere Stud is now home to three foals from the first crop of Palace Pier.

“I have to say we are really impressed,” he noted. “Of course it's too early to say that, you can't judge it by just a few, but the first three that we've seen we've been mightily impressed with. Palace Pier was such a a tremendous horse and his brother looks a proper horse, too. It's very exciting.”

The Highclere team was celebrating again later in the day when the George Boughey-trained Soprano (Ire) was tuned to perfection to post a pretty sparkling win on debut in the juvenile fillies' maiden.

Shouldvebeenaring (GB) became the third Stakes winner for Havana Grey (GB) this year, and as his owners in the Middleham Park Racing syndicate collected their trophy, the colt's breeder Ed Harper watched on. It could be a big weekend for the Whitsbury Manor Stud team as not only did they breed Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}), current third-favourite for the QIPCO 2,000 Guineas, but Havana Grey will be represented by his first Classic runner in Sunday's 1,000 Guineas when the G3 Nell Gwyn S. winner Mammas Girl (GB) returns to Newmarket. 

Harper admitted that Havana Grey had been inundated with applications with breeders this season.

“We've tried to keep him to around 160 mares,” he said. “I must say that [head of bloodstock] Joe Callan has done a really good job managing the horse.”

Harper also confirmed that Chaldean's dam, the multiple stakes producer Suelita (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}), has recently been covered again by Frankel.

On Friday evening at the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket, Sir Michael Stoute and Sea The Stars (Ire) were officially inducted into the QIPCO British Horseracing Hall of Fame. Their worthiness for such an honour could be in no doubt, but it was emphatically underlined when Stoute took the Nyetimber Fillies' Maiden with the eye-catching Infinite Cosmos (Ire), a daughter of Sea The Stars bred by the late Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, and whose Classic lines are as obvious in her elegant physique as on her page.

 

 

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Pair Of Cancelled Sandown Group Races Join Guineas Festival Lineup

After Sandown's Friday meeting was abandoned, the G2 Mile and G3 Gordon Richards S. will be rescheduled for the QIPCO Guineas Festival from May 5-7, the British Horseracing Authority confirmed on Friday.

The Mile will be run on Friday, May 5, while the Gordon Richards S. joins the G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas card on Sunday, May 7. Purses for the two races will also be affected, with the Mile set to be worth £80,000, and the Gordon Richards to be contested at £45,000. The Horserace Betting Levy Board's original contribution of £52,000 across both races will be maintained and the rest of the prize-money is being provided by the BHA. Previous entries and declarations will be cancelled. All original entrants must re-enter if they wish to run, whilst the race is now open to all other eligible horses, whether they had previously entered or not. Both races will be re-opened to close at the normal six-day stage; noon on Saturday, Apr. 29 for the Mile and Monday, May 1 for the Gordon Richards.

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Sir Mark Prescott To Join Hall Of Fame Panel

With over 2,000 winners to his credit since 1970, trainer Sir Mark Prescott has joined the Judging Panel for the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame after the passing of James Delahooke, the organisation said in a release on Wednesday.

“The Hall of Fame is a great initiative that promotes the best in our sport and stimulates further interest in the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket,” Prescott said. “I'm surprised and honoured to be invited to join such a tip-top Hall of Fame judging panel, and to be tasked with making such important decisions.”

Inductions are decided upon by a panel of horseracing experts. This year's class will be announced ahead of the QIPCO Guineas Festival, while the ceremony will take place during that event in May. The National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket will also unveil an updated Hall of Fame exhibition at that time.

Click here for more information.

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Name Two Zoustar Fillies For Qatar Racing

Qatar Racing has launched a competition to name two juvenile fillies from the second European crop of Tweenhills resident Zoustar (Aus).

The horses in question are in training with John and Thady Gosden and Archie Watson, and are out of the mares Wind Fire and Out Of The Flames (GB) respectively. The latter is already the dam of a winner by Zoustar, Stars On Fire (Ire), trained by Wesley Ward.

The competition can be entered on social media by following @Qatar_Racing (Twitter) or @qatarracingltd (Instagram) and replying to the posts with a name suggestion of no more than 18 characters. The winners will be selected by Sheikh Fahad, chairman of Qatar Racing, and manager David Redvers, and the prize will include two tickets for the opening day of the QIPCO Guineas Festival on Friday, May 5.

“The Zoustar filly ex Out Of The Flames is with Archie Watson and looking very forward for a Zoustar filly,” said Redvers. “Being out of a mare who was third in the Queen Mary and who has already bred a two-year-old winner by Zoustar, we would be very hopeful that she might even turn into a Royal Ascot filly.”

 

He added, “The Zoustar filly out of Wind Fire has been in training with John and Thady Gosden for about three weeks. She is another extremely well bred, speedy filly. Her dam was also placed at Royal Ascot, this time in the Norfolk Stakes, and although I wouldn't expect her to be quite as forward and likely to be running by Ascot, I would expect her to be extremely fast.”

Zoustar's first European crop included the G1 Cheveley Park S. winner and Cartier European Champion Two-Year-Old Filly, Lezoo (GB), who is one of three entries by the stallion for the QIPCO 1,000 Guineas.

 

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