Tag: Ralph Beckett

Frankel’s Westover Dominates The Irish Derby

Saturday's G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby had been teed up as a match between Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}–Mirabilis, by Lear Fan) and Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), but in the ultimate assessment it was really a matter of no contest as Ralph Beckett's powerhouse colt overwhelmed all assembled for the Curragh Classic. Always travelling in a beautiful rhythm for Colin Keane granted a perfect lead by French Claim (Fr) (French Fifteen {Fr}), the 11-8 joint-favourite took control at the top of the straight and had already stretched into an unassailable lead by the furlong pole. All alone in the open space of the iconic Kildare venue thereafter, the Juddmonte homebred remained unperturbed as he drew out a seven-length winning margin to Piz Badile (Ire) (Ulysses {Ire}), with French Claim holding on for third a further two lengths behind. Tuesday managed fourth, but was never in it. “It was very straightforward and I have to say a big thankyou to Rob Hornby, who told me about the horse this morning,” Keane said. “He told me to just keep a lid on him going down and to keep it simple, as he gets the trip very well and will get further. He said not to be scared to make plenty of use of him turning in, as he would get to the line very well. To me, it felt like a piece of work with one horse in front of me.”

Westover may have been in the wake of Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) at Epsom, but his abundant progress from a narrow G3 Sandown Classic Trial success was there for all to see and his run through the race was the main talking point away from the impression made by the winner. Handed one of the worst draws possible for the mile-and-a-half Derby start, the imposing bay emerged from that disadvantage to put up a barnstorming effort which was profoundly disturbed by the well-documented trouble he met just as the Stoute colt was passing by and out of reach. A work-in-progress as a juvenile, his one attempt at black-type proved unsuccessful when second in deep ground in Pontefract's Listed Silver Tankard S. but it did show how relentless he is when he gets rolling.

This performance was the culmination of all that learning process and it is rare that a Classic of this stature could be predicted with such authority such a long way out. While Ryan Moore was too far behind to ever enter into a battle, there was little that could be done once Keane had taken up the position behind the race's surprise package French Claim. Watching the Juddmonte silks virtually motionless turning for home, it was clear that the writing was already on the wall and the rest of the straight was just an avenue for an exhibition of galloping to compare with the likes of Old Vic (GB), St Jovite, Zagreb, Montjeu (Ire), Sinndar (Ire), Galileo (Ire) and Jack Hobbs (GB) (Halling).

For Ralph Beckett, the win was a landmark one in his career training for the mighty breeding operation. “It is a hugely important moment for us–I can tell you where I was when I heard that Juddmonte were going to send us a draft and it's an honour and a joy to train for them,” he said. “It's a big day for us. This track suits him and it's wonderful to get it done. It was an effort we weren't expecting, so we are delighted. Everything had gone to plan–he had travelled over and settled in really well and it felt like we had got all our ducks in a row coming here and so it proved.”

“I was delighted with him at Epsom–it wasn't his or anybody's fault that he ran into traffic, but to do this today in the manner he did was very impressive. His brother [Fabilis] was exactly the same–he got better with racing and this horse will too. He has a great temperament and that shone through today. He's going to develop from three to four, never mind through the rest of the year, you would think. I'll have to discuss his next run with the family, but it's a good discussion to have. The King George is the obvious race for him, it's just whether we think it's the right thing for him at the time. The great thing is he's not ground-dependant–he'll handle slow ground as well. He's just very uncomplicated.”

Aidan O'Brien said of Tuesday, “It was a funny race and Ryan said she never got into it. The first, second and third sat there and noone made up any ground. I wouldn't take anything away from the first, second or third and the winner was very impressive, but we think she's better than that. We tried and competed and it didn't work today.”

Juddmonte Farms UK General Manager Simon Mockridge told Great British Racing International, “It was a scintillating performance by Westover, super impressive, and I know that Prince Khalid's family are ecstatic to have their first Classic win since he passed away early last year.

“Westover is from an amazing family which goes back to our [G1] Prix de Diane winner, Nebraska Tornado (Storm Cat), and is testament to Prince Khalid's 34 years of breeding expertise. The pedigree tells us that he should have an awful lot of speed, so don't be surprised if he comes back in distance–he looked like he could have won easily if today's race had been over 10 furlongs.

“Although we were very happy for him to finish in the first three at Epsom, when you watch the race back and see the job Rob Hornby had to do to extricate him, he did finish remarkably strongly. Even so, no one could have expected him to win in the style that he has today.

“He was a very big foal, weighing 154 pounds, so Ralph [Beckett] did an incredible job to get him to race as often as he did last year. Sadly, we lost his mother, Mirabilis, last year at the age of 19 because of a nasty foot problem, but she had one more foal, an Expert Eye (GB) now 2-year-old filly called Jalapa (GB), who is with Ralph but has yet to see a racecourse.”

Westover is the 10th foal out of Mirabilis (Lear Fan), who captured the GIII Churchill Distaff Turf Mile and was placed in the G1 Prix de la Foret, GII Jenny Wiley S. and GII Buena Vista H. He is a full-brother to the talented but mercurial Monarchs Glen (GB), who showed his class when registering wins in the G3 Darley Club S., Listed Wolferton S. and Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial S. The second dam is the GII Buena Vista H. scorer Media Nox (GB) (Lycius), who produced the G1 Prix de Diane and G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp heroine Nebraska Tornado (Storm Cat), while the family also features the G2 Prix Eugene Adam scorer Burning Sun (Danzig) and group and graded-stakes winners Mallory (Aus) (Not a Single Doubt {Aus}) and Anothertwistafate (Scat Daddy). Also connected to the G3 Earl of Sefton S.-winning sire Phoenix Tower (Chester House), Mirabilis's 2-year-old filly Jalapa (GB) is by Expert Eye (GB).

Saturday, The Curragh, Ireland
DUBAI DUTY FREE IRISH DERBY-G1, €1,000,000, The Curragh, 6-25, 3yo, c/f, 12fT, 2:34.80, gd.
1–WESTOVER (GB), 128, c, 3, by Frankel (GB)
     1st Dam: Mirabilis (GSW-US, SW & G1SP-Fr, $275,664), by Lear Fan
     2nd Dam: Media Nox (GB), by Lycius
     3rd Dam: Sky Love, by Nijinsky II
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-Ralph Beckett; J-Colin Keane. €580,000. Lifetime Record: GSW & G1SP-Eng, 6-3-2-1, $915,150. *Full to Monarchs Glen (GB), GSW-Eng, SW & GSP-US, $464,026. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Piz Badile (Ire), 128, c, 3, Ulysses (Ire)–That Which Is Not, by Elusive Quality.
1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-Flaxman Stables Ireland Ltd (IRE); T-Donnacha O'Brien. €200,000.
3–French Claim (Fr), 128, c, 3, French Fifteen (Fr)–Zahrada, by Galileo (Ire).
1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (€9,000 Ylg '20 ARQAU; £36,000 2yo '21 TATGOR). O-Teme Valley Racing; B-Mathieu Daguzan-Garros & Jean-Claude Gour (FR); T-Paddy Twomey. €100,000.
Margins: 7, 2, 1 1/4. Odds: 1.38, 18.00, 16.00.
Also Ran: Tuesday (Ire), Glory Daze (Ire), Boundless Ocean (Ire), Hannibal Barca (Ire), Lionel (GB). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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Frankie Delivers On Zoustar’s First Northern Hemisphere-Sired Black-Type Winner

Frankie Dettori had spoken briefly of his sabbatical from the Gosdens at Newmarket on Saturday and duly made his sole ride a winning one on Marc Chan and Andrew Rosen's Lezoo (GB) (Zoustar {Aus}) in the six-furlong Listed Maureen Brittain Memorial Empress Fillies' S. Off the mark on debut over five furlongs at Bath June 11, the bay who was a 77,000gns Book 3 and €110,000 Arqana May Breeze Up graduate becomes the first black-type winner for her sire (by Northern Meteor {Aus}). Buried in mid-division early, the 16-5 second favourite was stuck behind rivals and left behind by Malrescia (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) heading down into the dip but had an abundance of time to make up the deficit once in the clear. Running down that rival in the last half a furlong, the Ralph Beckett trainee asserted to score by 1 3/4 lengths, with a short head back to Tagline (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) in third.

 

Lezoo, who was reported by Beckett to be in line for a tilt at this track's G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. at the July Festival, is out of the G3 Firth of Clyde S. winner Roger Sez who also has a yearling filly by Territories (Ire). The family includes the Listed Radley S. and Listed Flame of Tara S. winner Bibury Flyer (GB) (Zafonic), the G2 Lowther S. third Hello Glory (GB) (Zamindar) and the G3 Polar Cup scorer Tinnitus (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}).

MAUREEN BRITTAIN MEMORIAL EMPRESS FILLIES S.-Listed, £40,500, Newmarket, 6-25, 2yo, f, 6fT, 1:12.52, gd.
1–LEZOO (GB), 128, f, 2, by Zoustar (Aus)
     1st Dam: Roger Sez (Ire) (GSW-Eng, $125,831), by Red Clubs (Ire)
     2nd Dam: Stately Princess (GB), by Robellino
     3rd Dam: Affair of State (Ire), by Tate Gallery
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. (77,000gns Ylg '21 TATOCT; €110,000 2yo '22 ARQMAY). O-Mr M Chan & Mr A Rosen; B-Chasemore Farm (GB); T-Ralph Beckett; J-Frankie Dettori. £22,968. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $35,378.
2–Malrescia (Ire), 128, f, 2, Acclamation (GB)–Tecla (Ire), by Whipper.
1ST BLACK TYPE. (€140,000 Wlg '20 GOFNOV). O-Mrs A G Kavanagh; B-Airlie Stud & Mrs S M Rogers (IRE); T-George Boughey. £8,708.
3–Tagline (GB), 128, f, 2, Havana Grey (GB)–Terse (GB), by Dansili (GB).
1ST BLACK TYPE. (14,000gns RNA Ylg '21 TATOCT). O-Mainline Racing; B-Whitsbury Manor Stud (GB); T-Brian Millman. £4,358.
Margins: 1 3/4, SHD, 3/4. Odds: 3.20, 4.50, 25.00.
Also Ran: Believing (Ire), Minnetonka (Ire), Family Ties (Ire), Miss Jungle Cat (GB), Absolutelyflawless (GB), Mersea (Fr), Your Spirit (Ire), Miska (Ire).

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All Set For Derby Delight

Following a quiet few days in the aftermath of Ascot and Chantilly, things get moving again on Saturday with The Curragh staging one of the most interesting renewals of the G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby for some time. A race that has from time to time in recent years been under the shadow of the European Pattern Committee's guillotine has pulled a trick out of the hat this year to ensure it keeps its exalted status for the immediate future at least.

Aidan O'Brien has come to tick off winners of this Classic with metronomic efficiency and it is that which has played a part-role in discouraging potential raiders, but connections of Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}) are thankfully unwilling to allow historical precedent to sway them from the challenge. Adding an exotic flavour to this edition, the cream of the Rosegreen colts have been left at home with the baton passed to the Oaks heroine Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Just as Balanchine (Storm Bird) conquered the Derby runner-up King's Theatre (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) the last time this scenario came about in 1994, and her predecessor Salsabil (GB) (Sadler's Wells) disposed of the Blue Riband hero Quest For Fame (GB) (Rainbow Quest) four years earlier, so Tuesday looks to quash the colts as her stable goes leftfield in its undimmed quest for Classic glory.

There's Always A First Time

Aidan O'Brien could write the book on how to win the Irish Derby as he chases success number 15, but there is always new ground to break at Rosegreen, and 2022 sees the year that he mixes things up. This is the Classic in which the runaway pacemaker Sovereign (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) cut loose three years ago, but there will be no surprise outcome supplied by the stable this time, with the filly due to start at short odds and probably as favourite. Tuesday's success in the June 3 Epsom Classic represents strong form and, while there is an argument that Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) was unlucky, there was genuine merit in the winner's performance from a compromising draw in one. Tuesday has surprised her trainer all year and has forced her way into this unique situation with her relentless progress both in training and racing.

“At one time, we didn't think she'd make the Guineas, but every week she gets stronger and stronger and we had planned to give her a break after the Oaks, so it's an unusual thing but maybe it's because she's so young,” O'Brien said of the irrepressible daughter of Lillie Langtry (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}). Unlike the trainer, remarkably Ryan Moore has yet to ride the winner of this Classic and will have to be at his tactical best to get Tuesday into a position where she can deliver her dynamite surge. That is no easy task, as he is unconvinced that his mount needs a true stamina test.

“She did exceptionally well to win a strong Oaks last time, even if she probably didn't see out the trip fully,” he said in his Betfair blog.

Keane And Eager

It is clear why Tuesday, who showed with placings in the 1000 Guineas and the Irish equivalent and with fast splits in the Oaks that she possesses the kind of pace that is dangerous in these types of tests, has no pacemaker alongside her due to the fact that she would thrive if this becomes a test of speed. Whether that happens probably depends on Colin Keane, who has been called up to steer Juddmonte's Derby third Westover around this terrain he has come to dominate as his country's undisputed leading rider. Unlike Tuesday, the colt that may turn out to be the best that Ralph Beckett has trained is more in the freight train mold at a mile and a half and the kind of remorseless galloper well fitted to The Curragh.

“When you look back at the replay of the Derby, he was the horse that caught your eye and usually the Epsom form holds up in the Curragh. A more galloping track might suit him and he looks like a very straightforward horse,” his rider said.

Putting the Record Straight

Westover's trouble in running in Epsom's home straight is well-documented, but quite how much that momentum disturbance affected the result of the Blue Riband is an unknown. There is no doubt that it had consequences and adjustments for the G3 Sandown Classic Trial winner's ill fortune there put him close to Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), so the ball is in his and Keane's court on an exciting day for Juddmonte who have not been represented in this since 1996.

That year saw the Derby runner-up Dushyantor (Sadler's Wells) finish a disappointing fourth as the 5-4 favourite, three years on from the operation's only winner Commander In Chief (GB) (Dancing Brave).

“He would definitely be entitled to improve a bit and it's great the family are letting us bring him over to Ireland,” Juddmonte's Barry Mahon said. “There's a big operation here and for all the staff here who looked after him when he was a yearling and a weanling and broke him in and started riding him before he went over to Ralph Beckett's, they're all excited too.”

A Steep Climb

Despite his obvious potential, there is a sense that Flaxman Holdings' imposing Piz Badile (Ire) (Ulysses {Ire}) could be one for next year and the G3 Ballysax S. winner's unplaced effort in the Derby shows he is up against it even if he is back on a track that should prove more suitable.

One who is still unexposed is Normandie Stud's Listed Cocked Hat S. scorer Lionel (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), but that form is well short of the Epsom standard and he may need further than this mile and a half with his family featuring Duncan (GB) (Dalakhani {Ire}), who dead-heated in the 2011 Irish St Leger here. Since the aforementioned Commander In Chief in 1993, there have been only three British-trained winners showing how hard it is to wrest the prize from the home-trained contingent. Lionel's trainer David Menuisier is habitually optimistic, however.

“In my heart he always was one of the leading contenders, a lot of things are going his way so let's hope for a truly run race and the best horse will win.”

Blackbeard Is Back

Away from the Irish Derby, the G2 GAIN Railway S. is the next best thing on Saturday and Ballydoyle supply another workaholic in Blackbeard (Ire) (No Nay Never), the first to represent the G2 Coventry S. form. Only fourth and beaten some way out as the 5-2 favourite for that juvenile feature of the Royal meeting, the Listed First Flier S. and G3 Marble Hill S. winner may have had an  excuse according to Aidan O'Brien.

“He maybe found the travel a bit funny and was a bit uneasy with it all,” he suggested on Friday. Ryan Moore added in his Betfair blog, “I'd be inclined to think that was a very strong Coventry this year, so his fourth there was a very good effort.”

A short-head second to Blackbeard in the First Flier, Amo Racing's Crispy Cat (GB) (Ardad {Ire}) is also asked to back up after Royal Ascot where he was the chief sufferer of the much-discussed interference caused by The Ridler (GB) (Brazen Beau {Aus}) in the Norfolk.

Best Of The Rest

   Also at The Curragh, the 10-furlong G3 ARM Holding International S. sees last year's Irish 2000 Guineas hero Mac Swiney (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) look for a first win since that highlight as he takes on 'TDN Rising Star' Duke de Sessa (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) and Ballydoyle's Aikhal (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who was thought worthy of a place in last Tuesday's G1 St James's Palace S. Also in that Royal Ascot feature was another 'TDN Rising Star' in Wexford Native (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) and, while he was unable to do himself justice there, is likewise out quickly in the card's Listed Dubai Duty Free Celebration S. over a mile.

In Newcastle's G3 Pertemps Network Chipchase S., St Albans Bloodstock's exciting 3-year-old filly Sense of Duty (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) holds strong claims following her defeat of the top-class Flotus (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) and subsequent listed scorer Benefit (GB) (Acclamation {GB}) in Haydock's Listed Cecil Frail S. May 20. At Newmarket, all eyes will be on Westerberg's exciting Minnetonka (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) in a hot-looking Listed Maureen Brittain Memorial Empress Fillies' S. following her seven-length debut win at Salisbury June 12.

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Eight Declared For Saturday’s G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby

Overnight contenders for Saturday's G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish were reduced by half, leaving eight declared for the Curragh's €1,000,000 12-furlong Classic. Aidan O'Brien took the most drastic measures and reduced his team of six to just one with G1 Cazoo Oaks heroine Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) set to depart from stall one in her bid to become the first filly to prevail since Balanchine (Storm Bird) in 1994. Her chief rival, Juddmonte's G1 Cazoo Derby third Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}), has drawn stall five.

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