Tag: Rossa Ryan

Frankel’s Task Force Goes Two for Two in Ripon Listed

Earning TDN Rising Star status on debut at Salisbury last month, Juddmonte's Task Force (GB) (Frankel {GB}–Special Duty {GB}, by Hennessy) passed his second career test in Monday's Listed British Stallion Studs EBF Ripon Champion Two Yrs Old Trophy to suggest he can take higher rank among the season's juveniles. Settled behind the leaders by Rossa Ryan early, the Ralph Beckett-trained 11-8 favourite made his move wide to tackle his rail-running stablemate Matters Most (GB) (Advertise {GB}) inside the final furlong before asserting for a 1 1/4-length success.

 

“The idea of going to Ripon was to teach him a bit, as he didn't learn much the first day–he hit the gates well and sat handy and was left in front a furlong and a half down, so he probably didn't learn a lot about racing,” Juddmonte's racing manager Barry Mahon said. “He'll have learned plenty there today. You saw how green he was in the early part there and when Rossa asked him to go he was green, but when the penny dropped away he went. It was a nice performance and he could a nice horse.”

Mahon floated the idea of Task Force moving up in trip. “I haven't spoken to Ralph yet and we need to let the dust settle, but I've no doubt seven is going to be right up his street,” he added. “He's bred to be a miler in time, so seven furlongs won't be a problem but whether Ralph decides to go that way now or later on we'll wait and see. Part of the reason we went back over six furlongs today was because when you look up his mother's record she never raced beyond six at two and ended up being a dual Guineas winner at three, so there's no shortage of speed in the pedigree and he showed that today against some hardened two-year-olds.”

As Mahon stated, Task Force's dam Special Duty captured the six-furlong G1 Cheveley Park S. and 5 1/2-furlong G2 Prix Robert Papin at two and was second in the G1 Prix Morny before her extraordinary Classic campaign which saw her twice promoted from second to first after inquiries in the G1 1000 Guineas and G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches. Her finest performer to date is the listed scorer Elegant Verse (GB) by Frankel's sire Galileo (Ire), while she also produced the Listed Prix Yacowlef runner-up South Bank (Tapit).

A daughter of Quest To Peak (Distant View), who is also the second dam of the operation's GI Breeders' Cup Mile and G2 Vintage S.-winning sire Expert Eye (GB) (Acclamation {GB}), Special Duty hails from the the family of Quest To Peak's seven-times grade I-winning full-sister Sightseek (Distant View), the GI Yellow Ribbon S. winner Tates Creek (Rahy) and the champion sire Chief's Crown. She also has a yearling filly by Sea The Stars (Ire) and a foal full-brother to Task Force.

BRITISH STALLION STUDS EBF RIPON CHAMPION TWO YRS OLD TROPHY S.-Listed, £40,000, Ripon, 8-28, 2yo, 6fT, 1:12.53, gd.
1–TASK FORCE (GB), 131, c, 2, by Frankel (GB)
     1st Dam: Special Duty (GB) (Champion 2-year-old Filly-Eur, MG1SW-Eng, G1SW-Fr, $1,070,938), by Hennessy
     2nd Dam: Quest To Peak, by Distant View
     3rd Dam: Viviana, by Nureyev
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. TDN Rising Star. O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-Ralph Beckett; J-Rossa Ryan. £22,408. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $35,131.
2–Matters Most (GB), 131, c, 2, Advertise (GB)–Squash (GB), by Pastoral Pursuits (GB).
1ST BLACK TYPE. (135,000gns Wlg '21 TADEWE; 500,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT). O-Mr Robert Ng; B-Kirtlington Stud & Mrs Mary Taylor (GB); T-Ralph Beckett. £8,532.
3–Seven Questions (Ire), 131, g, 2, Kodiac (GB)–Get Up And Dance (GB), by Makfi (GB).
1ST BLACK TYPE. (£58,000 Ylg '22 GOFFUK). O-Victorious Racing & Fawzi Nass; B-Tally Ho Stud (IRE); T-George Scott. £4,272.
Margins: 1 1/4, NK, 1HF. Odds: 1.38, 8.00, 5.00.
Also Ran: Bombay Bazaar (GB), Shagraan (Ire), Asadna (Ire).

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Charm Spirit’s Shaquille Brilliant In The July Cup

There have been many super-sprinters that have won Newmarket's G1 July Cup, but probably none that have managed to do as much wrong as Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}-Magic {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) as he placed himself among the very best in Saturday's renewal. Up in the air as the stalls opened and slowly away again as he had been in Royal Ascot's G1 Commonwealth Cup, Julie Camacho and Steve Brown's freakishly-talented 3-year-old was quickly telling Rossa Ryan that he wanted to assume top dog status. Lesser mortals would have had little left for the July Course's steep climb to the line having blown by the turbo-charged Art Power (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) at halfway, but Martin Hughes's homebred occupies different territory to most.

Threatening at the business end was Kinross (GB) (Kingman {GB}), who had enjoyed a far more favourable trip and as a G1 Prix de la Foret winner had the stamina to make Shaquille pay for his early exertions, but the 5-2 joint-favourite simply dispelled that challenge for his closing act. At the line, he had 1 1/2 lengths to spare over the 28-1 outsider Run To Freedom (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}), another Henry Candy special who grabbed the silver medal from Kinross late on by a short head.

“He's some horse to do that and it was just an incredible performance taking on the older horses,” Ryan said. “I tried to settle him in behind, but he wasn't having it. I was out of control really and I had to make a move in the middle part of the race–I had no option. Nine times out ten that would be a disaster, but he has just got a lot of ability and that is the long and the short of it. I just let him blow out and grab his wind and he just went away. Two out, he kicked and he stayed going. I saw someone out of the corner of my eye and he kicked again for me at the half-furlong pole and picked up all the way to the line. He's something else.”

 

Shaquille, whose light was hidden under a bushel until his barnstorming all-the-way success in Newbury's Listed Carnarvon S. in May, has fast become the sprinting category's standard-setter and his impressive sectionals at Royal Ascot suggested he could be ultra-slick on this fast track. His scintillating 10.70 and 10.64 second and third-furlong splits took him past Art Power, who has made his trade by dominating the early parts of most of his races, as the other joint-favourite Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never) backed out quickly. Unrelenting thereafter with splits of 11.03 and 11.33, the damage was done and it was just a case of holding him together on the climb to the line.

“I just wish he'd do things right,” Camacho said after becoming the first female trainer to exceed £1million in prizemoney in a season. “I keep saying I wish he'd do everything right. He drives us mad. It is just nice that people in the north can have a bit of success, because there are some really good trainers in the north and if we can get the ammunition, we can do well with them. We will probably go to Haydock, although we will put him in at Deauville [for the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest]. Steve will discuss it with Martin [Hughes]. I'm only a very small part. Steve plays a bigger part than I do.”

Brown said, “Oisin was quiet with him at Ascot, but Rossa chose to get close to the pace early and I thought we were doing too much from a fair way out, but to pick up from that you have to say he is a special athlete. He seems to be fluffing his lines a bit at the start. We hoped Ascot was an exception, but he's getting something in his mind–it's possibly the rug.”

“It has been a slow process,” Brown added. “You go back to last December and we were at a cold Wolverhampton on a Saturday night, I believe, so we didn't see the talent at this level immediately. All-Weather Championships day was a disaster and we were forced down a different route. At home, he is a lovely character, very laid-back and doesn't put a foot wrong but doesn't immediately show his talent. We would have three or four horses who would comfortably work better than him. At some point I wouldn't mind giving him a couple of quiet weeks to let him strengthen. He is still a baby, for all he is a talented one. We will have a chat over a cup of tea.”

Henry Candy said of Run To Freedom, “He's a very able horse and we knew he could do that, he showed it at Salisbury and when second behind Kinross in the Champions Sprint last year. You can never quite rely on him, which is why he starts at these ridiculous prices but the ability is there. I wouldn't be surprised if he was able to win one before the end of the year. We'll go to Haydock and we'll go to Ascot in October.”

Ralph Beckett has seven furlongs on the agenda for Kinross again for the immediate future. “I'm really pleased, it's a shade on the easy side for him going six here,” he said. “He'll go to Goodwood [for the G2 Lennox S.] and then probably York [for the G2 City Of York S.] and Longchamp [for the G1 Prix de la Foret] and then back to six for Ascot [for the G1 British Champions Sprint S.].”

Pedigree Notes
Shaquille is the third foal out of the unraced dam Magic (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a daughter of Cheveley Park Stud's top-class sprinter Danehurst (GB) (Danehill) whose eight black-type wins included the G2 Flying Five, G3 Premio Umbria, G3 Prix de Seine-et-Oise and G3 Cornwallis S. Also second in the G1 Golden Jubilee S. and third in this race in 2002, one of her other Galileos was the listed scorer Birch Grove (Ire).

Danehurst is kin to the G3 Prix Penelope winner Humouresque (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) and to the dam of this year's G3 Commonwealth Cup Trial S. runner-up The X O (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), while the family also includes the G1 Cheveley Park S., G2 Lowther S. and G3 Sirenia S.-winning European champion 2-year-old filly Hooray (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and the G2 Cherry Hinton S. winner and G1 1000 Guineas third Dazzle (GB) (Gone West). Magic's yearling colt is by Cable Bay (Ire), while she also has a colt foal by Iffraaj (GB).

Saturday, Newmarket, Britain
PERTEMPS NETWORK JULY CUP-G1, £628,500, Newmarket, 7-15, 3yo/up, 6fT, 1:11.68, g/s.
1–SHAQUILLE (GB), 128, c, 3, by Charm Spirit (Ire)
     1st Dam: Magic (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
     2nd Dam: Danehurst (GB), by Danehill
     3rd Dam: Miswaki Belle, by Miswaki
O-Hughes, Rawlings, O'Shaughnessy; B-Martin Hughes & Michael Kerr-Dineen (GB); T-Julie Camacho; J-Rossa Ryan. £356,422. Lifetime Record: 8-7-0-0, $1,006,040. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Run To Freedom (GB), 134, h, 5, Muhaarar (GB)–Twilight Mistress (GB), by Bin Ajwaad (Ire). O-Godfrey Wilson; B-Mrs C R D Wilson (GB); T-Henry Candy. £135,128.
3–Kinross (GB), 134, g, 6, Kingman (GB)–Ceilidh House (GB), by Selkirk. TDN Rising Star. O-Marc Chan; B-Lawn Stud (GB); T-Ralph Beckett. £67,627.
Margins: 1HF, SHD, 1 1/4. Odds: 2.50, 28.00, 4.00.
Also Ran: Art Power (Ire), Khaadem (Ire), Azure Blue (Ire), Vadream (GB), Little Big Bear (Ire). Scratched: Emaraaty Ana (GB).

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Bucanero Fuerte and Unquestionable Register Wootton Bassett Exacta In Railway Thriller

Usurped for favouritism by 'TDN Rising Star' Unquestionable (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in Sunday's G2 GAIN Railway S. at the Curragh, Amo Racing and Giselle De Aguiar's G2 Coventry S. third Bucanero Fuerte (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB}–Frida La Blonde {Fr}, by Elusive City) gained a measure of compensation for that Royal Ascot reversal with a thrilling victory over his main rival in Sunday's renewal of the six-furlong staging post.

Bucanero Fuerte, a debut scorer over five furlongs on opening day here in March, was swiftly into stride and allowed a gap to build while racing second behind stablemate Lightening Army (GB) (Soldier's Call {GB}), who established a clear advantage by halfway. Easing closer approaching the quarter-mile marker, he locked horns with Unquestionable with 1 1/2 furlongs remaining and refused to yield under a late drive, outbobbing the 15-8 favourite by a short-head in a nip-and-tuck thriller. The pair were 4 1/2 lengths clear of the remainder, headed by the runner-up's Listed First Flier-winning stablemate His Majesty (Ire) (No Nay Never) in third.

“He's a tough horse, we took a chance running him back so quickly after [Royal] Ascot and he didn't let us down,” trainer Adrian Murray said. “[Assistant trainer] Robson [Aguair] said he was on fire during the week and we had no other option only to go for it. He's entered in the [G1] Phoenix S. and he could go to France, but we are not sure yet. We'll give him a bit of a break now as he's had two quick runs. He's a big, backward horse and we are not going to rush him. We'll definitely step him up in trip as that's what won it for him today. We made plenty of use of him because we knew he would see it out. He likes a bit of dig in the ground and, if anything, it was a bit quick for him today.”

Winning rider Rossa Ryan added, “He was very gutsy, the other horse never laid down and this lad stuck his neck out. I'd imagine he'll be a lot happier when he goes up to seven [furlongs] with a bit more juice in the ground. He's got a lovely cruise control and he gave me a super feel throughout. He's got a great mind to top it all off, so I'd say the future is bright with him. Credit to Adrian Murray and his team, they were confident he'd bounced out of Ascot well and it was a big test coming up against one of Aidan's that was fresh and hadn't been to Ascot. They've pulled a nice way clear of the rest.”

Pedigree Notes

Bucanero Fuerte, who becomes the 24th pattern-race winner for his sire, is a full-brother to G1 Prix de l'Abbaye hero Wooded (Ire) and G3 Sovereign S. runner-up Beat Le Bon (Fr). He is also kin to a yearling filly by Dubawi (Ire). The February-foaled bay's dam is out of stakes-winning G2 Premio Regina Elena (Italian 1000 Guineas) runner-up Firm Friend (Ire) (Affirmed) and thus a half-sister to dual stakes-winning G3 Prix de Ris-Orangis second Fred Lalloupet (GB) (Elusive City) and stakes-winning G3 Prix de Cabourg third Mon Pote Le Gitan (Thunder Gulch). Bucanero Fuerte's third dam Cherie Amie (Fr) (Gay Mecene) is kin to the dam of G1 Prix de l'Abbaye third and MGSW sire Magic Ring (Ire) (Green Desert).

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Sunday, Curragh, Ireland
GAIN RAILWAY S.-G2, €120,000, Curragh, 7-2, 2yo, 6fT, 1:09.97, gd.
1–BUCANERO FUERTE (GB), 131, c, 2, by Wootton Bassett (GB)
1st Dam: Frida La Blonde (Fr), by Elusive City
2nd Dam: Firm Friend (Ire), by Affirmed
3rd Dam: Chere Amie (Fr), by Gay Mecene
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (€165,000 Ylg '22 ARAUG). O-Amo Racing Ltd & Giselle De Aguiar; B-Gestut Zur Kuste AG (GB); T-Adrian Murray; J-Rossa Ryan. €72,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-1, $111,904. *Full to Wooded (Ire), G1SW-Fr, $274,930; and Beat Le Bon (Fr), GSP-Eng, $406,172. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Unquestionable (Fr), 131, c, 2, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Strawberry Lace (GB), by Sea The Stars (Ire). 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (€340,000 Ylg '22 ARAUG). O-Al Shaqab Racing, Coolmore & Westerberg; B-Mme Camille Vitse, Mme Axelle Vitse, Mme Valentine Vitse & Guillaume Vitse (FR); T-Aidan O'Brien. €24,000.
3–His Majesty (Ire), 131, c, 2, No Nay Never–Czabo (GB), by Sixties Icon (GB). (325,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT). O-Smith, Magnier, Tabor, Westerberg & Brant; B-Newstead Ltd (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €12,000.
Margins: SHD, 4HF, 1HF. Odds: 3.33, 1.88, 2.50.
Also Ran: I Am Invictus (Ire), Mythology (Ire), Supersonic Man (GB), Democracy (Ire), Devious (GB), Lightening Army (GB).

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Malibu Moon’s Valiant Force Provides Amo’s First Royal Winner In The Norfolk

All the talk before Thursday's G2 Norfolk S. centred around American Rascal (Curlin) and Elite Status (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}), but it was the 150-1 shot Valiant Force (Malibu Moon–Vigui's Heart, by Quality Road) who held sway to provide Amo Racing with a breakthrough first Royal Ascot winner. Runner-up to His Majesty (Ire) (No Nay Never) on debut in the Listed First Flier S., the Adrian Murray-trained $100,000 Keeneland September yearling was discounted by the betting public due to his latest fifth despite having excuses in the G3 Marble Hill S. Dominating the far-side group under Rossa Ryan, he veered left late on but hit the line with 1 1/4 lengths to spare over Malc (GB) (Calyx {GB}), with the 7-4 favourite Elite Status half a length behind in third.

 

As it turned out, the Marble Hill was the race to concentrate on ahead of this much-anticipated renewal with The Curragh's staging post featuring not only the winner but also Ballydoyle's His Majesty, who had been involved in a three-way go in that six-furlong contest. Left stranded on his own up the centre of the track on that day as the remainder crossed towards the stands' side, Valiant Force was still in front a furlong from the finish and had quicker ground as well as company to aid his cause this time. His Majesty was clear of the disadvantaged stands'-side pack here in fourth, becoming the fourth Ballydoyle juvenile to represent the stable with major credit this week.

Kia Joorabchian owns the winner alongside Rachael O'Callaghan and Giselle De Aguiar and said, “We've been trying for a long time and we kept getting beaten, but kept getting up. I'm just delighted for these guys. We've loved this horse all the time and he was on his own last time at The Curragh, so we knew he could do it.”

Adrian Murray, who hit the board in Tuesday's juvenile feature, added, “We knew he was a nice horse and we couldn't believe the price. He was only beaten half a length by His Majesty first time out and he was 150-1 today, it just didn't make sense! I knew he was much better than that. We were third here in the Coventry Stakes on Tuesday and I wondered if that would ever happen again. It's the stuff of dreams. It's great for the small man.”

Malc's trainer Richard Fahey was almost completing a third consecutive success in this race and commented, “Coming here I thought I had a real nice bunch of two-year-olds, but the way the others had run I couldn't be confident. Today everything did go right, he sticks his head down and he has a go. To be honest we think he's a six-furlong horse, but at Ascot you almost want a six-furlong horse over five. In the mid-part of the race, I'm not saying that's where we lost it, but he got a little outpaced and the winner got first run.”

Karl Burke said of the beaten favourite, “A furlong out I thought we might catch the leader, but he just couldn't get there. The Prix Morny was always our target before today. I'll go and have a word with Sheikh Obaid, but I imagine we'll step him up to six. He's not the finished article yet, but he's a lovely horse.”

Pedigree Notes
The winner is the first foal out of the unraced dam Vigui's Heart, a daughter of the triple stakes scorer Blue Heart (Exchange Rate) and half to the GIII With Anticipation S. third Joyful Heart (Kitten's Joy). Blue Heart is kin to four other stakes performers including the dam of the GIII Gulfstream Park Sprint S. winner C. Zee (Elusive Bluff). Also connected to the triple graded-stakes place-getter Katie Baby (Curlin), Vigui's Heart's filly foal is by Mitole.

 

Thursday, Royal Ascot, Britain
NORFOLK S.-G2, £110,000, Ascot, 6-22, 2yo, 5fT, :59.75, g/f.
1–VALIANT FORCE, 129, c, 2, by Malibu Moon
1st Dam: Vigui's Heart, by Quality Road
2nd Dam: Blue Heart, by Exchange Rate
3rd Dam: Flawless Diamond, by Saint Ballado
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. ($75,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $100,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Amo Racing, Mrs R O'Callaghan & G De Aguiar; B-Ramon Horta Rangel & Spendthrift Farm (KY); T-Adrian Murray; J-Rossa Ryan. £62,381. Lifetime Record: SP-Ire, 3-1-1-0, $89,328. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Malc (GB), 129, c, 2, Calyx (GB)–Bereka (GB), by Firebreak (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (34,000gns Ylg '22 TATSOM; 140,000gns 2yo '23 TATBRE). O-Middleham Park Racing LXVI; B-Bearstone Stud (GB); T-Richard Fahey. £23,650.
3–Elite Status (GB), 129, c, 2, Havana Grey (GB)–Dotted Swiss (Ire), by Swiss Spirit (GB). 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (56,000gns Wlg '21 TADEWE; 325,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT). O-Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum; B-Whitsbury Manor Stud (GB); T-Karl Burke. £11,836.
Margins: 1 1/4, HF, 3/4. Odds: 150.00, 66.00, 1.75.
Also Ran: His Majesty (Ire), Thunder Blue (GB), Devious (GB), Reveiller (Ire), Mon Na Slieve (Ire), No Nay Mets (Ire), The Fixer (Ire), Toca Madera (Ire), Shayekh (Ire), American Rascal, Noche Magica (Ire). Scratched: Baheer (Ire), Hala Emaraaty (Ire).

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