Australia’s Waipiro Takes The Hampton Court

One of the first runners to emerge out of the Derby, Siu Pak-Kwan's Waipiro (Ire) (Australia {GB}–London Plane {Ire}, by Danehill Dancer {Ire}) did the Blue Riband form no harm at all with an authoritative success in Royal Ascot's G3 Hampton Court S. on Thursday. Sixth and not disgraced at Epsom, having booked his ticket there with a runner-up finish in the Listed Lingfield Derby Trial, the Ed Walker trainee was able to maintain his season's progress and dominate this competitive race to suggest as bright a future as his high-class half-brother Waikuku (Ire) (Harbour Watch {Ire}).

Lit up by a bump leaving the stalls and keen throughout the early stages resisting the restraint applied by Tom Marquand, Waipiro was a little out of his ground but better nearer the back than the front with the early pace notably fast. Straightening for home with a wall of rivals to get by, the 7-1 shot's passage was cleared by the errant diagonal dive of Oviedo (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) up ahead which compromised the eventual runner-up Exoplanet (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) but given his relentless momentum to the line he could not be called anything other than clear best.

“In the Derby, I got caught too far back and he just didn't stay a mile and a half, it was as simple as that in my mind, and I know Ed thought so too,” Marquand said of the 2 1/4-length winner. “There was a nice tempo today and fortunately for me I was lucky. I got a couple of the splits that I needed to get that run and he showed an exceptional turn of foot to burst through as he did and put the race to bed in a matter of a few strides.”

 

“You'd like to think he is still an improver,” his rider added. “We were really pleased with the run in the Derby and back to a mile and a quarter today he showed his dominance and hopefully he can now go on a path and show his stamp as a top-class horse.”

Walker added, “The worry was the close proximity to the Derby, only 19 days, as not many horses back up from the Derby to Ascot successfully. If there was a brilliant alternative in a couple of weeks' time, we may have been tempted, but there wasn't and this was the perfect race for him. I have quite a long-standing team now at home and Charles Guet, my head lad who has been with me for 10 years, rides him every day and he was happy with him. He was well, so we rolled the dice and it paid off.”

“It's been an agonising wait between drinks and we've had quite a lot of seconds. Last year we had a second in the Kensington Palace, in the Wokingham and we were second yesterday in the Duke of Cambridge. It has been a bit frustrating, so I am really pleased to have kicked that one home. My great friend Tom Morley brought a filly [Cynane] over for the Queen Mary and I said, 'Tommy, listen, you're not going to win–just enjoy the ride, because it's so hard to win here!' We realise now the enormity of the challenge and it feels even better.”

Exoplanet's rider David Egan was not blaming the late interference for the runner-up's defeat. “We got a nice, smooth passage from a wide draw, had cover and relaxed well,” he said. “He got a little bit of a bump in the straight. He's a very classy individual, but take nothing away from the winner, he was good.”

Pedigree Notes
The aforementioned Waikuku made his name in Hong Kong, winning the G1 Stewards Cup twice, the G1 Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup and G2 Jockey Club Mile as well as finishing second in the G1 Hong Kong Mile and the Hong Kong Derby and third in the G1 Champions Mile. The dam London Plane is a daughter of the Listed Pinnacle S. runner-up Aunt Julia (GB) (In The Wings {GB}), who also produced the G3 La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte and G3 Winter Hill S. runner-up Al Waab (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}). Also related to the GI Turf Mile hero Grand Arch (Arch)her 2-year-old filly is by Acclamation (GB) while she also has a yearling colt by Lope De Vega (Ire) who was snapped up by Stroud Coleman Bloodstock for 185,000gns at the Tatts December Foal Sale.

Thursday, Royal Ascot, Britain
HAMPTON COURT S.-G3, £150,000, Ascot, 6-22, 3yo, 9f 212yT, 2:05.10, g/f.
1–WAIPIRO (IRE), 128, c, 3, by Australia (GB)
1st Dam: London Plane (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire)
2nd Dam: Aunt Julia (GB), by In The Wings (GB)
3rd Dam: Original (GB), by Caerleon
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. O-P K Siu; B-Shane Molan (IRE); T-Ed Walker; J-Tom Marquand. £85,065. Lifetime Record: 5-2-1-0, $157,866. *1/2 to Waikuku (Ire) (Harbour Watch {Ire}), MG1SW-HK, $5,891,141. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Exoplanet (Fr), 128, c, 3, Sea The Stars (Ire)–Gumriyah (GB), by Shamardal. 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (260,000gns Ylg '21 TATOCT). O-Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Ltd (FR); T-Roger Varian. £32,250.
3–Bold Act (Ire), 128, g, 3, New Approach (Ire)–Dancing Sands (Ire), by Dubawi (Ire). 1ST BLACK-TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby. £16,140.
Margins: 2 1/4, HF, NO. Odds: 7.00, 12.00, 9.00.
Also Ran: Torito (GB), Canberra Legend (Ire), Caernarfon (GB), Drumroll (Ire), Dancing Magic (Ire), Oviedo (Ire), Bolster (GB), Killybegs Warrior (Ire), Captain Winters (GB), Epictetus (Ire), Tony Montana (GB), Brave Emperor (Ire), Dear My Friend (GB).

The post Australia’s Waipiro Takes The Hampton Court appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Bahrain Extends Sponsorship Deal With Marquand

Jockey Tom Marquand has renewed his sponsorship contract with the Bahrain Turf Club for a further year, the organisation announced Wednesday.

Ed Veale, Director of Racing and International Relations at the Bahrain Turf Club, said: “Tom's profile makes him a perfect fit for the Bahrain Turf Club, particularly on account of his growing international reputation. He is an excellent role model for the sport and someone that young people look up to and admire.

Marquand added: “I am delighted and grateful to extend my sponsorship with Bahrain. After finishing joint second in the Flat Jockeys Championship in 2022, my goal is to continue to improve and ride more winners around the world.”

Marquand, who is due to visit Bahrain to race ride in the coming season, will be working in tandem with the Bahrain Turf Club on their social media platforms and is expected to be in action on day one of the Boodles July Festival at Newmarket, a day on which all three group races are sponsored by the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Shaikh Salman bin Rashed Al Khalifa, Bahrain Turf Club High Committee Representative, International Racing, added: “Our sponsorship on the first day of the July Festival provides a great opportunity to showcase the Kingdom of Bahrain and it is an honour to be associated with the three group races run that afternoon, the Bahrain Trophy, the July S. and the Princess of Wales's S. We will be working with Tom to promote the day and Bahrain's support for British racing.”

The post Bahrain Extends Sponsorship Deal With Marquand appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Tom Marquand Benched After Shoulder Surgery

Jockey Tom Marquand, who sustained a concussion after parting ways with his mount in Australia on Saturday, underwent shoulder surgery as a result of the incident, as well on Wednesday.

Marquand was forceably removed from his mount in the A$2-million Inglis Millennium due to interference from another rider, and was originally diagnosed with just a concussion. Subsequent MRI scans revealed a dislocated sternoclavicular joint.

“It has basically dislocated backwards, so I have to go for an operation today [Wednesday] to get it wired back in,” Marquand said in a video posted to Instagram.

“I will probably spend a week here now in Australia just because I can't fly straight after having an operation.

“Then the plan will be to come back to England and go through my rehab there and hope that I can get back in action by the time the last couple of days of The Championships are on and all being well, head back down to Sydney.”

Marquand's wife, fellow jockey Hollie Doyle, is also on the sidelines after dislocating her elbow last month, and she is set to have surgery next week.

He added, “Hollie is having a bit of a shocker as well, off with her elbow and she is going under the knife I think early next week.

“We will be in rehab and recuperation together and be a right pair so at least we've got two arms between us. It's obviously not ideal what's going on, but I think we can both count ourselves pretty lucky in the circumstances.”

The post Tom Marquand Benched After Shoulder Surgery appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Marquand Sustains Concussion In Randwick Fall

Jockey Tom Marquand, who is riding a stint in Australia, fell off his mount due to interference in the A$2-million Inglis Millennium and sustained a concussion at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

Marquand was riding trainer Annabel Neasham's Dorothy Gail (Aus) (Capitalist {Aus}), and was unseated by a mid-race maneuver from the Josh Parr-ridden Hellish (Aus) (Hellbent {Aus}). Parr was suspended 20 meetings for the careless riding  incident.

“That was pretty horrible,” Neasham, who won the race with Learning To Fly (Aus) (Justify), told SKY Thoroughbred Central. “He [Marquand] is ok, he is sitting up, he is talking, he is holding his shoulder but he's okay. He's conscious, so he looks okay.”

Racing NSW later tweeted, “Tom's CT scan of his head is clear, however he does have concussion and will be staying in hospital overnight. So far the scans on his shoulder have been clear.”

Marquand, who has ridden with success in Australia several times, was due to ride in Qatar next weekend. He had won the day's first race, the Coolmore Pierro Plate, over 1100 metres aboard Café Millenium (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}).

The post Marquand Sustains Concussion In Randwick Fall appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights