Solow Too Much for Queen Elizabeth Rivals
Wertheimer and Frere’s Solow, just off the pace in third for most of the race, made his move in the final furlong to capture the QIPCO Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Eng-I) Oct. 17 at Ascot.
With Maxime Guyon riding for trainer Freddie Head, Solow held off the fast-closing 3-year-old colt Belardo by three-quarters of a length in the about one-mile (1,600 meters) event. Gabrial was third while Integral, the lone mare in the field in nine, finished fourth.
Gleneagles, who has been called a candidate for the Oct. 31 Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) at 1 1/4 miles on dirt, loomed a threat in the final eighth of a mile but flattened out to finish unplaced. However, his connections have not yet withdrawn his name from Breeders’ Cup consideration. A decision is expected later in the week.
Solow, a 5-year-old Singspiel gelding out of the Highest Honor mare High Maintenance, won for the 12th time in 17 starts. Bred by his owners, he has now won nine in a row, including five consecutive group I events.
“He’s very special,” Head told Racing Post. “To be able to keep his form like that all through the year with all the traveling he has done makes him a very good, very special horse.”
Gleneagles was on the fence for Saturday’s race until race day because of concerns of the turf condition. Gleneagles missed fourth other races because of similar concerns.
Trainer Aidan O’Brien told Racing Post that in retrospect he shouldn’t have run Gleneagles in the Queen Elizabeth.
“We had an eye on the Breeders’ Cup Classic and if he was to go there he needed to run so we took a chance,” O’Brien told the publication. “He is a fast-ground horse and a fast horse, and that’s what we’ve always thought. We’ll have to take him home and see how he is over the next couple of days before thinking about the Classic.”
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- fonte : Bloodhorsecom
Solow: won a fifth Group 1 in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes
PICTURE: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)
Solow routs QEII field as Gleneagles flops
Report: Ascot, Saturday
Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Sponsored By Qipco (British Champions Mile) (Group 1) 1m, 3yo+
IT WAS billed as the battle of the four-time Group 1 winners Solow and Gleneagles, but while Aidan O’Brien’s dual 2,000 Guineas winner flopped Solow proved conclusively that he is the best miler in Europe this season with an authoritative display.
Trainer Freddy Head raced the Werthheimer & Frere-owned five-year-old over the best part of two miles last season, but since returning to trips around a mile he has amassed nine consecutive wins, the last five in Group 1 company, and once again he ground his way to victory.
Jockey Maxime Guyon said: “It’s amazing, it’s magnifique and it was very easy for me. As a jockey I am very lucky to ride a horse like him.”
Head added: “He’s very special. To be able to keep his form like that all through the year with all the travelling he has done makes him a very good, very special horse.”
What went wrong with Gleneagles?
The will he/won’t he Gleneagles saga continued until the race before the QEII when connections finally confirmed his participation. Yet he continued to drift, going off at 9-4 and Ryan Moore looked unhappy at an early stage.
“We knew coming here that he has been prepared to run four times and not run and that the ground was not ideal,” said O’Brien. “If I had the chance again I wouldn’t have run him and I would have waited like last time.
“We had an eye on the Breeders’ Cup Classic and if he was to go there he needed to run so we took a chance. The race was messy as well. He is a fast-ground horse and a fast horse and that’s what we’ve always thought.
“We probably shouldn’t have run him but it is a big day and there were a lot of pros to running. We’ll have to take him home and see how he is over the next couple of days before thinking about the Classic.”
Messy race
Elm Park set a quick pace with the field strung out behind almost in single file after Gerald Mosse on Kodi Bear had barged Solow out of the way to sit on the tail of the leader.
And the messiness was reflected in the result, with 33-1 shot Belardo finishing fast for second, with Gabrial third at 66-1.
fonte : RacingPost
SABATO 17 OTTOBRE 2015 Ascot, #ChampionsDay: Fascinating Rock colpisce duro nelle Champion, battuti Found e Jack Hobbs. #Muhaarar spaziale nello Sprint, #Solow stravince le QE dove delude Gleneagles, mentre Simple Verse regola Journey nel Fillies & Mares
