Folkswood & Tamleek go for G3 success at Chester
Consistent four-year-old Folkswood and impressive maiden winner Tamleek both head to Chester, UK, on Thursday, May 11, in search of a first G3 victory.
Folkswood (Charlie Appleby/William Buick) runs in the extended 10-furlong Huxley Stakes (14.35hrs local time) following a string of fine efforts so far this year, most recently when going down by a half a length in the G3 Earl Of Sefton Stakes over nine furlongs at Newmarket on April 19.
The son of Exceed and Excel, who has only finished out of the frame once in 10 starts, was beaten a neck in the nine-furlong G1 Jebel Hatta Sponsored By Emirates Airlines at Meydan, UAE, on March 4 and readily won a handicap over the same course and distance on February 9.
His five rivals in the Huxley Stakes include US G1 scorer Deauville, G3 winner Royal Artillery and progressive handicap victor Poet’s World.
Charlie Appleby commented: “I was pleased with Folkswood’s run in the Earl Of Sefton Stakes, when he translated his good form in Dubai back to the UK.
“He came out of that race well and I expect the track and conditions at Chester to suit.”
Three-year-old Tamleek (Saeed bin Suroor/Jim Crowley) races over an extended 12 furlongs for the first time in the Chester Vase (15.35hrs), a recognised trial for the G1 Derby at Epsom Downs on June 3 in which he holds an entry.
The Hard Spun colt was third on debut over a mile at Yarmouth in October and made an exciting return to action when quickening clear to score by four lengths in a 10-furlong maiden at Newmarket on April 20.
The field of eight for the Chester Vase also features G2 Royal Lodge Stakes runner-up The Anvil and recent G3 winner Cunco.
Saeed bin Suroor said: “Tamleek won well at Newmarket and has been working nicely.
“This is another step forward and will tell us which direction to take in the future with him.”
fonte : Godolphin
Meticulous Moore the Spear carrier on Chester’s winding road
Scott Burton anticipates an action-packed opening day of the May meeting
Be in the right place; follow the right horses; don’t get into trouble; eliminate the mistakes.
Ryan Moore’s philosophy for success in the saddle is unlikely to stretch to a volume which might challenge the ranks of the life coaches and the management gurus in the bestseller lists. But nowhere on the racing map puts such a premium on those simple maxims as the tightly wound ball of potential bother that is Chester.
It is a venue which his chief employers at Coolmore have begun to target to a far greater extent in recent years and there is no doubt that ‘being on the right horse’ could be added to Moore’s mantra.
Equally, the rider’s abilities around this constantly turning track mean Aidan O’Brien is happy to trust his burgeoning Classic hopefuls to Chester’s unconventional layout. The horses learn about racing in tough circumstances, while Moore learns about them.
In Wednesday’s 188Bet Chester Cup (3.35) – the signature race of the May meeting and the big betting heat of the three days – it is another Irish ally for whom Moore will be on duty.
Among Britain’s historic staying handicaps, Tony Martin has won an Ebor, a Northumberland Plate and a Cesarewitch but not, as yet, the Chester Cup.
For many the combination of a specialist trainer in such races teaming up with the very best pilot available will prove irresistible, however short the price of Golden Spear gets. But in a two-mile race with very few straight lines, Moore must navigate a passage from stall 12 of 19.
Other long-range plots for the Cup have also been dealt a less than ideal hand with the draw, including the Sir Mark Prescott-trained Sea Of Heaven, while stall numbers 15, 16 and 19 for the three carrying his colours might test even Marwan Koukash’s legendary love of this particular venue.
In a way it sums up the maddening delights of Chester, adding an extra layer of complexity to the puzzle and providing ample opportunity for hard luck stories.
Four winners returned at 10-1 and another at 12-1 in the last five years suggest the code is far from impossible to crack, however, while if you don’t fancy a particular horse you could always have a bet on a set of stalls. Betway go 6-4 stalls one to seven, 13-8 about eight to 13, and 5-2 stalls 14 to 19.
Oaks know-how to the fore
O’Brien has done much to resurrect the relevance of Chester as a Classic trial venue in recent years, a flame previously kept alight by a handful of true believers such as Sir Michael Stoute, Sir Henry Cecil and Barry Hills.
It is ten years since Light Shift went on from success in the Arkle Finance Cheshire Oaks (2.25) to score at Epsom for Cecil, and the John Gosden-trained Enable is most prominent of the seven runners here in betting on the Classic, with prices ranging from 16-1 to 25-1.
Gosden is joined by fellow Oaks-winning trainers O’Brien, Ralph Beckett and Andrew Balding in saddling a runner here, while Marcus Tregoning has a Derby to his name and Roger Varian was assistant to Michael Jarvis when Eswarah landed the fillies’ Classic in 2005.
Enable will be keenly watched by all involved with Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte operation, not only for her own progress but as a line to the form of her Newbury conqueror and stablemate Shutter Speed, who is currently second favourite for Epsom.
Moore rides Ballydoyle’s Alluring, who has some family wrongs to right, given that her ‘aunt’ and her granddam both finished runner-up in the Oaks.
Two-year-olds and fashionable friends
Falling just a month after the party that is nearby Liverpool’s Grand National festival, Chester’s three-day meeting is a major feature of the region’s social calendar, with ever-improving facilities hosting a fashionable crowd intent on enjoying themselves.
And while Jose Mourinho would seem an unlikely man to reinstate Sir Alex Ferguson’s tradition of bringing the Manchester United team to the Roodee for a bit of rest and relaxation, Chester can still attract the stars.
On the track the curtain-raiser, the Stellar Group Lily Agnes Conditions Stakes (1.50), has drawn a double-figure field for only the third time in 20 years.
Eleven inexperienced juveniles going flat out over the minimum five furlongs will be brief but exhilarating, with many punters knowing their fate early on.
Get the winner and it’s off to the champagne bar. If not, there are 20 more chances to get your money back before the week is out. And the perfect tactical spot over Chester’s corkscrew five furlongs? For Ryan Moore it’s in the weighing room, where he can concentrate on plans for Alluring and Golden Spear.
fonte : Chester card
UK: Oggi Dylan Mouth in condizionata a Chelmsford. Comincia anche il May Festival al Roodee di Chester, c’è Cunco
Da oggi e fino a venerdì, l’Inghilterra manda in scena uno dei convegni più tradizionali del May Festival da Chester. Tre giorni di passione pura al “Roodee”, impianto molto particolare, dal quale molto spesso escono nomi interessanti in chiave Derby e Oaks.
Ma prima di parlare di Chester diciamo subito che nella serata di mercoledì, alle 20,55, presso Chelmsford ci sarà un pò d’Italia in una condizionata sui 2800 metri dove si rivede in pista ancora una volta Dylan Mouth (Dylan Thomas), campione italiano ma mai confermatosi su quei livelli all’estero, favorito in una condizionata con 5 cavalli al via. Il portacolori Effevi, con in sella Andrea Atzeni, è il favorito dell’antepost in una corsa che sta invece vedendo dei movimenti al betting a favore di Fabricate (Makfi), portacolori della Regina allenato da Michael Bell con Ryan Moore a bordo, e St Michel (Sea The Stars) per Sir Mark Prescott e Luke Morris on board. Dylan Mouth resta su una brutta performance a Newbury nelle John Porter Stakes G3 dove è giunto settimo su 8. IL CAMPO PARTENTI QUI.
Come detto oggi si apre il May Festival con prove centrali nella Chester Cup Heritage Handicap e le Cheshire Oaks Listed che sono servite molto spesso ad Aidan O’Brien come test per la Classica in rosa. Il genio di Ballydoyle sfodera qui Alluringly (Fastnet Rock), debordante al rientro di Tipperary dopo 2 np a 2 anni in altrettante uscite. Avrà fatto il passaggio d’età? Oggi la conferma. Di contro ha Enable (Nathaniel) per Juddmonte, allenata da John Gosden con Frankie Dettori a bordo. I CAMPI PARTENTI DELLA GIORNATA CLICCANDO QUI.
Giovedì è il giorno delle Huxley Stakes G3 per anziani, ma soprattutto il giorno del Chester Vase G3 sul miglio e mezzo (dove lo scorso anno a vincere fu Us Army Ranger e qualche anno fa Soldier Of Fortune, Ruler Of The World etc) in ottica Derby e qui c’è subito qualcosa da dire in chiave Derby Italiano. Cunco (Frankel), o meglio John Gosden, ha infatti deciso di correre al “Roodee” anzichè a Capannelle in una prova più complicata per il Frankel ma che dirà qualcosa di più sul suo futuro da qui in avanti. Cunco non sarà a Roma ma affronterà 7 avversari tra cui 4 di Coolmore, un Godolphin ed un Qatar Racing. IL CAMPO PARTENTI COMPLETO DEL DAY 2 DI CHESTER QUI.
Il day tre è quello delle Dee Stakes Lr sui 2080 metri dove non sono stati ancora resi noti i partenti ufficiali, ma da qui sono passati cavalli buoni. Lo scorso anno vinse Viren’s Army, quest’anno sono ancora iscritti in 24 ma c’è attesa per Frankuus (Frankel), Cliffs Of Moher (Galileo) et al. In programma ci sono anche le Ormonde Stakes G3 sulla distanza, e tra i partecipanti dovrebbe essere al via Midterm (Galileo) e forse anche Cosmelli (Mr Vegas), ex italiano, alla prima uscita per Gay Kelleway. IL CAMPO PARTENTI COMPLETO DEL DAY 3 DI CHESTER QUI.
Always Dreaming Arrives at Pimlico Race Course
Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Always Dreaming arrived at Pimlico Race Course the morning of May 9 on a quest to add the May 20 Preakness Stakes (G1) to his résumé.
Ginny DePasquale, a longtime assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher, was on hand to supervise the arrival.
“I just spoke to Todd and told him the horse looks very bright-eyed and very happy. He looks like his normal self that we see every day,” DePasquale said. “It’s pretty special to see him looking that well. I’m happy and I know Todd is.”
Always Dreaming arrived from Churchill Downs, where the son of Bodemeister scored a dominating 2 3/4-length victory in the May 6 Kentucky Derby. After boarding a van at 6:30 a.m. and arriving at Louisville International Airport, Always Dreaming and stablemate and May 19 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) candidate Moana were flown to Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
After the Pletcher trainees arrived at 9:28 a.m., the van carrying them to Pimlico entered the stable gate at 11 a.m. Always Dreaming followed Moana off the van at 11:08 a.m. before walking the shedrow of the Preakness Stakes Barn for six minutes and entering Stall 40, the stall traditionally reserved for the Kentucky Derby champion.
“This year, it’s very, very exciting, because we think he’s a really special horse,” DePasquale said.
Always Dreaming, who prepped for his Derby win with a triumph in the April 1 Xpressbet Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park, has won all four of his starts this year by a combined 23 1/4 lengths.
Always Dreaming is scheduled to get acquainted with the Pimlico racing surface Wednesday morning.
“He’s just going to jog with the pony one time around tomorrow at 6:30,” said DePasquale, who will supervise the training session prior to Pletcher’s scheduled arrival in Baltimore Wednesday afternoon.
Preakness candidate Royal Mo accompanied the Pletcher trainees on the flight from Louisville. The John Shirreffs-trained colt, who was shut out of a Derby start on the basis of qualifying points, is scheduled to go to the track between 9 and 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Three other Derby runners that are considered probable for the Preakness walked Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs: Lookin At Lee (second), Classic Empire (fourth), and Hence (11th). Lookin At Lee and Hence, trained by Steve Asmussen, are set to fly to Baltimore May 16 on a Tex Sutton flight, as well as Illinois Derby (G3) winner Multiplier and Lexington Stakes (G3) winner Senior Investment.
Gunnevera, who finished seventh, returned to the track to jog twice around alongside a pony. Regular exercise rider Victor O’Farrel was aboard. Owned by Peacock Racing Stables, Gunnevera was added to the Preakness probable list Monday afternoon and will have Mike Smith aboard in Baltimore, as Javier Castellano confirmed Tuesday that he will ride Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets(G2) third-place finisher Cloud Computing for major client Chad Brown.
“The main factor in deciding to run is that he is sound and doing good and we think we have a good chance in the Preakness,” said Allessando Sano, son of Gunnevera’s trainer, Antonio Sano. “He doesn’t seem like he ran a mile and a quarter. We are going to take it one race at a time and right now the Preakness is the main goal. The idea is to have a complete and sound horse for the rest of the season, and also for a couple more seasons, so we can achieve the Haskell (G1), Travers (G1), and hopefully we can even get to the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).”
The late-running colt is scheduled to van to Baltimore early Saturday morning.
Also scheduled to leave Churchill Downs later Tuesday for a return to California were Derby runners Battle of Midway (third), Gormley (ninth), Sonneteer (16th), and Irap (18th).
Godolphin’s Thunder Snow, who did not finish the race after being rank and bucking soon after the start, returned to the track for a second consecutive day and jogged a mile alongside a pony and then cantered a mile under Daragh O’Donohoe. Thunder Snow was scheduled to leave Churchill on Tuesday afternoon for Huntsville, Alabama, where he will catch a flight to England.
Leading Second-Crop NA Sires by Worldwide Earnings
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