Thursday 7 May – Chester
The preview for this race can be seen here. Nine runners started this Class 3 maiden, outsider; MATILDA GLEAM, was declared a non runner on account of the ground. Before the race, RAJ TO RICHES had to be walked to the start and upon leaving the stalls, jumped right impeding several other runners – see the Stewards comments below.
Richard Fahey won this race last year and had spoken of YOUNG JOHN’s chances prior to the race: ‘He ran okay at Chelmsford first time. Five furlongs around here might be sharp enough for him but he’ll be coming home strongly.’ Available to back at 4/1 last night, he was sent off as the 2/1 favourite. He was one of the horses to suffer at the start and was well adrift at the halfway stage and had to be pushed along. However, he fulfilled his trainer’s prophecy by getting a clear run through on the rail to win by ¾ length. Having been so far behind, he traded at a high of 200 in running.
As pointed out in the preview, Mark Johnston’s ROGUES’ GALLERY had traded at odds on in the run on all of his outings to date. That sequence continued as he traded at 1.54 in finishing second for the third consecutive outing.
The first pair finished nearly four lengths clear of the remaining runners who were headed by HIGH SPEED, who broke smartly from stall 2 and led until passed by ROGUES’ GALLERY over one furlong out.
ADDICTED TO LUCK, the less fancied of David Evans’ runners who had run green on debut, was outpaced but stayed on inside the final furlong to finish fourth.
The Stewards noted that RAJ TO RICHES had jumped sharply right leaving the stalls and interfered with YOUNG JOHN, who then interfered with FOUR’S COMPANY, who in turn interfered with ROGUES’ GALLERY. After viewing a recording of the race they were satisfied that it did not involve a riding offence.
Jordan Nason, the rider of LYDIA’S PLACE, reported that the filly missed the break.
The trainer’s representative of David Evans, the trainer of RAJ TO RICHES reported that the colt boiled over in the preliminaries and was also unsuited by the soft going.
News Update
Following RAH RAH’s victory in the Lily Agnes Stakes at Chester yesterday, Deirdre Johnston said: ‘She is so tough – what a game filly. She shows lot of speed and is very professional and stayed on well on soft ground. I’m thinking she can go either five or six furlongs and that [Royal Ascot] is the dream’. Franny Norton added: ‘It was a smart race and a smart time. On a bit better ground, you might see a smart filly. Why can’t she go there (Ascot)?’
Hugo Palmer has revealed the latest plans for GIFTED MASTER. His impressive win on debut at Newmarket was followed by a disappointing effort at Ascot. ‘GIFTED MASTER behaved quite badly at Ascot and since then we have been keeping him busy at home. He will run in a novice contest at Newmarket and hopefully we can put his second run down to him still being a bit immature and babyish. This is a recovery mission for him.’ The novice race in question is on Friday week and is over 6F.
At The Races have published details of a stable tour with Tom Dascombe. Here are the comments regarding his 2yos:
The two-year-olds are behind this year and we started later on them. We seem to start later and later on them every year as we have tried to buy a longer term view two-year-old. As a result I think we’ve only ran three.
BIG AMIGO – b c Bahamian Bounty – Goldamour, unraced
“He’s quite a nice colt and he’s named after Ed Sackville and owned by Laurence Bellman.”
FALCON ANNIE – b f Kodiac – Frosted, made her debut at Chester today, finishing fifth
“She’s a nice filly and quite smart but Chester is a very difficult place to win first time out.”
GOLDEN GLIMMER – b f Danehill Dancer – Gilded Vanity, unraced
“She’s a nice filly who is sure to improve as the season goes on. We are giving her time and she moves well and she looks a good filly.”
HAPPY TIDINGS – b f Exceed And Excel – Helena Moloney, unraced
“She’s a Newsells Park filly and is a big tall rangy sort who will be ready in June. She’s a nice type who showing a lot of early promise and we will probably start her over six furlongs.”
Two Year Old Racing 2015 