Lingfield 1.40 – 5F Fillies Maiden Stakes (Class 5) Good to Firm
Eleven fillies contested Division 1 of this maiden and there were three debutantes in the field.
There were joint favourites for the race, both having opened at 4/1 on course and returned at 3/1. WORLD’S GREATEST had finished sixth at Newmarket on debut; the fourth horse in that race won a Class 5 maiden next time out. REBEL SURGE (OR 79) had three races under her belt. Most recently, she had finished ninth in the Queen Mary Stakes (Group 2) and prior to that had finished runner up at Nottingham in a Class 5 maiden. There was also support for STROKE OF MIDNIGHT (7/1 to 6/1) and CROWNING GLORY (10/1 to 8/1).
REBEL SURGE sat behind the leaders and when a gap appeared a furlong out, she went clear of the field with STROKE OF MIDNIGHT and stayed on the better to win by a neck.
STROKE OF MIDNIGHT (OR 70) had finished runner up on her last two stars, most recently at Bath and Richard Hannon’s filly had to be content with the same finishing position today.
PRYING PANDORA (Richard Fahey) had been last with two furlongs to go and she made good late headway on the outside to finish in third place, 2¼ lengths away. She had cost 85000 euros as a yearling and is from an unraced mare (half sister to a Group 1 winner at 7F and 8F and a Group 3 winner at 5F). She has produced one winning foal at 10F (OR of 70).
WORLD’S GREATEST finished in sixth place.
William Buick, the rider of SACRED HARP, unplaced, reported that the filly hung right throughout.
The Veterinary Officer reported that WORLD’S GREATEST, trained by Saeed bin Suroor, bled from the nose.
Dave Morris on REBEL SURGE: ‘She’s a bit tricky to ride but has paid me back now. We’ve got mostly two-year-olds and they are all okay, they are just taking their time a bit. We might try to get some black type with her, I always felt she could be a Listed filly.’
Martin Harley added: ‘She was a bit free but was the most experienced in the race and knew her job. She ran in the Queen Mary but this trip was always going to suit her better. I wanted a lead, but in the end she had to knuckle down and she really stretched out.I said to Phil [Cunningham] she’ll win a nursery as long as the handicapper doesn’t go mad.’
Lingfield 2.10 – 5F Fillies Maiden Stakes (Class 5) Good to Firm
There were ten fillies in Division 2, including two newcomers.
NOVANTAE was sent off the 2/1 favourite. Charlie Appleby’s filly had finished sixth at Doncaster on debut. There was support for THE SPECIAL ONE (Clive Cox, 10/1 to 6/1), SUNNY SPIRIT (Jonathan Portman, 16/1 to 12/1) and ROSECOMB (Michael Bell, 33/1 to 25/1).
EDIYE had finished fifth at Newcastle on debut. In his assessment after the race, Hugo Palmer had said ‘She’ll come on a tonne for it and I expect her to be winning sooner rather than later.’ His prediction was correct as she was successful today. Always prominent, she went clear over a furlong out and, despite running green, went on to record a comfortable victory by 2¼ lengths. Purchased as a foal for 32000 euros, she was then resold for £29000 as a yearling. Her dam remained a maiden after six runs (half sister to a Group 1 winner at 8F and to a Grade 1 winning hurdler). She had previously produced winning foals from 5F to 16F (and hurdles), including a Listed race winner at 16F.
CARA’S MUSE put in an improved performance in finishing second. Eve Johnson Houghton’s filly had finished seventh on both of her starts to date. She had cost 26000 euros as a yearling and is from a mare who remained a maiden after four runs. She has produced winning foals from 5F to 8F (highest winning OR of 81), including a place in a Listed race over 7F.
NOVANTAE finished a further neck away in third. Darley bred, she is the first foal from a mare who won at 7F (a Listed race in Germany) and at 8F in France.
THE SPECIAL ONE finished sixth , SUNNY SPIRIT fourth and ROSECOMB eighth.
Tom Queally, the rider of ROSECOMB, reported that the filly was denied a clear run in the closing stages.
Martin Harley completed a double by winning on EDIYE. Afterwards, he said: ‘She was just getting a bit lonely out in front and hit a few of the ridges. She travelled nicely and did it well – she might get further. She’s genuine, she tries hard and it all went well.’
Catterick 2.00 – 5F Fillies Maiden Stakes (Class 5) Good
QUIET REFLECTION was a non runner (going) leaving ten fillies to contest this maiden. Half of the field were debutantes.
BABY BALLERINA (OR 69) was sent off the 9/4 favourite, having opened up on course at 4/1. She had not been out since finishing third at Newcastle over a month ago. Prior to that, she had finished eighth (beaten four lengths) in a Listed race. LADY CLAIR was also supported from 11/2 to 9/2 but DANCING YEARS (Richard Fahey) and AL ZUBARAH (John Quinn) were significant drifters.
LADY CLAIR made her debut a winning one as she tracked the leader, found a gap through on the far rail over a furlong out and went on to win by 2½ lengths. David Barron’s filly holds an entry in the Lowther Stakes (Group 2) next month. Purchased for 13000 euros as a yearling, she was then resold at a Breeze Up sale for 55000 euros. She is the first foal from an unraced dam.
COPACOBANA (OR 65) had led for most of the race but while keeping on inside the final furlong, she was no match for the winner. This was her best placing after four previous races, the most recent being in a 6F nursery at Haydock.
BABY BALLERINA finished a further 1¾ lengths back in third.
DANCING YEARS was green but stayed on to finish in fourth place and AL ZUBARAH was sixth.
The Stewards noted that approaching the four furlong marker, DANCING YEARS (IRE) hung right and BABY BALLERINA, hung left, both interfering with FAST CAT, unplaced, but after viewing a recording of the incident they were satisfied that it neither involved a riding offence nor improved either horse’s placing.
David Barron: ‘LADY CLAIR has worked well at home, she’s quick, but they’ve got to come here and do it, and she’s done that now. She´s a nice filly.’
Sandown 7.10 – 7F Maiden Auction Stakes (Class 5) Good
DARKSITEOFTHEMOON was a non runner (lame) which left eleven runners. Two of the field were fillies and there were four newcomers.
ZODIAKOS, a newcomer for Hugo Palmer, was a well supported favourite (11/4 to 2/1). Palmer had been upbeat on the chances of his colt: ‘He’s going to be very much more of a three-year-old but he’s ready to make his debut and I’d definitely hold him in the first stream of my two-year-olds. If I had to split them into classes, he’s one of the ones I’d like more and so I hope he’ll run a nice race first time out.’ Jonathan Portman’s debutante, DESERT TANGO, also received some support from 16/1 to 12/1.
Again, Palmer’s optimism was repaid as ZODIAKOS completed an across the card double. Tracking the leader, he made his challenge two furlongs out and went on to lead at the furlong pole to run out a 4½ length winner. Purchased for 13500 euros as a foal, he was resold as a yearling for 15000 guineas. His dam remained a maiden after eight races and she has produced one previous winning foal here, a 5F maiden, and a winner in Hong Kong.
Both HENRY THE EXPLORER and FLEETING VISIT made late progress to finish second and third.
HENRY THE EXPLORER had finished sixth at Wetherby on debut. Jo Hughes’ colt. Purchased for 5000 dollars as a yearling, he remained unsold for £17000 at a Breeze Up sale. His dam raced in USA and she has produced two previous winners abroad.
FLEETING VISIT, a newcomer for Eve Johnson Houghton was a further neck back in third. He was sent off at 15/2, having been available at double figure prices earlier in the day. Purchased for 12000 guineas as yearling, he is from a mare who won between 7F and 10F (highest winning OR of 89) and was placed in a Group 3 race in Italy at 8F. Her only other foal to have raced was placed in Italy.
David Probert, the rider of MONTAGUE WAY, unplaced, reported that the colt ran too free. Oisin Murphy, the rider of DESERT TANGO, unplaced, reported that the filly was slowly away.
News Update
Mark Usher after Q TEN GIRL’s second at Lingfield yesterday:
‘Q TEN GIRL ran a solid race to finish second at Lingfield yesterday evening. I think she will certainly win in this grade. Today we run MISS FORTUNE in the 7:10 at Sandown. She did not enjoy her first start on the all weather at Lingfield but she is a filly that I like and once she has learnt her trade I am sure she can win races. [finished sixth].
Charlie Fellowes on SALVO, last week’s winner at Newmarket:
‘SALVO’s performance to win the 6 furlong maiden on Thursday was scintillating as she came from last to first to win going away, earning herself a cheeky pat from her jockey Frankie Dettori. I wouldn’t say I was surprised because I did expect her to run well, but I didn’t think she would win. She seems to have come out of her race exceptionally well and there a couple of options for her in the near future, with the Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot a very obvious possibility. Ideally I would have liked to find a little Listed race with her, but there are not a huge amount of options and I am not sure she wants stepping up to seven furlongs yet.’
Gay Kelleway on plans to run ZEBSTAR in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh on 9 August:
‘He’s in the Group One over in Ireland, that’s the plan. I backed off him for three weeks because he had a very bad sore shin the day he won at Newmarket and he’s a very good horse. He was going to go for the Norfolk but there was no sign of rain, so we scratched him. I didn’t want to run him again on fast ground as he’d resent it. We were thinking of going for the July Stakes but it was the same scenario – too firm – so we sat down together, the owners and myself. We thought we’d like to have a crack in Ireland. It’s a Group One and we might get better ground. He has two other entries at Deauville – a Group Three on August 2 (Prix de Cabourg) and the Morny (August 23). I know it’s a big step, but he is a very good horse and a lot of winners have come out of the race he won. We’re looking forward to seeing him out again.’
Luca Cumani update on his 2yos:
‘We were happy with the performances of our first two year old runners of the season with the fillies running very much as expected and the colts shaping as though they needed the race. For all that, AL KHAFJI ran promisingly in what looked a warm maiden on the Friday of the July Festival meeting, while SHARJA QUEEN fared better of the fillies and will be unlucky to run into another one as good as Lumiere in a maiden next time out. We shall be introducing some more two year olds in the next week or so, but as always in the week following a spate of good meetings, things will be quiet for a few days.’
Two Year Old Racing 2015 