Friday, April 11, 2008

OXX COULD RUN RED EYE IN banshahousestables.com CRAVEN STAKES

The three-year-old colt, currently a 50/1 chance with Stan James for the stanjamesuk.com 2000 Guineas, won on his only start in a seven-furlong maiden at Cork on October 20.

Oxx has been pleased with the progress of Red Eye Express since that victory and is hoping to get a run into the son of Giant’s Causeway prior to a possible tilt at Classic glory on May 3.

The Curragh-based trainer commented: "We’ve no good ground in Ireland and we need somewhere for Red Eye Express to run, so the banshahousestables.com Craven Stakes is a possibility at the moment. He’s also entered in a race at Dundalk and we will make a decision on Monday.

"He’s only had one run and is quite inexperienced, but we need to bite the bullet at some point to find out just how good he is.

"He’s has an entry in the stanjamesuk.com 2000 Guineas which is why we are keen to test him. He’s been going well at home and we don’t know if he is in that league or not, but he’s a nice horse and has pleased us with his work.

"He’s fit and ready to go and has done well over the winter. He’s a big horse who has strengthened up a bit and matured a lot. He looks a smart sort of horse and we think he has gone the right way."

Oxx’s only previous runner in the stanjamesuk.com 2000 Guineas was Azamour, who finished third behind Haafhd in 2004. However, he believes that it is too early to compare Red Eye Express with his four-time Group One winner.

He continued: "Azamour was a bit inexperienced when he lined up at Newmarket, but he had done a little bit more as a two-year-old, having won the Group Two Beresford at the Curragh. He missed his prep run for the Guineas because the ground was too heavy, but Red Eye Express would definitely need a race before the Guineas because he has had only one outing. It’s too early to say if he’s in the same league."

A total of 19 horses have been entered for the banshahousestables.com Craven Stakes, including Group One Darley Dewhurst Stakes third Raven’s Pass, who is currently 11/2 second favourite with Stan James for the stanjamesuk.com 2000 Guineas.

Henry Cecil could be represented by the unbeaten Twice Over, whose last win came in the bet365 Zetland Conditions Stakes at Newmarket on November 3, and Sir Michael Stoute has entered Confront and Perfect Stride.

River Proud, winner of the Group Three Somerville Tattersall Stakes at Newmarket on October 5, could line up for trainer Paul Cole, while Brian Meehan has entered Group Two scorer City Leader. Aidan O’Brien has engaged Great Rumpuscat, The Bogberry and Zulu Chief.

The £50,000 Group Three Weatherbys Earl Of Sefton Stakes (4.20pm), also run on Thursday, April 17, has attracted an entry of 14 horses, including the Henry Cecil-trained Multidimensional, who finished fifth in the Group One Emirates Airline Champion Stakes at Newmarket on Champions’ Day.

Mark Tompkins hopes that Smokey Oakey will make his mark on a step up to Group company following his convincing one-and-three-quarter length victory in the Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster on March 22.

Tompkins commented: "The plan is to run Smokey Oakey in the Weatherbys Earl Of Sefton Stakes. He’s come out of his Doncaster run right as rain and the step up to a Group contest seems the logical thing.

"If he runs well, he’ll go up the handicap, so we might have to start thinking about his future being in Group races. It looks like the Weatherbys Earl Of Sefton Stakes will be a tough race, but if it keeps raining, we will be all right and he should run his race on Thursday."

Clive Brittain has entered recent Kempton Listed winner Kandidate, while John Gosden has engaged Royal Oath and Pipedreamer, who was a convincing winner of the totesport.com Cambridgeshire at Newmarket on October 6.

A total of 28 horses have been entered for the £30,000 Listed Connaught Access Flooring Abernant Stakes (3.10pm), run over six furlongs. Aahayson and Sonny Red, who recently finished first and second in the Listed Cammidge Stakes at Doncaster could re-oppose, while Roger Fisher has entered Beckermet, who finished second in the Group Three Igloos Bentinck Stakes at Newmarket on Champions’ Day.

James Fanshawe could run last year’s Stewards’ Cup scorer Zidane, and Barry Hills may be represented by Prime Defender, who got his season under way last season with victory in the Listed European Free Handicap at the Craven Meeting.

TAAFFE PONDERING CHELTENHAM OPTIONS

Irish trainer Tom Taaffe is eyeing up a tilt at the £50,000 Grade Two Mears Group Silver Trophy Chase, a limited handicap over two miles and five furlongs at Cheltenham on Wednesday, April 16, with his lightly-race Glenfinn Captain.

Owned by J P McManus, the nine-year-old failed to regain his form after being sidelined for 11 months before showing some of his old sparkle on his most recent start when chasing home Schindlers Hunt in fifth in the Tattersalls Ireland Dan Moore Memorial Handicap Chase at Fairyhouse over Easter.

That was over four furlongs shorter, but the County Kildare handler thinks that the step up in trip may help Glenfinn Captain to regain his form. Taaffe was also confident that the gelding would handle the undulating track, where the trainer had his biggest success to date when Kicking King landed the 2005 totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup.

“It will depend on the weights but we are certainly considering the Mears Group Silver Trophy Chase for Glenfinn Captain. He is good form at home and he ran well in the Tattersalls Dan Moore at Fairyhouse. We just want to have a closer look at the weights but it is definitely an option,” explained the handler.

“The track won’t worry him. He has lost his way a bit of late. He got a bad colic 18 months ago and he seems to have just lost his confidence and form. He is slowly getting it back and we’d be hoping that the step up in trip will help him.”

As the weights stand, Glenfinn Captain would be 5lb out of the handicap on the minimum weight of 10st 4lb.

The other potential Irish raider in the entry of 28 is the Charlie Swan-trained Foreman, who also carries the colours of leading owner J P McManus.

Also entered is the Venetia Williams-trained Stan, who ran out a two-length winner of the Red Rum Handicap Chase over two miles at Aintree earlier this month. He looks set to carry the minimum weight of 10st 4lb should top-weight Mister McGoldrick, winner of the Grade Three Racing Post Plate at The Festival last month, stand his ground on 11st 10lb.

Behind Stan at Liverpool was Calatagan, who is entered along with stablemate Classic Capers by trainer Malcolm Jefferson. Venetia Williams has also given Nice Try an entry.

With four entered, John Smith’s Grand National-winning trainer David Pipe has the most entries at this stage. They are headed by Celestial Gold on 10st 12lb and course and distance winner Vodka Bleu, while Abragante and Lucifer Bleu complete his quartet.

Paul Nicholls’ trio of entries includes Grade Two novice chase winner Oslot, while the champion trainer, who has won three of the last six renewals of this race, is also represented by Ofarel D’Airy and Natal.

Other entries include Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Fundamentalist and Nicky Richards’ hat-trick seeking Native Coral.

Entries for the Listed raceodds.com Mares Handicap Hurdle were revealed today and the £40,000 contest over an extended two miles and five furlongs on day two of the April Meeting has attracted 24 top-class mares.

David Nicholson Mares Hurdle third and fourth, the Nicky Henderson-trained Chomba Womba and David Pipe-trained Gaspara, head the entries, while Jaunty Flight, winner of a similar contest at Newbury late last month, is also entered by Oliver Sherwood.

Runner-up to Jaunty Flight was the Jonjo O’Neill-trained Castlecrossings, who is among the entries, along with third-placed Amber Brook. Dancing Dasi and Katess, who were both behind that trio at Newbury, have also been engaged.

The ground at Cheltenham is currently described as good, with a GoingStick reading of 8.3. With mixed showers and sunshine forecast over the coming days, the course may be watered if necessary to maintain good ground.

Meanwhile, the Gloucestershire Trainers’ Championship will be awarded after racing on Friday, April 18, and looks set to be won by either Nigel Twiston-Davies or Charlie Longsdon. The winning trainer will receive a hamper on the day, while a handcrafted rocking horse worth £3,500 will be produced in the livery of their favourite horse by Stevenson Brothers.

For the first time, the Frequent Runner Championship takes in the April Meeting at Cheltenham and Twiston-Davies looks to have a strong chance of winning this award along with Paul Nicholls. The winning trainer will receive a Theault Horsebox on a free 12 month lease.

The inaugural Leading Rider and Trainer Awards will also be presented on Friday. Sponsored by Mark Stoddart, both winners will receive a coffee table with a bronze animal sculpture in the centre.

These titles also look set to go down to the wire, with Twiston-Davies leading on 10 winners, but closely followed by Alan King on nine and both David Pipe and Paul Nicholls on seven. Paddy Brennan is the current leading jockey on 10 winners, but he has Choc Thornton (nine), Ruby Walsh (seven) and Richard Johnson (six) breathing down his neck.

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