Lambourn trainer Barry Hills is set to unleash stanjamesuk.com 1000 Guineas hopefuls Spinning Lucy and Royal Confidence at Newmarket on Wednesday, April 16.
Spinning Lucy makes her seasonal bow in the £50,000 Group Three Leslie Harrison Memorial Nell Gwyn Stakes (3.45pm). The seven-furlong contest is one of the premier Classic trials and was won in 2006 by Speciosa en route to glory in the stanjamesuk.com 1000 Guineas.
The Spinning World filly is held in high regard at Wetherdown House and convincingly landed the Listed EBF Bosra Sham Stakes over six furlongs of The NatWest Rowley Mile on November 2, her most recent outing.
Hills’ son and assistant, Charlie Hills, revealed this morning:
"Spinning Lucy is going to run in the Nell Gwyn and we’re very pleased
with her. Michael (Hills) came in the other morning and sat on her and he was happy. She has wintered well and looks good in her skin.
"She had a niggly problem early last season so she missed the middle part, but then once she had gained experience from a couple of runs, she really started to find her feet and did very well, winning twice at the back end. We have always thought quite a lot of her.
"The trip shouldn’t be a problem at all. She is beautifully relaxed and settled, so you could put her anywhere in a race."
Spinning Lucy, a 66-1 chance with the sponsor for the stanjamesuk.com 1000 Guineas, is set to face 13 rivals in what looks sure to be a strong renewal of the Leslie Harrison Memorial Nell Gwyn Stakes, which includes the John Gosden-trained Infallible, a 16-1 chance with Stan James for the stanjamesuk.com 1000 Guineas, and highly-rated Group Three winners Nijoom Dubai (33-1) and Albabilia.(50-1).
Hills is aiming Royal Confidence at the £30,000 Listed Making Betting Better On Newmarket High Street European Free Handicap (3.10pm), when she will face colts for the first time, including stable-mate Nacho Libre.
The Royal Applause filly, who carries 8st 13lb in the race, won a competitive Doncaster nursery in September before posting two fine efforts in Group company. Her juvenile campaign culminated in a third-place finish, one length behind Kitty Matchem, in the Group Two seriousquitters.co.uk Rockfel Stakes over seven furlongs of the NatWest Rowley Mile, in October.
Hills reported: "We are happy with the way Royal Confidence has wintered. She probably would not want the ground too soft, but it should be perfect at Newmarket. Seven furlongs is not a problem and we will have to just find out whether she stays a mile. We will see how she gets on this week and take it from there."
Connections are on something of a fact-finding mission with the speedily-bred Nacho Libre (8st 12lb), who does not hold an entry for the stanjamesuk.com 2000 Guineas.
Hills continued: "Nacho Libre has been working well and he should run very nicely. He is a lovely looking horse and ran well last time at Doncaster. That form looks pretty good. I would think that he is a horse that is going to appreciate a bit of cut in the ground.
"He is by Kyllachy out of a Night Shift mare, so has plenty of speed. We will see how we get on this week and then see what sort of trip he is going to be running over throughout the rest of the season."
The Making Betting Better On Newmarket High Street European Free Handicap has attracted an 11-strong field, headed by the Peter Chapple-Hyam-trained Spirit Of Sharjah (9st 7lb). The Newmarket handler has also engaged Group Two Richmond Stakes runner-up Fat Boy (9st 6lb) and Brave Prospector (8st 12lb).
Richard Hannon has declared Group Three Mill Reef Stakes third Berbice (9st 4lb), as well as Cake (8st 13lb), third in the Group Three Cornwallis Stakes on his final outing last term, while the field also includes the Brian Meehan-trained £250,000 Tattersalls October Auction Stakes winner Exclamation (8st 13lb).
The Craven Meeting is always exciting and informative and a traditional starting-point for a host of potential Classic contenders. The two-day meeting takes place at Newmarket’s NatWest Rowley Mile Racecourse on Wednesday, April 16 and Thursday, April 17.
TIZZARD HOPES THAT LEADER WILL TAKE FLIGHT IN RACING UK HURDLE
Meeting - The April Meeting, Cheltenham Racecourse
Dates - Wednesday, April 16, Thursday, April 17 & Friday, April 18
First Race - 2.20pm (Wednesday & Thursday), 5.00pm (Friday)
Admission Prices - Club & Tattersalls enclosure - £20; Best Mate enclosure - £8; Accompanied children under 16 admitted FREE too all enclosures. FREE car parking.
Colin Tizzard is looking forward to seeing Flight Leader line up in the £30,000 Racing UK Hurdle (6.45pm), run on Champagne Lanson Ladies Evening at Cheltenham, Friday, April 18.
The eight-year-old gelding has only made three appearances this term and was an encouraging eighth in the Grade One Ladbrokes World Hurdle at The Festival on March 13, prior to another good run behind Blazing Bailey in the Grade One John Smith’s Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree.
Tizzard was pleased with both those performances from his star hurdler and reckons that a return to Cheltenham will suit Flight Leader well.
He said: “Flight Leader will run in the Racing UK Hurdle as long as the ground is no faster than good. He’s come out of his run at Aintree really well and is improving all of the time. We had an interrupted preparation for the Ladbrokes World Hurdle and it has taken until now for him to get back to his old self.
“He wasn’t beaten that far at Aintree and he was staying on at the end like he always does. He’s dropping down slightly in grade and we think he will have a good chance on Friday.
“Three miles around Cheltenham, especially with the hill at the end, is absolutely made for Flight Leader. We saw that last season, when he won twice, finished third as a novice in the Grade Two Byrne Bros Cleeve Hurdle, and went on to be fourth at The Festival.
“He’s a seriously good horse, but he’s just been unlucky with a back injury. We might even take him novice chasing in May, but we are looking forward to a good run on Friday first of all.”
A total of 13 horses have been entered for the Racing UK Hurdle, including the Paul Nicholls-trained Elusive Dream , who was recently a good winner of the Grade Two Mersey Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree, as well as Irish raider Sonnyanjoe, who scored in the Listed Lombard Properties Handicap Hurdle at The Open on November 17.
The three-mile contest is highlight of the inaugural Champagne Lanson Ladies Evening, a night of quality racing and entertainment, which includes performances by X Factor stars Ray Quinn and Ben Mills in the Centaur, while the Irish Dancing Academy will be in action near the parade ring between races.
The ground at Cheltenham is currently described as good, with a GoingStick reading of 7.8. 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.
STANDARDS TO SET THE PACE AT GOODWOOD IN 2008
Launch of Season 2008
Racing returns to Goodwood on Saturday, May 3, and top of the agenda for 2008 is horse welfare and the quality of the racing product.
Despite industry and consumer recognition for the high standards set at the racecourse the team has not been resting on its laurels. With horse and jockey welfare at the forefront, a programme of improvements to the racecourse and the parade ring has been carried out in the winter months.
This work combined with the additional investment from the racecourse to ensure that prize money levels are maintained is part of a long term strategy to clearly differentiate Goodwood within the racing industry.
Managing Director Rod Fabricius said: “The economic climate is not at it’s brightest right now but we believe very strongly that by investing in the racing product and setting very high standards the popularity of the racecourse will continue to grow and that more people will want to come racing in 2008.
“In 2007 we were delighted to welcome over 230,000 racegoers, an increase of nine per cent on the year before. We also received the ROA’s Gold Standard Award and we are keen to maintain this momentum.”
The two main racecourse projects have been the re-cambering of Oak Tree bend and the resurfacing of the pre-parade ring.
Clerk of the Course Seamus Buckley explained: “The racing surface is always our number one priority, and the track suffered a lot of wear and tear last year when we had a record number of horses compete.
“The adverse camber on a section of the far loop has always been a worry to us and it wasn’t the jockey’s favourite part of the course. We have re-cambered that bend which means that the camber is now falling to the running rail. It should ride much better now and we hope the jockeys will be happy with it once they have ridden around it, although it won’t be used until the end of May”
Buckley is also keen to mention the levelling and re-surfacing of the pre-parade ring: “We have been keen to do this for some time and again I hope that owners and trainers recognise that we are always conscious of the horse’s wellbeing.”
With regards to prize money the racecourse has had to increase its Executive Contribution by £100,000 to make up the short fall caused by the drop in Levy Board contributions.
As in 2007 prize money will again be £3.4 million, with the Goodwood Executive contribution increasing to £550,000.
Rod Fabricius said: “It is imperative that Goodwood is synonymous with high quality racing and despite the fact that the Levy Board contribution has declined it is important that we protect prize money and ensure that owners and trainers will always be competing for attractive purses when racing at Goodwood.”
In 2008 the Coutts Glorious Stakes will be one of 28 Pattern/Listed (“Black Type”) races staged during Goodwood’s 22-day racing season and has been upgraded to Group Three status.
During Festival week there will be prize money increases of £5,000 each to the Betfair Gordon Stakes and the Betfair Molecomb Stakes, while the Coutts Glorious Stakes jumps in value by £20,000.
Goodwood is also making a commitment to ensure that no race will be run with less than a £5,000 prize fund.
During the winter months there have also been some personnel changes and Managing Director Rod Fabricius is delighted that former Tote Chairman, Peter Jones has joined the Board of Directors as a Non-Executive Director.
He commented: “It is fantastic news for the Racecourse that Peter has been appointed as a Board Director. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience of the racing industry and we intend utilising him as much as we possibly can”
Another new arrival is Marketing & PR Manager, Callum MacKay. The appointment has been made in recognition that racecourses generally have to be more competitive in targeting consumers and that they are competing not only with one another but within the leisure industry generally.
One of MacKay’s first projects has been to create more themed racedays and Rod Fabricius is happy that the new themes are in keeping with the Goodwood philosophy.
Fabricius continued: “When we were looking for a Marketing & PR Manager we were keen to get someone who understood Goodwood the brand, its values and promote them sympathetically. I’m pleased that the initial ideas put forward have tapped into not only what makes the Racecourse unique but also the Goodwood Estate” said Fabricius
Racing returns on May 3 and there will be six fixtures in May, the first time this has happened in the racecourse’s history.
Key themed days early in the season will be:
May 3, Sport at Goodwood Raceday
May 21, Alan Ball Memorial Raceday
May 30, Carnival Of Flying Raceday
June 6, A Taste of Goodwood, Sussex and beyond.
June 13, Frankie Dettori 21st Anniversary Racenight
July 30, Sir Peter O’Sullevan Celebration Raceday
For old articles (from 1st March 2000) go to the Newslink
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