Thursday, June 22, 2000

BEST ODDS FOR ROYAL ASCOT TOMORROW

KAYF TARA WINS SECOND GOLD CUP

The Sadler's Wells horse had been making smooth progress on the outside but hung to his right in the final two furlongs, causing interference to San Sebastian. He eventually got up to score by a neck from Martin Pipe's Far Cry. The stewards eventually allowed Kayf Tara to keep the race, as his interference had not caused San Sebastian to lose the race.

Afterwards Godolphin's racing manager Simon Crisford pointed out that Kayf Tara was now Godolphin's most successful horse, after winning his eighth pattern race. Crisford went on to state that Kayf Tara would run over a mile and a half for his next run, in the King George and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes on July 29.

THIRD RACE RESULT
3.45pm GOLD CUP

Class A, Group One, Showcase Race, £210,000 guaranteed, 2m 4f, for four-year-olds and upwards. Weights: 4yo: colts and geldings: 9st; fillies: 8st 11lb; 5yo and up: horses and geldings: 9st 2lb; mares: 8st 13lb. Penalty values: 1st: £121,800; 2nd: £46,200; 3rd: £23,100; 4th: £10,500; 5th: £5,250; 6th: £3,150

1 KAYF TARA (Godolphin) Saeed Bin Suroor 6-9-02 Michael Kinane [6] 11-8 F
2 FAR CRY (Nicky Chambers) Martin Pipe 5-9-02 Kevin Darley [9] 20-1
3 COMPTON ACE (Erik Penser) Gerard Butler t4-9-00 Richard Hughes [1] 11-1
4 SAN SEBASTIAN (Michael Watt) John Dunlop b6-9-02 Damien Oliver [5]
5 LIFE IS LIFE (Raymond and Anita Anderson Green) Michael Jarvis 4-8-11 Philip Robinson [10]
6 PERSIAN PUNCH (Jeff Smith) David Elsworth 7-9-02 John Reid [2]
7 ARCTIC OWL (The Owl Society) James Fanshawe 6-9-02 David Harrison [12]
8 ENZELI (HH Aga Khan) John Oxx (IRE) 5-9-02 Johnny Murtagh [3]
9 CELERIC (Christopher Spence/Jake Morley) John Dunlop 8-9-02 Pat Eddery [7]
10 ENDORSEMENT (Cliveden Stud) Henry Cecil 4-8-11 Richard Quinn [11]
11 ASHGAR (Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Saud) Clive Brittain v1 4-9-00 Darryll Holland [8]

11 ran Non-runners: No. 6 Orchestra Stall and No. 8 Rainbow High
Distances: Hd, 1 , 1 , , Nk, , 1 , 17, 6, 5 Time: 4 minutes 24.53 seconds
Breeder: Meon Valley Stud Breeding: Sadler's Wells - Colorspin (High Top)
Totes: Win: £2.70 Places: £1.40; £4.40; £2.50 Exacta: £70.10

Winning trainer:-Name: Bin Suroor, Saeed Trains at Newmarket for Godolphin, the racing entity of Sheikh Mohammed, whose horses winter in Dubai and race worldwide. Classic wins: (8) Sagitta 2000 Guineas (1996 Mark of Esteem, 1999 Island Sands), Sagitta 1000 Guineas (1998 Cape Verdi), Vodafone Oaks (1994 Balanchine, 1995 Moonshell); Vodafone Derby (1995 Lammtarra); Pertemps St Leger (1995 Classic Cliche; 1998 Nedawi; 1999 Mutafaweq) Other major wins include: Irish Derby (1994 Balanchine), Irish Champion Stakes (1994 Cezanne; 1998 Swain), Irish St Leger (1998 & 1999 Kayf Tara), French 2000 Guineas (1995 Vettori); Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (1995 Lammtarra); Prix d'Ispahan (1996 Halling), Eclipse (1995,1996 Halling; 1998 Daylami); Juddmonte International Stakes (1995 Halling), Ascot Gold Cup (1996 Classic Cliche; 1998 Kayf Tara), King George VI and the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes (1995 Lammtarra; 1997 & 1998 Swain, 1999 Daylami), Nunthorpe Stakes (1995 So Factual), Derby Italiano (1998 Central Park), Lockinge Stakes (1998 Cape Cross), Prix Jean Prat (1998 Almutawakel), Prix de la Salamandre (1998 Aljabr), Man O' War Stakes (1998 Daylami), Lockinge Stakes (1998 Cape Cross, 1999 Fly To The Stars), Great Voltigeur Stakes (1998 Sea Wave) Vodafone Coronation Cup (1999 Daylami), Sussex Stakes (1999 Aljabr) Stanley Leisure Sprint Cup (1999 Diktat), Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (1999 Dubai Millennium), Predominate Stakes (2000 Roscius), Prince of Wales's Stakes (1998 Faithful Son, 2000 Dubai Millennium) Wins in a season (1995-99) 14:48:41:38:41 Other details: Champion trainer 1996;1999 Completed full set of classic wins following Cape Verdi's victory in the Sagitta 1000 Guineas. First Royal Ascot win: So Factual (June 22, 1995 - Cork and Orrey Stakes) Royal Ascot wins: (16) Cork and Orrery Stakes (1995 So Factual), Queen Anne Stakes (1996 Charnwood Forest, 1997 Allied Forces, 1998 Intikhab, 1999 Cape Cross), Gold Cup (1996 Classic Cliche, 1998 Kayf Tara, 2000 Kayf Tara), Chesham Stakes (1996 Shamikh), Hardwicke Stakes (1997 Predappio), Windsor Castle Stakes (1997 Asfurah), Prince of Wales's Stakes (1998 Faithful Son, 2000 Dubai Millennium), Ribblesdale Stakes (1998 Bahr, 1999 Fairy Queen) King Edward VII Stakes (1999 Mutafaweq) Wins this season: 11

Winning jockey:-Name: Kinane, Michael Joseph.Born: County Tipperary, Ireland, 22/6/59.

Apprenticeship: With Liam Browne. First winner: Muscari (Leopardstown 19/3/75) Classic wins: (4) Vodafone Derby (1993 Commander In Chief); Sagitta 2000 Guineas (1990 Tirol, 1997 Entrepreneur, 1998 King Of Kings) Other major wins include: Melbourne Cup (1993 Vintage Crop), Irish Oaks (1989 Alydaress, 1996 Dance Design), Prix de l'Abbaye (1985 Committed), St James's Palace (1992 Brief Truce, 1994 Grand Lodge), Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (1989 Carroll House, 1999 Montjeu), Eclipse (1993 Opera House, 1997 Pilsudski), Irish St Leger (1993, 1994 Vintage Crop), King George VI and the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes (1990 Belmez, 1994 King's Theatre), Ascot Gold Cup (1996 Classic Cliche, 2000 Kayf Tara), Fillies' Mile (1996 Reams Of Verse); Cheveley Park Stakes (1995 Blue Duster); Dewhurst Stakes (1994 Grand Lodge); Coronation Stakes (1994 Kissing Cousin); July Cup (1999 Stravinsky); Nunthorpe (1999 Stravinsky); Derby Italiano (1992 In A Tiff, 1995 Luso); Hong Kong Invitational Bowl (1991 Additional Risk), Irish Champion Stakes (1997 Pilsudski), Dubai Champion Stakes (1997 Pilsudski), Racing Post Trophy (1997 Saratoga Springs), Japan Cup (1997 Pilsudski), Prix Morny (1998 Orpen, 1999 Fasliyev); Phoenix Stakes (1999 Fasliyev), Prix de la Salamandre (1999 Giant's Causeway), Grand Criterium (1997 Second Empire, 1999 Ciro), St James's Palace Stakes (2000 Giant's Causeway), Other details: Champion Irish apprentice 1978. Irish champion jockey ten times. Rode primarily for Dermot Weld until 1998, now stable jockey for Aidan O'Brien. Royal Ascot wins: (25) Major Royal Ascot wins: St James's Palace Stakes (1982 Dara Monarch, 1992 Brief Truce, 1994 Grand Lodge, 2000 Giant's Causeway), Gold Cup (1996 Classic Cliche, 2000 Kayf Tara)



THIRD RACE WIN QUOTES
THE GOLD CUP

KAYF TARA
SURVIVES ENQUIRY

Godolphin's Kayf Tara landed his second Ascot Gold Cup having come out best in both a photo finish with Far Cry and stewards' enquiry for the race.

After the result of the enquiry into two incidents of interference was announced, Godolphin's racing manager Simon Crisford said: "I'm incredibly relieved. The horse is a superstar and has now won eight Pattern races, more than any other horse to race for Godolphin has ever done - Daylami only won seven.

"He has plenty of heart and is very brave - he must be one of the best stayers of recent years because he is so consistent.

"Remember he had a very serious suspensory ligament injury three days before the Melbourne Cup last year. He had the whole winter off and had a trouble-free recovery, basically because he was out of training.

"He will be dropping back to a mile and a half for the King George now. We did it with Classic Cliche and he managed to finish second to Pentire. If the ground is soft, he would have a great chance, he will go well even if it's good. We will probably also run Fantastic Light in the race.

"He is not a two and a half mile horse. He doesn't really get the trip, he's just very classy.

"I can't explain what happened today, he seemed to lose his hind legs a bit. He has gone to win his race and then hung to the right."

Jockey Michael Kinane added: "You're always worried when interference happens but I never felt I would lose the race.

Mick Kinane, after the stewards' decision to let Kayf Tara keep the Gold Cup, said: "I never felt I would actually lose it.

"In the first incident, we made contact and my horse seemed to lose his balance a bit - the other horse seemed to come out marginally to meet me - and I didn't think there was any interference in the second incident. I was a little bit anxious.

"They had gone a nice gallop and I moved into the race very sweetly and then, as I got there, the second horse kept picking up.

"My horse is ideally a mile and a half, mile and six horse, but he is so classy that it enables him to stay."

Malcolm Wallace, the Jockey Club's Director of Regulation, said: "The stewards had to decide whether intereference took place and I think it was pretty clear that it did.

"There were two possible incidents - the first one affected the horse who was fourth and they considered that to be accidental - Mick Kinane could do nothing to have avoided that - the horse dived across. They had to decide whether the horse had improved his position over the horse who was fourth and the answer was no.

"They looked at the second incident, against the second beaten a head - they thought there was virtually no interference and it had not improved his position so he kept the race."

PLACED QUOTES RACE THREE
GOLD CUP

PIPE DID NOT ANTICIPATE GETTING THE RACE

"I don't think that we will get it," said Martin Pipe as the stewards deliberated into the interference between Kayf Tara and San Sebastian, who finished first and fourth in the Gold Cup after San Sebastian had been crossed by the Kayf Tara.

Far Cry was slightly impeded in the second incident, but neither Pipe nor owners Patrick and Nicky Chambers felt that it had cost Far Cry the race.

They were all delighted with the way in which Far Cry had run. "He was brilliant, fabulous and we are delighted, " said the owners.

The display by third-placed Compton Ace gave great pleasure to his trainer Gerard Butler, all the more so as the horse was out of action for the rest of the season after winning the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood last year.

"That was on July 27 and he did not have a saddle on him until December or January after that," Butler related.

"In the morning I expect he will be like me after I have had a hard game of rugby, he will be stiff and sore and feeling his exertions, but if he is sound we might bring him back for the King George.

"He is also in the Irish St Leger later on and that was a very good run. I told Richard (Hughes) not to leave the inside, they almost always fan wide off the rails on the home turn, and he got a marvellous run up the fence.

"You might argue that perhaps he did not quite stay two and a half miles, but he was comfortably clear of the fourth horse and I am delighted with him. All being well we will be back here with him next year."

TODAY'S WINNERS AT ROYAL ASCOT

"She has always been good and I believe in her but it took some balls to come here after finishing last in the Oaks," said Channon. "I always thought she was a nice filly with a lot of ability but she had just never put everything together.

"When she was fourth in the Musidora, she was beaten two lengths at most and had been very unlucky. In the Oaks it was too soft for her and Michael said she didn't really handle the hill. We were disappointed by that because her blood was good and she had been working well.

"We decided to drop her out today to switch her off and fortunately it worked. They went a real good clip and she actually got into a bit of bother up the straight and would have been an unlucky loser.

"She's in the Yorkshire Oaks and Irish Oaks and all those sort of races. But every day's a different day with a filly, so we'll have to see."

Winning rider Michael Roberts added: "In the Oaks she didn't like the hill but had been travelling well.

"I thought she had a big chance at Epsom because at York there had been no pace and she got knocked about at the back and ran a very good race to be fourth.

"I asked Mick if I could switch her off today and luckily he agreed. I think fast ground is her forte and on her day when everything goes right she can take on the best."



3.05 Norfolk Stakes-Superstar Leo
WINNING QUOTES RACE TWO
CORK AND ORRERY STAKES

LESTER COMPLETES THE TREBLE

Having ridden 116 winners at Royal Ascot and trained one as well (Cutting Blade in the 1986 Coventry), Lester Piggott made the number one spot as an owner when Superstar Leo, whom he also bred in partnership with Tony Hirschfeld, scorched home in the Norfolk Stakes.

"It is very nice to own a winner here, but it is not the same as riding them," said the maestro after Richard Quinn had brought Superstar Leo home a length and a quarter in front of Bouncing Bowdler.

Lester's first winner at the meeting was on Malka's Boy in the 1952 Wokingham, and his final riding success came in 1993 when Superstar Leo's sire College Chapel won the Cork and Orrery.

And he was very much instrumental in the fact that the filly ran here at all as Superstar Leo's trainer, William Haggas related: "The idea had been that she would go for the Super Sales Sprint at Newbury, in which she was on only 7st 12lb, but Lester persuaded me that she ought to have a crack at Ascot.

"We decided to bypass the Queen Mary and have a go at this, and I think she has won it a bit easily."

The filly was sent up for sale as a yearling and was genuinely on the market, but interest was very limited and Lester's daughter Maureen, wife of the winning trainer, was able to buy her for only 3,400gns.

"She was genuinely there to be sold, there was no plan to buy her back cheaply to run her in auction races," Mrs Haggas related. "But as things turned out they have worked out very well. Once we had bought her my father came back and he now owns 50% of her."

Mrs. Haggas, whose increasingly famous pink and white check macintosh almost matches her father's colours of cerise with a white hoop and sleeves, has 15% of the filly.

"We really did not know how good she was," said Haggas as he looked back at the filly's two wins at Catterick, "and though we were at first very keen on the idea of the sales race at Newbury, we decided to give it a go and come here.

This was Haggas' second win at a Royal meeting as he also sent out Yeast to land the Royal Hunt Cup four years ago.

3.45 Gold Cup-Kayf Tara

4.20 Cork & Orrery Stakes-Superior Premium
WINNING QUOTES RACE FOUR
CORK AND ORRERY STAKES

FIRST ROYAL MEETING SUCCESS FOR FAHEY

Richard Fahey landed his first Royal meeting winner when Superior Premium sprang a 20-1 surprise in the Cork and Orrery, but he was not that amazed at the result and part-owner JJ Gilmartin had been sufficiently confident to take some long odds about the horse.

"He has become very lazy at home and has taken some time to come to himself this year, but in the last two weeks he has been going really well. He was in very good shape and I had expected him to run a good race, though I did not think that he would beat the favourite.

"The important thing with him is to get him settled. If he runs too free he takes a breath when the others start to quicken and then when they go on he then goes backwards. So I told Johnny (Murtagh) to get him relaxed and get plenty of cover, and it all worked out to plan."

Murtagh is delighted by the way the meeting has gone for him, with three successes so far. "I look at the winner's board and see names like Kieren Fallon and Mick Kinane on there, and then I see the name of J Murtagh up there as well - it's a good feeling," he smiled.

"I lost maybe half a length when the stalls opened, and you want to make sure that does not soon become a length or two lengths, but there was plenty of pace around me and I was able to get some good cover. He picked up really well when I asked him to and he has won well."

Fahey paid only 2,200gns for the winner as a yearling at Doncaster and then I sold him on to JJ and to his brother-in-law James Parsons," the trainer added.

Gilmartin feels that Ascot is very much a favourite track for Superior Premium. "He really loves this track," he said of the six-year-old, whose biggest triumph before this had been in the Vodafone Stewards' Cup at Goodwood.

"He has been fourth in this race and third in the Wokingham and, though we were a bit worried about the ground, as he does like to get his toe in, it was pretty firm when he won at Taby in Sweden last year.

"When he ran disappointingly at Sandown last time he was very badly drawn and really had no chance from that starting position."


4.55 King George V Handicap-Give The Slip
FIFTH RACE WINNING QUOTES
THE KING GEORGE V HANDICAP

PERRETT GIVES RIVALS THE SLIP

Amanda Perrett sent out her first winner at Royal Ascot when Give The Slip - giving jockey Pat Eddery his 70th success at the meeting - prevailed in the King George V Handicap.

"We were shouting him home with a vengeance," said Perrett. "Pat's ridden some super races for us this week, he was just beaten on Tillerman, and there is nobody better than him at a big meeting in a big race.

"Pat has really made this horse this year although Tim Sprake did a lot of good work on him last season.

"Over the weekend, we thought he was our best chance of a win this week. The plan was to come here and I will have to talk to (husband and assistant) Mark and the owners before deciding on a programme for him.

"That has got us off the dreaded 13 for the season which is always a relief, I haven't had a winner for a week or so."

Perrett's father Guy Harwood saddled Carlingford - also ridden by Eddery - to win the King George V Handicap in 1989. She added: "Having been brought up at Coombelands surrounded by brilliant horses, it is great to have horses good enough to compete here."

Eddery added: "I remember Carlingford well - he made all the running and never got caught, and this fellow was in second virtually all the way.

"I've been very lucky with Amanda this year, riding a few winners. It's great because I had a lot of good wins with Guy.

"It's very nice to have made 70 wins, but I've been coming here quite a few years (his first Royal Ascot success was in 1969) and hopefully I'll be back for a few more yet."



5.30 Britannia Handicap-El Gran Papa

WINNING QUOTES RACE SIX
THE BRITANNIA STAKES

"THAT WAS THE PLAN,"
SAID GOSDEN

"In the words of Bernard van Cutsem that was the plan," said John Gosden after El Gran Papa had just got the better of Sign Of Hope, before adding that in some ways he would not have minded a dead heat as he also trains eight horses for George Strawbridge, owner of the runner-up, who is trained by Ian Balding.

"We have laid him out for this, which you have to do if you want to have a winner at this meeting. It takes about two months of planning to get things right.

"I thought he would run a big race though the morning price of 4 or 5-1 was a bit mean. I guess I should not have spoken about him at the press conference here last week, that ruined the price!

"He loves fast ground and if it had rained he might well not have run; he was very brave when it came to a battle in the last furlong. He is no more than a handicapper at the moment; if he had carried 9st 7lb or so you can start thinking of better quality races, but he had 8st 4lb and so his future will be in the hands of the handicapper.

"It was a good old 1-2 American exacta. Tom Tatham, who owns the winner is a Texan who is in the oil business. He had horses with me when I was in California and has four with me now. Tatham also owned the Breeders' Cup Classic winner Skywalker.

"It has been very hard early this year getting sorted out at Manton, particularly with the wet weather in the spring, and it has been a real team effort."

This was the third time that Gosden has won the Britannia, following Plan B and North Song, but for Frannie Norton this was a very first Royal meeting winner.

"It is very good to have a winner here, this is the premier meeting of the season," said Norton who is enjoying by far and away his most successful season.

"I really got there a bit soon on him but he ran on really well and gave me the help I needed when I asked him to," the jockey added. "I just hope the season keeps on going like it has been."

TODAY'S CROWD


The attendance of Ascot Gold Cup Day - Ladies Day - came to 72,546, up 3.1% on last year's 69,860. In 1998 the attendance was 67,326.

11 DECLARED FOR HARDWICKE

The full list is:

Mutafaweq-Saeed bin Suroor-Richard Hills
Blueprint-Sir Michael Stoute-Pat Eddery
Fruits Of Love-Mark Johnston-Olivier Peslier
State Shinto-Saeed bin Suroor-John Velazquez
Shiva-Henry Cecil-Richard Quinn
Commander Collins-John Gosden-Richard Hughes
Gold Academy-Richard Hannon-Dane O'Neill
Greek Dance-Sir Michael Stoute-Johnny Murtagh
Mutamam-Alex Stewart-Willie Supple
Urban Ocean-Aiden O'Brien IRE-
Yavana's Pace-Mark Johnston-Darryll Holland

SEVEN IN KING EDWARD VII

KING'S BEST WORKS OUT

The Kingmambo colt, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, worked over seven furlongs under his regular partner Kieren Fallon, scoring by two lengths from his galloping companion Shablam.

Joe Mercer, racing manager to owner Saeed Suhail stated: "King's Best is in everything. He'll work again on Saturday and we'll decide afterwards."

For old articles (from 1st March 2000) go to the Newslink Archive

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