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Beauty to face Les Fazzani.
If John Oxx's Beauty O'Gwaun is to lay out her case for the Epsom Oaks, she is going to have to defeat the smart older filly Les Fazzani in tomorrow's Blue Wind Stakes at Naas.
Kevin Ryan's five year old was last seen chasing home the smart Dansant in a Listed Lingfield all weather contest in November, and trainer Ryan has today confirmed she is in fine form at home, and loves the soft going she will face at Naas.
If Beauty O'Gwaun can see off her older rival in some style, she could move up the Oaks betting lists by tomorrow evening.
S is for staying on.
The various connections of a three year old colt and filly beginning with the letter S believe there respective charges will be staying on in both of this week's Classic Trials at York.
Michael Bell and jockey Jamie Spencer believe Sariska has already shown in the Fred Darling Stakes that she does all her best work at the end of a race, and with the extra distance in tomorrow's Musidora Stakes, the combination believe Sariska wil have the stamina to see off the challenges of High Heeled and the Queen's Enticement.
Meanwhile, in Thursday's Dante Stakes, trainer Jeremy Noseda believes Sans Frontieres will be doing his best work towards the end of the ten furlong contest. Speaking earlier today, Noseda pointed out,
"We now know Delegator is a very good horse, and Sans Frontieres was definitely catching him towards the end of the Craven Stakes, so the Dante trip will be ideal, and I am confident he will be in the nix at the end of Thursday's race".
Good ground could make Curragh the prime option.
Brian Meehan has today confirmed the Boylesports Irish 2,000 Guineas is the main plan for Delegator's next run.
"To be at his best, he has to have good ground, and that looks likely for the Curragh on 23 May, but if we wait until Royal Ascot, it could be too firm, and then we will have ended up wasting a month. On balance, I think the Irish Guineas is his most likely option".
Sir Gerry will be better this year.
Apart from a good third at last year's Royal Ascot meeting, sprinter Sir Gerry was frankly disappointing in his three year old year, but prior to tomorrow's Duke of York sprint at the Knavesmire, both trainer James Fanshawe and jockey Jamie Spencer have made it clear, they expect much more from the four year old this season.
It is no secret Sir Gerry has been impressing on his home gallops, and connections expect him to perform well in tomorrow's Group 3.
However, irrespective of how much he shows at York, connections are said to already have one eye on his next run, which is expected to be in the Greenland Stakes at the Curragh later this month.
Dettori has first ride and victory for new Fabre yard.
In his first ride for the new Andre Fabre operation funded by owner Sheikh Mohammed in France, Frankie Dettori wore the Sheikh's old well known maroon and white colours aboard Cutlass Bay in this afternoon's Group 2 Prix Greffulhe at Saint Cloud, and the colt proved to be a very smart sort, running out a good winner, and immediately putting himself into the reckoning for the Prix du Jockey Club on 07 June at Chantilly.
The Emperor's new clothes comes to mind!
Now it might be me, and I have often been accused of being an old cynic, but yesterday's interim report by Harrison Fraser to the racing media on The Way Forward for Horseracing, smacked of the tale of the emperor's new clothes.
So far, these consultants have been working for the British Horseracing Authority and Racing Enterprises Limited for six months, at a cost of a quarter of a million pounds, and there presentation stated british horseracing has a potential market of 90% of the population, it has a hard core of around 396,000 regular race-goers, with only 10% of the population involved with the sport at some stage during the year.
Guess What? - I have virtually the same figures sitting in a report prepared by Deloitte several years ago which show exactly the same results!
My view on this situation is simple. If I were the Chief Executive of the BHA or REL, after six months I would expect far more than what has so far been offered.
We are informed, the next stage will involve consultation with the various interested bodies in racing, but they are not the new people we are trying to attract to race meetings! If any consultation is required, it should engage the members of the public who are not yet interested in horseracing activity. Ask them a series of formulated open and closed questions, and from this, we will learn what they require to start attending race meetings, and then from this information, we create a promotional model based on the results.
Creating a far reaching and potentially successful promotional plan for the future of horseracing in Britain does not involve rocket science, but it does involve common sense and a sense of direction, and at the moment, I suspect these qualities are not guiding the work being undertaken by the parties involved.
Killarney deaths unusual but not track related.
Following a total of seven fatalities at the first two days of the current Killarney three day meeting, racecourse officials and representatives of Horse Racing Ireland are strenuously denying any problem with the track at the Irish venue.
Sundays six deaths occurred in two hurdle races, one steeplechase and a national hunt bumper race, with four being due to bad jumps, while two horses sustained fatal injuries on the flat sections of the course. While in last night's Beginners Steeplechase, Pardon Me died as a result of a fall.
Although the high rate of fatalities does cause officials cause for concern, after careful examination of the racing surface, they are adamant it is just a horrific co-incidence, and does not involve any fault with the Killarney circuit.
Silver Frost to miss Royal Ascot.
Harrogate businessman John Cotton, the owner of French 2,000 Guineas winner Silver Frost, has decided his three year old star will miss the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in favour of a run in the Prix du Jockey Clubb, (commonly known in Britain and Ireland as the French Derby), at Chantilly racecourse on 07 June.
Quick turn-round success for Ordnance Row.
Having finished second to Beacon Lodge in a very competitive seven furlong Spring Cup at Haydock Park on Saturday afternoon, Richard Hannon's Ordnance Row could have been forgiven a rest, but the decision by connections to give him a quick return to the track paid dividends, and last night at Windsor, he landed the Listed Royal Windsor Stakes for the second consecutive year.
After the race, trainer Hannon commended the toughness of his six year old, and he announced an audacious plan to enter Ordnance Row in the ten furlong Group 1 Eclipse Stakes on 04 July.
Taste of Ireland comes to Irish Derby Meeting.
In what is thought to be a first, the forty thousand people who visit the Irish Derby Meeting at the Curragh between 26 and 28 June, will get the opportunity to sample some of Ireland's finest cuisine. For in an innovative move, Horse Racing Ireland have secured the services of the fifteen finest restaurant's and chefs in Ireland, and these cullinary masters will be making some of their speciality dishes available for tasting by all interested race-goers.
If this 'Taste of Ireland' promotion proves successful, it could well become a regular fixture at the three day Irish Derby Meeting.
Musselburgh complete improvements to Queens Stand.
As part of their plan to provide more flexibility in their future hospitality facilities, Musselburgh racecourse have announced the completion of around one hundred and twenty thousand pounds of improvements to their Queen's Stand.
Between their five corporate boxes in this grandstand area, they have installed sliding glass partitions, completed a major refurbishment of the underlying fabric of the first floor of the grandstand, and generally , improved the decor and furnishings in the above area.
This new layout enables the racecourse management to enlarge or minimise corporate or sponsorship hospitality areas as they see fit, but if corporate or sponsorship facilities are not required, the whole area can be converted into an extra restaurant for standard grandstand race-goers.
Kelso sign off with three new sponsors.
The Borders track at Kelso seems not to have heard of the word recession, for at their final pre summer meeting on Wednesday 20 May, they have acquired three new sponsors to ensure every race at the meeting has lucrative financial support.
If this kind of marketing endeavour can be mirrored throughout Britan and Ireland, horseracing can come out of the current down-turn stronger than ever. So we say, well done Kelso!
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