Dreams of Glory

Dreams of Glory

By Stephen Dwyer

Former Liverpool Football player Michael Owen became interested in horse racing over twenty years ago. When he was eleven, his father asked him to pick horses for a weekly 50 pence patent bet and a lifelong attraction to horseracing ensued. Owen would score over 350 goals for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle and Manchester United and during this time he would acquire several horses. Holoko Heights, trained by Tim Vaughan became Owen’s first National Hunt horse. 

No superstar, Holoko Heights did win six low grade races but it was the dam of that horse that would bring Owen his greatest success as an owner. Treble Heights, a 12-year-old former racehorse that is now treated as a pet by Owen’s four children is the dam of Holoko Heights. The mare is also the dam of Brown Panther, Owen’s best horse and is a Royal Ascot winner.

Brown Panther powered home in the George V stakes at Royal Ascot last year. The colt finished second to Masked Marvel in the St. Leger and followed up with a listed win last month at Pontefract. To date, Brown Panther has won over £210,000 in prize money for Owen.  He is now entered in one of the most prestigious open-age flat races, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes which takes place at Ascot this Saturday.

Brown Panther is trained at Manor House Stables by Tom Dascombe. Converted from a cattle barn at a cost of millions, Manor House Stables is privately owned and operated under the watchful eye of Michael Owen. Realistically, Brown Panther does not have much of a fighting chance in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Hovering around the 20/1 mark, the colt is well down in the betting. He proved to be a major disappointment when finishing last in a small field in the Group 3 Ormonde Stakes at Chester at odds of 6/5. Stepping up to the Group 1  King George will pose a major challenge for the colt especially given the opposition. 

Saturday’s race, worth £1,000,000 has been won by some top class older horses in recent years. Montjeu, Galileo, Daylami and Hurricane Run  have all been successful.  Last year’s winner, Nathaniel, returns for a repeat bid and has attracted significant support in recent weeks. Backed from 5/1 down to 5/2, he is the second favourite for the race behind Aidan O’ Brien’s St Nicholas Abbey who leads the market at 9/4. 

Ballydoyle, with three wins in the race since 2001 train St Nicholas Abbey who is perhaps the best older horse in training. A former European champion two year old, St Nicholas Abbey has won multiple Group 1 races. Among them include the Coronation Cup, Racing Post Trophy  and most famously the Breeders' Cup Turf where Joseph O’ Brien became the youngest winning jockey in the Cup's history at the age of eighteen. St Nicholas Abbey finished third in the King George last year and returns as a five year old now but he is in fine form recently and will make a bold bid for connections.

Sir Michael Stoute’s Sea Moon also goes to post in the King George. An ultra-consistent type, Sea Moon, a 3/1 chance, has won five of his eight starts including the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at Ascot. Sea Moon was second to St Nicholas Abbey at the Breeders’ Cup and finished just half a length behind Brown Panther when third in last year’s St. Leger. Both Sea Moon and St Nicholas Abbey have a crushing turn of foot so it is set up to be a very exciting renewal of one of the top races of the flat season.

The inclusion of Brown Panther in the race was a surprise to many. Clearly Michael Owen believes that the colt will put in a big performance but in such a prestigious field he will have to put in a career-best performance.  Brown Panther’s best trip is probably over a mile and six furlongs and it was thought that Owen would would have entered the colt in France at Longchamp’s Prix Maurice de Nieuil, a Group Two over that distance.

Nothing ventured nothing gained of course and from his footballing career Michael Owen knows all too well that you miss all of the shots you never take.

Ballydoyle bid for July Cup

Ballydoyle bid for July Cup

By Stephen Dwyer

 

The July Cup is one of the most valuable and important sprint races in Europe. 

Run at Newmarket over the July course this Saturday, the 6f sprint Group 1 is part of the Global Sprint Challenge which aims to find the world’s greatest sprinter. Aidan O’ Brien is bidding to turn out his fourth winner in the race since Stravinsky in 1999, the ill-fated Mozart in 2001 and the classy Starspangledbanner in 2010. This year Ballydoyle saddle their newly acquired colt, Excelebration. A winner of 6 of his 12 starts, Excelbration has finished either second or third to Frankel no less than five times. Trained at Newmarket by Marco Botti last season, Excelebration won the German 2000 Guineas and the Group 1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp.  Coolmore bought Excelebration midway through the season and he is now the 6/1 second favourite for The July Cup on Saturday.

Excelebration was bred in Maynooth by the Owenstown Stud. He was put up for sale at Goffs in November 2008 and was subsequently sold to John Walsh Bloodstock for €15,000. The colt was then sold at the Doncaster St Leger Yearling Sale in August 2009 for £20,000 to Guiliano Manfredini. After winning the Group 2 Hungerford Stakes, Coolmore parted with a figure believed to be in the region of £1.5 million for a controlling interest in the colt. They believe that he is an improving, classy sort who will train on further.

O’ Brien also believes that Excelebration will drop back in distance without much difficulty. Although he has primarily won over 7f and a mile, Excelebration has won twice over 6f including an impressive performance at Newmarket’s July meeting. By top-class Australian sprinter; Exceed And Excel, Excelebration is destined for a stud career at Coolmore and connections will be very keen to ensure he takes the July Cup. 

In recent years The July Cup has thrown up sporadic results for Ballydoyle. Oracle was O’ Brien’s sole runner last year, finishing well down the field as his odds of 18/1 suggested. Starspangledbanner pipped Equiano by a neck in 2010 and the O’ Brien team were second to Marchand d'Or in 2008 with US Ranger. With the likes of dual-derby winning Camelot in the yard, a top class sprinter is perhaps the one class of horse missing in the Ballydoyle armoury. It is a small complaint of course; Ballydoyle has won a total of 18 Group races this season including nine Group 1’s. It is hoped Excelebration will add to that tally.

Excelebration is very well regarded by Aidan O’ Brien. Now a 4yo, he easily won his first start in Ireland when coasting home in a 7f Group 3 at the Curragh. Pitted, some would say out of his depth, against Frankel in the Lockinge and the Queen Anne Stakes, Excelebration finished second on both occasion, beaten by a total of 16 lengths. Excelebration will not have to face Frankel this time around and his greatest challenge will come from the Roger Charlton-trained Bated Breath and Society Rock, trained by James Fanshawe.

Bated Breath is a very resolute five year old. He beat Eddie Lynam’s teak tough Sole Power by a neck in the 5f Temple Stakes in May at Haydock and has also won five times over 6f. Society Rock was second to Black Caviar last time out and is also a previous course and distance winner at Newmarket. 

Aside from The July Cup, Ballydoyle appear to be mapping out a sprint future for Excelebration. He is entered in the 5f Nunthorpe Stakes at York in August. This is a race sponsored by Coolmore and would be an ideal way to finish his racing career. Going into The July Cup with an official mark of 126, Excelebration is the highest rated entry in the field and with the likely Ballydoyle pacemakers in place, he could be set up for what will be a famous victory for the all conquering Aidan O’ Brien camp.

Royal Ascot 2012

Royal Ascot

Tuesday 19th - Saturday 23rd June 2012

By Stephen Dwyer

Not by mere coincidence does Royal Ascot take place during the height of summer. What better time to stage one of the world’s most famous horse racing meetings than when the days are at their longest. By midsummer’s eve, Royal Ascot will reach fever-pitch, just as it is entitled to do.

Last year, Royal Ascot celebrated its tercentenary. Three hundred years have passed since Queen Anne set aside the rolling turf of Ascot Heath for horse racing. The Queen attended the opening day shortly afterwards. It all began with a race worth 50 guineas, today no race is worth less than £55,000.

Ascot is now the United Kingdom’s only remaining racecourse still owned by the Crown. Her majesty’s arrival via horse-drawn carriage adds an air of tradition to what is Europe’s flagship race meeting. To add to the legend, it is said the Queen, who has had no less than 63 winners at Ascot, can tell the going of the ground by the sound her carriage wheels make.

In an era where prize money in on the decline, Royal Ascot remains unaffected. They understand that to attract the world’s best flat horses, they must offer substantial prize money. The total Prize Fund for this year’s Royal Meeting will be £4,500,000, an increase of 20% on 2011 values. For owners and trainers, this is reason enough to target their stable stars specifically at the meeting. 

There are 30 races held over the course of the five days of Royal Ascot, seven of these are Group 1’s. Among them include The Diamond Jubilee Stakes, renamed this year to commemorate 60 years of Royal Ascot during the Reign of Her Majesty The Queen. Carrying prize money of £500,000 it is Britain’s most valuable sprint race and it attracts an unbeaten five year old mare that will travel almost 11,000 miles for this race.

Around Melbourne they call her the Freak with the Streak. Paying a first visit to the Northern Hemisphere, Black Caviar, the Australian wonder mare is currently the 1/2 favourite for the 6f Diamond Jubilee. Deservedly so, she has won 21 races in a row, 11 of those were at Group 1 level. In bullish fashion, the Australian Sunday Herald Sun recently carried the headline “Royal Ascot will bow down for Black Caviar”. Her addition to Royal Ascot will most certainly be a once-off and an occasion to truly savour.

Opening this year’s Royal Ascot is The Queen Anne Stakes; it is set to showcase once more the talent of the world’s best racehorse, Frankel. Fresh from his impressive win in the Lockinge Stakes, Frankel was chalked up at an early price of 1/3 for The Queen Anne and for a horse that is even money to remain unbeaten throughout his career, few would bet against him. The BHA Handicapper has recently upped Frankel to 138, this is the highest ever global rating since new classifications were and is 2lb ahead of Sea The Stars. Last year Canford Cliffs got the better of Goldikova in a narrow betting heat but this time around, it must surely be a case of Frankel galloping the field into submission; business as usual then 

One of the crowd favourites at Royal Ascot is the 2m 4f Gold Cup which takes place on Ladies’ Day. It is Ascot’s oldest surviving race. Lester Piggott won this staying event eleven times but in recent years it is Aidan O’ Brien who has made the race his own. With Yeats completing a four-timer in the Gold Cup from 2006 to 2009, Fame And Glory bids to complete a double in this year’s renewal. Fame And Glory, a high class six year old beat the highly touted Dermot Weld trained Unaccompanied on his seasonal bow recently and he is a best-priced 9/4 for the Gold Cup. Interestingly, The Gold Cup is the first leg of Britain's Stayers' Triple Crown, followed by the Goodwood Cup and the Doncaster Cup. Fame And Glory will undoubtedly start at a shorter price on the day and is likely to strip fitter. He also remains unbeaten at Ascot. A life size statue of Yeats was unveiled in the parade ring last year to commemorate the horses achievements at Ascot. Whether or not Fame And Glory can emulate his great stablemate is doubtful given his age, but in a race renowned for repeat winners, he is sure to take all the beating for Ballydoyle.

Aside from the plethora of Group 1’s, there is a multitude of top class handicaps which support the main races. The depth and value of the races at Royal Ascot attracts an international field. Runners from Australia, New Zealand, America, Hong Kong, Japan, South Africa and all over Europe have taken part  in recent years. Champion sprinter Choisir, trained in New South Wales famously won the King’s Stand Stakes/Golden Jubilee Stakes double for Australia in 2003. Little wonder then that this meeting is broadcast in over 200 countries worldwide.

Undoubtedly the racing is central to Royal Ascot but of course the other attractions are the attendance of the royal family, the high fashion of Ladies’ Day and the ubiquitous good natured atmosphere throughout the week. The local population of Ascot swells by over 300,000 during race week and it is the pinnacle of the social calendar for many.

The Royal meeting is one of the busiest weeks of the year for bookmakers. In 2011 it was estimated that over £400 million of bets were placed which was a significant increase on 2010. Given the supreme calibre of equine talent on show this year, that figure is likely to rise once more. 

Distilling the five days Royal Ascot into one phrase is no easy task but Johnny Weatherby, Her Majesty’s Representative describes the meeting as “the ultimate stage for the best racehorses in the world.” With the sun shining and the likes of Frankel, Black Caviar and So You Think on offer, who can argue with that.

Royal Ascot, summertime at its finest.

 Copyright: Betview Magazine

Trivia Box:

@AscotInsider, is the Twitter handle of Royal Ascot. With 9,800 followers it is the most popular racecourse Twitter account

Ascot has the largest number of private boxes (255) of any sporting facility in Europe.

Approximately 400 helicopters and 1,000 limos descend on Royal Ascot every year.

There are four races run at Ascot commemorating racehorses – The Brown Jack Stakes, Hyperion Stakes, Sagaro Stakes and Reynoldstown Chase.

£71 is the price of a Grandstand ticket for Saturday

The grounds of Ascot United F.C. play are at Ascot Racecourse. Their logo features a winning post.

Article References:

http://www.ascot.co.uk/pdf/MediaGuideRA12.pdf  Official Media Guide

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascot_United_F.C. Ascot F.C details

http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/ entries / cards

http://www.paddypower.com/racing/future-racing/diamond-jubliee-stakes for Black Caviar odds

http://www.paddypower.com/racing/future-racing/queen-anne-stakes for Frankel Odds

http://www.mapcrow.info/cgi-bin/cities_distance_airpt2.cgi?city3=-2223728%2CC&city4=-3561698%2CA distance between Caulfield and Ascot

http://royal-ascot.betting-directory.com/ betting figures

The legend of Camelot

The legend of Camelot

By Stephen Dwyer

Camelot, long associated with the legendary King Arthur now resides in the Kingdom of Ballydoyle. Aidan O' Brien's stable star heads to Epsom on Saturday for the Derby, many believe he is a champion-in-waiting. As short as 4/5 for Britain’s richest horse race, Camelot is fully expected to provide Ballydoyle with their third Epsom Derby winner. Camelot is unbeaten in his three starts to date, all of them over a mile. He lost his maiden tag with the minimum of fuss in Leopardstown last July before following up with a very impressive victory in the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster in October.

Aidan O’ Brien has no shortage of top class colts at Ballydoyle yet Camelot has always been held in the highest regard. It was said that rumours of Camelot’s colt's ability hadn't been so much whispered about on the grapevine as shouted from the rooftops. His win in the Racing Post Trophy in particular provided plenty of substance to the speed and ability of the son of Montjeu.

In this year’s 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, Camelot did not demolish the field so much as scrape home by a neck but he was given a well-timed ride by his regular partner, Joseph O’ Brien. Winning the 2000 Guineas by a neck might not provide enough bare lines of form for many but Camelot weaved through a quickly-finishing group and there perhaps was more left in the reserve than was called upon.

Camelot is out of Group 3 winning mare Tarfah, she in turn is by Kingmambo and the extra half-mile in the Derby should pose no problem for Aidan O’ Brien’s 3yo.  Speaking this week about Camelot’s hopes in the Derby, the Ballydoyle handler noted “Everything is fine and went well so far," said O'Brien. "Camelot was always a special horse here from day one. When he went to his maiden he was a very short priced favourite. I was very happy with the Racing Post Trophy win and then the Guineas was his first big test. He was always a very exciting horse. He is very relaxed and very straightforward but very calm." Camelot could be joined by stablemates Astrology, Father Of Science, Imperial Monarch and Tower Rock but none of these are in the same league as Camelot.

It is a full ten years since Aidan O’ Brien last won the Epson Derby. He posted back to back victories in 2001 and 2002 with Galileo and High Chaparral respectively. This year’s renewal does not look the strongest and in a race where four of the last eleven favourites have been successful, Camelot should prove he can stay the extra distance, and in some style.

You get the impression that Aidan O’ Brien is very keen to win another Derby given his recent record in the race. Over the past three years he has finished runner up every time. Treasure Beach was beaten by a head to Pour Moi last year, At First Sight was second to Workforce in 2010 and not even the very useful Fame And Glory could get near the dazzling Sea The Stars in 2009. Camelot will not encounter such stiff opposition on Saturday. His main antagonist will be recent Dante winner, Bonfire, whose odds have tumbled from 12/1 to 11/2 for the race. Bonfire, like Camelot, has only raced three times, his sole defeat was in France when finishing a luckless third in the Group 1 Criterium International over 7f at Saint-Cloud. Bonfire does not have a lot to find on form with Camelot and holds very solid each-way claims for his trainer Andrew Balding. For Balding it will be a first ever Derby runner and he is quite entitled to cast his lot.

It must be mentioned that Bonfire will be trying to emulate the likes of Reference Point and Authorized who won the Dante and went on to win the Derby. He is related to a winner over 10 furlongs but his sire won over 12 and should impart ample stamina to believe that he has every chance of getting the longer trip. What adds a little twist of fate is that both Bonfire and Camelot were raised in the same paddock at Highclere Stud.

Camelot though should prevail. The legend lives on.

Fantastic Frankel

Fantastic Frankel

By Stephen Dwyer

Is Frankel really the best racehorse in the world ? Many flat enthusiasts believe him to be. But is he really better than Big Buck’s ? Black Caviar ? The answer is; possibly, but he certainly deserves to be rated in the top three, no doubt. Hard as it is to compare the efforts of National Hunt against the speed and candour of the flat, Frankel is one of the best colts to race since the great Shergar. Ahead of last year’s Queen Elizabeth II Stakes  at Ascot, Frankel was valued by a leading Bloodstock firm at £100 million. Even then, the figure was said to be on the conservative side.

The reason for the stellar valuation is simple. Unbeaten in all of his nine starts, five of them were Group One races, Frankel appears to have it all. Speed, strength and a gruelling turn of foot that saw him win one of the most visually memorable 2000 Guineas ever held at Newmarket least season. The biggest price he has ever started at was 7/4 on his racecourse debut and interestingly the horse to finish second to him that day was the John Gosden-trained Nathaniel who would go on to win the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

In October of last year, Frankel was allotted a rating of 143 by Timeform. This was the highest mark awarded by the organisation in over forty years and their fourth highest of all time behind Sea Bird, Brigadier Gerard and Tudor Minstrel.  Fittingly, Frankel is named in honour of the late American trainer Bobby Frankel who was inducted into the Racing’s Hall of Fame in 1995. Owned by Saudi Prince Khalid Abdulla, Frankel makes his seasonal bow at Newbury in the Lockinge Stakes on Saturday May 19^th. Also entered in the Lockinge are the Aidan O’ Brien trio of Excelebration, So You Think and Windsor Palace but over his preferred distance of a mile, Frankel is likely to have little to worry about.

A best priced 4/9 for the Lockinge, Frankel's trainer has earmarked the Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot and the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown as the races to target this season. A cause for slight concern was a minor training setback in April when the four year old colt suffered a superficial injury. This caused him to miss a week’s training but even this is unlikely to affect his performance at Newbury. Frankel’s jockey, Dungarvan native Tom Queally admitted he is excited to renew his partnership with the Colt on Saturday and believes he will be a tough nut to crack.

Queally won his first ever classic in the 2000 Guineas last year when he famously said “He’s made a show of them. The one thing this horse does is gallop”. Dubbed “Frankel-stein” by the world media, not many people might know that Frankel is inbred 3 x 4 to the stallion Northern Dancer, meaning that Northern Dancer appears once in the third generation and once in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

In what is his last season in training, Frankel ‘s connections will be able to command a six figure stud fee when he retires to stud. Given the colt’s ability and what he has achieved to date, he may well retire unbeaten. The Lockinge will provide a good indication as to how much he has trained on since last year but by all accounts, racing fans are in for a treat when Fantastic Frankel takes to the track at Newbury.

Timeform's 140+ rated horses:

145 Sea Bird II

144 Brigadier Gerard, Tudor Minstrel

143 Frankel

142 Abernant, Ribot, Windy City

141 Mill Reef

140 Dancing Brave, Dubai Millennium, Sea The Stars, Shergar, Vaguely Noble.

Copyright - The Nationalist.

Six of the best

Six of the best

By Stephen Dwyer

As the 2011/2012 National Hunt season ended last week in Punchestown we take a look back at some of the highlights;

Peter Casey and his big night

Flemenstar is very, very good. He is the joint second highest rated chaser in Ireland (sharing a mark of 163 with Quito De La Roque) following victory in the Irish Arkle by 19 lengths and a peerless display in the Powers Gold Cup. His trainer, Peter Casey from Stamullen, Co. Meath was so delighted following Flemenstar’s performance at Leopardstown that in a live RTE TV interview he said to Tracey Pigott: “I can’t believe it. I’ll sleep tonight. I’ll have f**kin’ sex tonight and everything! 500,000 hits on YouTube later, Peter Casey, who is in his mid-seventies, is an internet sensation where his wife Junie deserves an honourable mention.

Quevega does is again

Queen Quevega, from the team that bought you Thousand Stars and J'y Vole, is one of the best national hunt mares in decades. She is the fourth highest hurdler in Ireland, carrying a loft mark of 161 and won the David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle at Cheltenham for the fourth consecutive year. She followed this up at Punchestown with another victory in the 3 mile World Hurdle and in doing so taking her total prize money to over €660,000.  If there is a drawback it is that we do not see enough of her; Quevega has raced just six times in the last three years. Unbeaten in all of these starts she oozes quality. Surely she deserves a crack at Big Buck’s and with that mares allowance, anything could happen.

Voler La Vedette stays in training

Voler La Vedette , the second-best racing mare in Ireland was not meant to run this season. Last Spring she was sent to Presenting but failed to get in foal.  Connections opted to re-race her and she won three of her six races and finished second in the other three.  Emulating Solerina, another very useful mare, Voler La Vedette claimed her first Grade 1 race in the Hatton’s Grace hurdle at Fairyhouse. She was a memorable second to Big Buck’s at Cheltenham and there is more to come next season for this improving mare, whose name in English means “To steal the show”. How fitting.

Davy Russell, knocking on the door

Over the course of last season, Davy Russell was the busiest jockey in Ireland. He rode in 530 races where he racked up over €1.8 Million in prize money. Last week he was crowned champion jockey for the first time at the end of the Punchestown festival.  Russell ‘s most notable wins in Ireland included Last Instalment in the Dr. P.J. Moriarty Novice Chase at Leopardstown and at Punchestown Sir Des Champs survived a last-fence gaff to take the Growise Champion Novice Chase at Punchestown. Russell was also successful aboard Dedigout  in the Grade 1 Cathal Ryan Memorial Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown where he finished a memorable season. As retained jockey to Gigginstown House Stud, the Youghal native is under no illusion how fortunate he is to ride many of the top rated National Hunt horses. He is an affable, straight-talking professional to the point that he was named as Horse Racing Ireland’s National Hunt Ambassador at the start of last season. The title of champion jockey was well deserved, he finished second in the title race five times in his career to date. Tony McCoy was quick to praise Russell “He’s competing in Ireland with some of the best jockeys we’ve ever seen – you’ve only got to look down the list of the most recent winners of the jockeys’ championships in Ireland to see how good you have to be.” In the world or racing there is no better endorsement. 

Hurricane Fly, pure class

The greatest hurdler since Istabraq, Hurricane Fly won his eleventh Group 1 race recently at Punchestown when taking the Rabobank Champion Hurdle. The son of Montjeu made amends for his defeat a month earlier in Prestbury Park when beating the classy Zaidpour and Thousand Stars to land a Willie Mullins 1-2-3 in the race. He carried the hopes of a nation at Cheltenham but all was not well in the Champion Hurdle. Sweating up beforehand, Hurricane Fly was unsettled and ran below his best. Finishing third, he failed in his attempt to win back to back titles. That said, his rating of 173 is head and shoulders above any other hurdler in Ireland and the UK. The 8yo is still the 5-1 favourite  to become only the second horse, after Comedy Of Errors in 1975, to win back the Cheltenham hurdling championship after losing it. At his best, few would bet against him doing so.

Sir De Champs, lucky O’Leary

It is now six years since there was an Irish-trained winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. When War Of Attrition won the Blue Riband in 2006, Michael O’ Leary collected the trophy as winning owner. In 2013 he hopes to emulate this success with his  unbeaten Sir De Champs. The French-bred carries crucial course form, twice a winner at the festival he won the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle in 2011 and the Jewson Novices' Chase this year, both in impressive style. Interestingly, Sir De Champs failed to find a buyer as a two-year-old in France and was again unsold as a three-year-old at the Arqana Summer Sale when bidding reached just €28,000. The horse ran in four flat races before winning a hurdle race and was then acquired privately by his current connections. He may be a short price at 5/1 for The Gold Cup but overall it is very hard to find a recurrent chink in his armour.