Former high-quality Flat performer Wordsworth made an impressive stable debut over hurdles for new connections at Bangor.
The chestnut, who is by Galileo, was bred and owned by Coolmore previously and trained by Aidan O’Brien to runner-up finishes in the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot and the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp, plus third place in the Irish Derby.
He then changed hands at the end of his four-year-old season and was briefly campaigned by Josh Halley, picking up second-placed honours on his hurdling bow at Ballinrobe in July.
Subsequently he changed ownership and stables again and settled in with Pipe for long-term Pond House supporter Professor Caroline Tisdale.
The Nightingale House Hospice Maiden Hurdle was his first run in her silks and the horse was sent off the 10-11 favourite under Jack Tudor.
He set out to make the running and hardly saw another horse throughout, jumping with accuracy and confidence to stride to a straightforward 13-length victory.
“He did it very well, he hurdled well. He was obviously a good Flat horse and they don’t always translate it to hurdles,” said Pipe.
“He seemed to have the right attitude and I’m sure he’ll get further in time.
“He’s been very good at home, he attacks them (hurdles) and he enjoys it. We’ve been impressed with his schooling since day one.”
A return to the Flat is now on the agenda as Wordsworth holds an entry for the Cesarewitch at Newmarket on Saturday week, a race particularly favoured by Tisdale.
“He enjoyed it out in front and the plan, all being well, is that he’ll go to the Cesarewitch next Saturday,” Pipe said.
Of Tisdale he added: “She’s a very loyal owner and we’ve had some fantastic days, hopefully there are more to come.
“One of her favourite races is the Cesarewitch and that was one of the reasons for buying the horse.”
Aidan O’Brien’s Euphoric made a winning start to his career with a narrow success on his debut at Navan.
The Frankel two-year-old is out a Pivotal mare named Blue Waltz and fetched 1,900,000 guineas as a yearling when sold via Tattersalls this time last year.
The NavanRacecourse.ie Maiden was the colt’s first racecourse outing and under Seamie Heffernan he was the 15-8 favourite for the one-mile contest.
Victory did not always look a foregone conclusion as two furlongs from home the bay was in the middle of the field of 12 runners with Ger Lyons’ Rocking Tree leading the way.
The O’Brien youngster was continually gaining ground, however, and in the final strides just edged into the lead to defeat Rocking Tree by a short head on the line.
“He’s babyish, but he’s off to a good start. It’s hard for any of our horses to win first time out. The ones who do usually progress into Group horses so hopefully he will too,” said Heffernan.
“I wanted to get him organised, get him balanced and then get him going and see what was there. I’m happy he won.
“He’s well bred and his heart is in the right place, so hopefully he keeps on improving.”
Chris Armstrong, O’Brien’s stable representative, added: “He was just ready to start and he’s a lovely colt to look forward to.
“He’s still a bit of a baby, it was great to get him out at this time of year and he’s one to look forward to for next year.
“He’ll be a lovely mile-and-a-quarter, middle-distance horse. It’s grand to get him started, one run into him at least at two, and we’ll see how he progresses between now and the end of the year.
“He has still a bit to go mentally and physically.”
Poniros could have an exciting future having rubberstamped a successful reunion between Ralph Beckett and owners Amo Racing with an impressive winning debut at Nottingham.
Horses in the purple silks of Kia Joorabchian’s racing operation were a regular sight under the Kimpton Down handler’s name previously, but trainer and owner split midway through the 2021 season with the horses dispersed to other stables.
Beckett remained absent from Amo Racing’s roster of trainers for the 2022 season, but saddling his first runner in over two years for the owners, he enjoyed a winning return to the ranks with the promising son of Golden Horn, who justified 7-4 favouritism in the Bet With The World On Saturday EBF Maiden Stakes.
Immediately sent forward by Hector Crouch, he displayed a professional attitude in testing conditions at Colwick Park and made all for a taking length-and-three-quarters victory over Jane Chapple-Hyam’s Salamanca.
“He’s a nice colt and has showed up well at home,” said Beckett.
“That will probably be him finished for the year, he is still quite a weak individual, but he is a horse we like and one for the future we think.
“He’s been very straightforward since he arrived with us – he went there knowing his job because he has been so straightforward.
“First-time winners are always nice.”
Prince Alex’s five-race winning-run and Meu Amor’s Listed Eternal Stakes success were the highlights of Beckett’s previous time among the Amo training ranks and the in-form trainer was delighted to kick off his second spell with an exciting winner for the owners.
“I enjoyed training for Kia when it was going well and hopefully this is a nice horse back with us again,” continued Beckett.
“We stayed friends throughout and it’s nice to have a nice horse for him again.”
Poniros’ jockey Hector Crouch was also impressed with the performance of the youngster, as he defied both inexperience and a notorious headwind to get on the scoresheet.
He said: “He’s a lovely horse. I didn’t want to make the running, but he jumped well and no one was there. There’s a fierce headwind so he’s done well under the circumstances to keep going and he showed a really good attitude.
“I’ve only sat on him once at home and we did a piece of work on the grass. He did everything the right way round and is likeable. He hasn’t done too much at home, he’s just a really nice type.
“He has the right attitude to stay and the pedigree as well and he’s a really likeable type.”
Suriname side Robinhood will be looking to seal their spot in the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Club semifinals when they take on Atletico Pantoja of the Dominican Republic in what is expected to be an intriguing Groub B showdown at the Dr. Ir. Franklin Essed Stadion in Paramaribo, o Thursday.
Robinhood currently sit in second position on six points, just one point behind leaders Harbour View of Jamaica, while Atletico Pantoja remain alive in the hunt for a semifinal berth, in fourth place on three points.
Robinhood can guarantee their semifinal place with a draw and could even capture group honours with a win, provided Harbour View drop points in their fixture against Cibao FC, also of the Dominican Republic.
However, an Atletico Pantoja win by a two-goal margin, would be enough to send them through to the Caribbean Cup semifinals ahead of Robinhood.
Needless to say, the night should provide plenty of great drama with so much at stake.
Robinhood have been buoyed by striker Shaquille Cairo, who has four goals in the tournament, making him the joint top-scorer along with Shaniel Thomas of Cavalier.
Cairo has been as consistent as they come, scoring in all three of Robinhood’s games and has gotten help from Tuur Don, who has two assists. Jamilhio Rigters also has contributed after scoring in their last outing, a 3-2 loss to Harbour View.
Atletico Pantoja have played to three straight 1-1 draws in the group, so they will need to break that streak with a full three points if they are to advance.
Jhon Mosquera has played a vital role as playmaker with two assists, while Ronaldo Vasquez has been one of the most active players in attack with 10 shots and 84 completed passes, along with two ball recoveries.
Jamaica's Harbour View will be looking to complete their mission of a first-place finish in Group B of the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup, when they visit Cibao FC of the Dominican Republic at the Estadio Cibao in Santiago de los Caballeros, on Thursday.
Harbour View sit atop the group with seven points and have already clinched their spot in the semifinals, but they will need a victory at Cibao to assure themselves of group honours.
The East Kingston-based club has been excellent in the competition, opening with a 1-0 win against fellow Jamaican side Dunbeholden, before a 1-1 draw against Atletico Pantoja of the Dominican Republic, and an exciting 3-2 win versus Suriname’s Robinhood.
Cibao opened with a point in a 1-1 draw with Atletico Pantoja but have suffered back-to-back defeats since then. However, the opportunity is there to end on a high note.
Facundo Guichon has shown that he can find the back of the net, having scored against Dunbeholden, while Jean Lopez has an assist and leads the team in ball recoveries (8) and passes (186).
Harbour View will counter with the dynamic duo of Omar Thompson and Shaquiel Bradford. Thompson has scored in two successive games, while Bradford bagged a second half brace to spearhead Harbour View’s comeback win versus Robinhood.
Sean Levey feels it was well worth the connections of Heredia rolling the dice and supplementing her for the Virgin Bet Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday.
The Richard Hannon-trained filly won her first four racecourse appearances, culminating with success in the Sandringham at Royal Ascot in 2022.
She lost her next six races, though, three in the second half of last season and three more in the first half of this.
Back to winning ways in Listed company at Haydock in August, she won a Group Three last time out at Sandown and will now have her first run at the highest level.
“There was a moment of disappointment when she hadn’t shown improvement from the Sandringham, but she is back there now, and she deserves to take her chance in the Sun Chariot,” said Levey.
“We were a little bit disappointed she didn’t reach the heights after the Sandringham because we always thought a lot of her, but she has got over that kind of phase where she wasn’t putting her best foot forward.
“Obviously going back up to the mile in her last two starts has helped, but at the same time she has come to form at the right time.
“I would like to think there is definitely a chance she will find improvement, whether it is good enough to beat Inspiral that is yet to be seen, but she deserves to be there taking her chance.”
He went on: “I’m not sure her win at Haydock was so much of a confidence-booster as fillies can be temperamental at the best of times and you never know when they are going to put their best foot forward.
“Normally when they do put their best foot forward you want to keep on their side and that is kind of where we are with Heredia.
“She was dominant at the end of her race at Sandown, but she arrived on the back of a very decisive victory in a Listed race at Haydock.
“She has got a great turn of foot, and you ride her to utilise that and that was what we were able to do at Sandown.
“She was able to travel very strongly on what was the back of a slowly run race, but she was able to pick them up and stay strong to the line.”
Gavin Cromwell’s Royal Ascot winner Snellen will bid to return to form in the Staffordstown Stud Stakes at the Curragh on Saturday.
The Expert Eye filly was a winner on debut at Limerick in June, taking a seven-furlong maiden by three-quarters of a length in a field of 14.
Subsequently the two-year-old scored at Royal Ascot on her second run when landing the Listed Chesham Stakes at 12-1, coming home half a length ahead of Aidan O’Brien’s Pearls And Rubies.
Her next appearance was a step up to Group Two level in the Debutante Stakes at the Curragh, but she never seemed to be on a going day as she unseated Gary Carroll ahead of the start and then came home last of all.
An obvious cause for the uncharacteristic run never surfaced, but Cromwell has been happy with Snellen since and a return to action at the same track is planned for Saturday’s one-mile Group Three.
“We’re aiming her at the Curragh on Saturday, we’re hoping that not too much rain comes,” the trainer said.
“She seems to be back to herself and we’re hopeful of a nice run.
“She just wasn’t herself at all, she got very agitated and we never really got to the bottom of it but she seems to be back to herself now.”
There has been some encouraging collateral form since Royal Ascot, with Pearls And Rubies subsequently finishing second in the Group One Cheveley Park Stakes, to which Cromwell said: “That was very good to see.”
Jim Crowley is banking on reports of an imminent heatwave proving accurate to enable Mostahdaf to take his chance in the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot on October 21.
The John and Thady Gosden-trained five-year-old has taken his form to a completely different level this season, winning the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and ending Paddington’s winning sequence in the Juddmonte International at York.
The next logical step for a horse excelling over 10 furlongs would be the Champion Stakes, but his connections have been cautious to make too firm a plan given his liking for good ground.
They do have the Breeders’ Cup Turf in reserve, but that would mean stepping back up to a mile and a half so Crowley would love the weather forecasters’ predictions of a dry week leading into Champions Day to prove correct.
“If the ground is nice I’m sure he will take his chance,” he told Sky Sports Racing.
“The weather can change in between now and then but he’d go on good to soft, he has done in the past.
“I think if it came up very testing then he might reroute to a Breeders’ Cup or something, so that’s in the pipeline, but we’d love to get him there (Ascot) on good ground because it’s a great race and it would suit him, obviously, as a course and distance winner. It’s a very important race.
“We’ll take one step at a time and see if he goes to Ascot first, but that would be exciting if he went to America. It would be over a mile and a half, but he’s won over that distance and it’s over a tight two turns.
“He won out in Saudi and that is a similar sort of tight track to Santa Anita and he loves fast ground, so he’s got options and it’s great he’s been able to show us this season how good he really is.”
Legendary American jockey Steve Cauthen and the Clive Brittain-trained Pebbles are the latest inductees into the Qipco British Champions Series Hall of Fame.
Cauthen needs no introduction to British racing fans, his supreme style in the saddle having a huge affect on his contemporaries.
Often described as ‘having a clock in his head’, he was so effective on front-runners – none more so than when making all in the Derby on Slip Anchor in 1985. He repeated the feat two years later on Reference Point.
Both of those were trained by the late Sir Henry Cecil, a fellow Hall of Famer with whom Cauthen struck up a great relationship.
Now 63, Kentucky-born Cauthen is the only jockey to have ridden the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Epsom Classic and he was also the youngest ever to win the US Triple Crown.
Champion jockey three times, Cauthen still keeps an eye on the British racing scene and will be on course at Ascot on Champions Day later this month when his achievement will be marked with a special presentation.
He said: “I’m grateful to have had so many brilliant opportunities on both sides of the pond and to still be recognised for my achievements is really quite special to me.
“Having been inducted into America’s Hall of Fame some years back, it’s an honour to now celebrate my induction into Great Britain’s Hall of Fame, and I’m looking forward to marking this moment with family and friends on Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot later this month.”
Cauthen rode Pebbles to many of her great successes, including when she became the first filly to win the Eclipse in 1985.
She also won the 1000 Guineas, the Champion Stakes and went down in history as the first British-trained winner at the Breeders’ Cup under Pat Eddery.
“I first saw Pebbles about two days after she was born, and I knew even then that there was something special about her,” said Brittain.
“I used to go and see her in the paddock at weekends, where she was always taking charge of the others – she had such great spirit.
“I still think about her today and can see her fresh in my mind, particularly with her boyfriend, Come On The Blues. Theirs was a great love story and he accompanied her wherever she went – even travelling out to America with her for the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
“That day was the only time that I’ve been racing and felt nervous, but I just did the same as we’d have done at home and it all worked out.
“Pebbles was 100 per cent racehorse and she was simply a pleasure to train. I’m so very pleased to see her inducted into the Qipco British Champions Series Hall of Fame and I’m also very proud to have played a part in her success.”
Brian Ellison has three options for Tashkhan having seen his stable star get back to winning ways at Chester last weekend.
The mud-lover defied a big weight to win a valuable handicap, his first success since claiming a big pot at Haydock in July 2021.
In the interim he has performed with great credit in staying races like the Long Distance Cup at Ascot, the Yorkshire Cup and the Gold Cup at Ascot.
However, Ellison always has the problem of knowing the five-year-old is simply not the same horse unless he gets to race on soft ground.
He could now shoulder top-weight of 10st 2lb in the Cesarewitch at Newmarket, with the Long Distance Cup or the Prix Royal-Oak at ParisLongchamp alternate options, with conditions crucial to the decision.
“It all depends on the ground where next, we won’t run him anywhere unless it rains as we know what a different horse he is,” said Ellison.
“He’s in the Cesarewitch, he’s in at Ascot and he could go to France, so wherever the ground comes right he could run in any.
“When he runs on fast ground it takes him a while to get over it but I’ve got him back right again now – thankfully the rain came at Chester. That was a good performance against in-form horses and he was giving them a lot of weight.
“He’s come out of it great which is the main thing. I know he’d have a lot of weight in the Cesarewitch but if it went heavy I’d still think about.
“I’ve stopped looking at weather forecasts, the rain wasn’t forecast for Chester and it poured down.
“You’d think the ground would be soft in France, but it wasn’t last weekend and we went at the beginning of the season when they told us it was heavy, but it was good jumping ground to me.
“If I had to pick one it would be Ascot, if it’s soft there he’d run. We’ll just go where the soft ground is.”
Stuart Williams’ winning machine Quinault is taking aim at the Howden Challenge Cup in a bid for a remarkable eighth success of the season.
The three-year-old has been a hero for connections this year, being beaten only once in his last eight starts in a superb campaign that has seen him climb through the ranks from a class six event to heritage handicaps.
His rating has risen with him as he started the year on a mark of 59 and now runs off a rating of 102, with 5lb-claimer Luke Catton set to ride again as Quinault tackles the same course and distance he encountered when taking the bet365 handicap last time out.
On that occasion he defeated a good horse in Ed Walker’s Popmaster, a subsequent Listed winner in the Dubai Duty Free Cup at Newbury and therefore a favourable addition to the Quinault form line.
Williams said of the gelding: “He’s in great form, he’s got an entry at Ascot on Saturday and the plan is at the moment is that he’ll take up that entry.
“I was over the moon with him last time, he’s been a superstar for us this year.
“Whatever he does now from here on out this year is just a bonus, he’s been absolutely brilliant.”
Things may not have gone exactly how Barbados artistic gymnasts Olivia "Storm' Kelly and Anya Pilgrim would have hoped, but both still had some significant positives to boast from their FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.
An historic Olympic Games qualification was the main target for the American-based Kelly and Pilgrim, and though they came up short in that regards, both took heart from their respective performances on Monday.
Pilgrim, who was making her World Championships debut, welcomed the fact that she was able to overcome certain obstacles among the minor successes worth celebrating.
She tallied 46.500 All-Around, with scores of 13.100 on vault, 10.700 on uneven bars, 11.300 on the balance beam and 11.400 on her floor routine.
"I wholly enjoyed the experience. I hit all of my routines this time, even the skill that has been gave me some trouble at PanAms. So even though I did not have much preparation, I was able to do well, and I am happy with the outcome and the support I got from family and others on the island which makes me even prouder," Pilgrim told SportsMax.tv.
"I believe my score was an improvement from PanAms but of course the judging is much tighter at an event like World Championships. So, again, I am delighted that I was able to hit my beam routine which has been my troublesome event after my injury last year," the Jenny Rowland-coached gymnast added.
Given the fact that her inclusion in the Championships was somewhat last minute, the 18-year-old Pilgrim says her performance speaks volumes of her scope for improvement.
She pointed out that it will serve as a springboard for her to attain other goals and ambitions she has set for the season, particularly with her University of Florida team.
"I am just going to soak up the atmosphere here in Belgium while I reflect on the experience before returning to Florida to resume training for my NCAA season. This season, the goal, of course, would be to win a National Championship with my team, and achieve some personal bests of my own," she declared.
"And since I had to prepare my routines so early, I now have built up my endurance and stamina to complete routines on each event way before my season which will help me a lot. So now I can focus more on the details," Pilgrim shared.
For Kelly, it was her second appearance on the World Championships stage, and she beamed about the prospects, as she also expressed delight about improvements from last year's outing.
The 17-year-old, coached by Ashley Umberger, had scores of 13.200 on vault, 11.666 on uneven bars, 11.933 on the balance beam and 11.700 on her floor routine for an All-Around total of 48.499 for 75th overall. She rose three places higher than the 78th position she achieved last year.
"They took the top 14 girls, who are not on a team and the girl that placed 14th has a 49.965 and I finished with a 48.499 which means I basically just missed out. But even though I didn’t qualify here at Worlds, there are a few other opportunities I can use to qualify, but that depends on if Barbados will send me," Kelly explained.
"The experience was amazing overall. I’m not exactly sure what the plan is now, but if those opportunities are presented to me by Barbados, I will take them gladly. If not, I remain contented with how my elite season ended this year and I’m excited to start my new chapter in college next summer," she noted.
Ayr Gold Cup winner Significantly is likely to sidestep a rise in grade at Ascot this weekend and instead wait for the Coral Sprint Trophy at York on Saturday week.
Revitalised by the Julie Camacho team, Significantly was agonisingly beaten in the Portland Handicap over five and a half furlongs at Doncaster’s St Leger meeting, but gained compensation seven days later at Ayr.
He almost missed out again there with Joe Fanning looking for a run with a furlong to go, but when the gap came he quickened up smartly.
While connections were tempted by a crack at the John Guest Racing Bengough Stakes, the fact he would be getting only 3lb from the likes of 113-rated Commanche Falls and the 110-rated Garrus leaves Significantly, still only on a handicap mark of 98, with plenty to find.
“He’s fit and well but I would imagine that unless the race cuts up badly, we’d wait a week and go to York,” said Steve Brown, Camacho’s husband and assistant.
“It just makes more sense to run in a handicap off his current mark. There are some good solid performers in at Ascot. We were entitled to enter and have a look but realistically we might just wait a week – and it’s worth more money.
“The other thing we might have been tempted to go to Ascot had the ground been softer but at the minute it looks like being a decent week weather-wise whereas he thrives when the ground is softer.
“I know there were one or two unlucky horses at Ayr but I think if we’d have got a run earlier he would have been a bit more of a clear-cut winner than he was.
“He’s thriving at home, his confidence levels are high. Karl (Burke, former trainer) always said he had a high level of ability and was a decent horse when he was younger, they are clever people and ran him in some big races, they don’t do that unless they think they are worthy.
“Last season was a quiet one for him, as any horse can havem but I think he’s back to the level he showed for Karl.”
Hayley Matthews continued her spectacular form this year with a brilliant knock to help her West Indies Women pull off a world record run chase against world champions, Australia, to tie up their three-match T20I series at the North Sydney Oval on Monday.
Matthews smashed a 64-ball 132 including 20 fours and five sixes to help the West Indies successfully chase their target of 213.
In a post-match interview, the all-rounder said this win will give her team a much-needed confidence boost ahead of the third and final T20I on Thursday.
“A win like this at a time like this definitely means a whole lot to the team. Obviously, we’ve come down here with a lot of young girls in a learning, growing squad and to get a win like this against the best team in the world the way that we were able to do it is really going to boost our confidence and give us a lot of belief within the team,” Matthews said.
The Barbadian shared in a spectacular 174-run second wicket partnership with former captain Stafanie Taylor who made 59 off 41 balls including 11 fours. Matthews heaped praise on the Jamaican for helping take the pressure off her at the crease.
“I think when we needed 100 runs from about 50 balls, we looked at each other in the middle and said we could really get this if we keep going with the momentum. Kudos to the way she batted as well, getting boundaries on a regular basis and taking a lot of pressure off me so I’m really happy to have shared that partnership with a legend like her,” she said.
Matthews, so far, has made 213 runs in two innings in the series after her unbeaten 99 in the first T20I. She was asked what has made her so productive this year.
“Just working hard. I’ve played a lot of T20 and franchise cricket around the world and I’ve had the opportunity, at such a young age, to learn a lot about my game and the biggest thing for me has been my understanding and my technical work has been working really well,” she said.
Matthews also insisted that there is no pressure on her side ahead of the decisive third T20I.
“When we came to Australia we had nothing to lose at all. After the first game, what we did individually was look within ourselves and saw what we could’ve done better. That’s exactly what we’re going to do ahead of the next game. Yes, we won but we have so many areas we can improve in and so much learning that could take place as well,” she said.
The third T20I begins at 3:05 am Jamaica time and can be seen live on SportsMax.
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