Nostrum will make a belated three-year-old debut at Newmarket on Thursday after recovering from a setback that scuppered his Classic hopes.
Unbeaten in his first two starts as a juvenile, including when impressing in the Tattersalls Stakes at Newmarket in September, the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Nostrum was last seen finishing third to fellow Juddmonte runner Chaldean in the Dewhurst Stakes.
Those performances saw Nostrum priced as short as 8-1 for the 2000 Guineas, but the son of Kingman missed out on an early-season return to the Rowley Mile and was similarly ruled out of appearing in the French and Irish equivalents.
He will be a warm order as he lines up against five rivals in a strong renewal of the Edmondson Hall Solicitors Sir Henry Cecil Stakes.
“He’s in good shape and has been ready there for the past few weeks,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owners Juddmonte.
“This is the first opportunity to start him back. He seems in good shape and Michael and his team, and Ryan (Moore) all seem very happy with his work and we’re excited to get him back on track.
“He’s still full of promise and his work at home has been good so hopefully, touch wood, we have a clear run for the rest of the season.”
The Shadwell-owned Mostabshir has run three times this season, latterly when almost eight lengths adrift of subsequent Eclipse hero Paddington in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Winner of a Kempton all-weather novice on his sole juvenile outing, Jim Crowley’s mount started his Classic season with a fifth-placed effort in the Craven Stakes, before winning a novice by five lengths under William Buick at York.
Angus Gold, Shadwell’s long-time racing manager, is hopeful the John and Thady Gosden-trained son of Dark Angel will find his optimum level.
“We aimed high early in the year and came back and won very well at York,” said Gold. “He ran fine in the St James’s Palace. We dropped him straight into Group One company and it was always going to be a big ask.
“It will be good to get him back into this sort of company, albeit there are some very good horses and potentially very good horses in there.
“We just need to get on with him. It has been a bit stop-start with him in terms of dropping him straight in the deep end, didn’t work, came back won very well, then back in the deep end. We just need to just find his level.
“This is Listed level and this should be very interesting. It’s a potentially a very high-class race, so it will be very interesting to see how he gets on against them.”
Roger Varian saddles both unbeaten Embesto and New Endeavour, who bids to go one better than when touched off narrowly by Docklands in the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot.
In an intriguing affair, Charlie Appleby runs similarly unbeaten Imperial Emperor, who won a maiden on the Rowley Mile in October and followed up on his return on the July course in a novice over this mile course and distance 19 days ago.
The field is completed by Wildfell, who goes up in class and seeks a fifth successive victory for Peter Chapple-Hyam.
Connections of Passenger will bide their time before making any plans for the colt, who is back in work following a break.
Trained by Sir Michael Stoute and owned by the Niarchos family, the three-year-old son of Ulysses flashed plenty of ability in three runs this term.
A late developer, he saw the racecourse for the first time in April and powered to a three-length victory in the Wood Ditton, a maiden over mile at Newmarket.
Withdrawn from the Dee Stakes at Chester due to soft ground, connections paid £14,000 to supplement the colt into the Group Two Dante at York.
Though keen early in the extended 10-furlong contest, he finished an unlucky-in-running third to The Foxes, beaten a length and a half.
Supplemented for the Betfred Derby at a cost of £85,000 just days before the Epsom Classic and bidding to give the trainer and jockey Richard Kingscote a second successive victory in the blue riband after Desert Crown last June, he was keen again and did not see out the mile-and-a-half trip, eventually finishing 12th of the 14 runners.
Alan Cooper, racing manager to the Niarchos family, said he is likely to revert back to 10 furlongs for the time being.
He said: “Passenger is very well and has come back into work after his race in the Derby, and Sir Michael will make a programme in due course.
“He said that he is now back in work and is very happy with him.
“I think the targets will be clarified when he is ready to run, but I think they are more likely to be over 10 furlongs than 12 furlongs.
“It is way too early to speculate (on any targets). He is a lovely horse and we will give him all the time to mature and then go from there. Good ground is what he would want. He wouldn’t want heavy ground.
“He had three races in quick succession, so the decision was taken to give him a bit more time.”
A decision on who rides Pertemps Network July Cup favourite Shaquille is unlikely to be made until minutes before declaration time on Thursday morning.
With former champion jockey Oisin Murphy, who partnered him to a remarkable success in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot, suspended, James Doyle, who rode him to win his two previous races, had been next in the frame.
However, Doyle is required at Ascot by his principal employer Godolphin so a rider has yet to be confirmed, but it will come as no surprise that trainer Julie Camacho and her husband and assistant Steve Brown have been inundated with offers.
“There has been lots of interest from people interested in riding him,” said Brown.
“We are obviously waiting to see who is available. Oisin (Murphy) wasn’t booked until 9.50am on Thursday when he won on him at Royal Ascot and Martin (Hughes, co-owner and breeder) is quite relaxed about waiting until Thursday morning and seeing who is available.”
One man who may be free is Ryan Moore, with the participation of his intended mount Little Big Bear described as only 50-50 by Aidan O’Brien on Monday.
“Martin used to have horses based in the south in the past and has dealt with a lot of jockeys, so he said we’ll have a conversation on Thursday morning after we have seen who has been declared,” said Brown.
“James is going to Ascot to ride for Godolphin, we do know that, which is a shame for us because it made things incredibly easy.
“It has always been a bit of a topic of conversation with this horse as he has run seven times and had four different jockeys, but the guys have managed superbly well and hopefully it will be the same on Saturday.”
When it was put to Brown that Moore may be available, he said: “It’s a possibility isn’t it, but we need to let their situation finalise before that discussion can take place. We’re aware that may be a possibility.”
Shaquille’s remarkable win at Ascot, when he gave away at least five lengths by fly-jumping out of the stalls, was a first Group One success for Camacho and Brown and they have been surprised by the level of goodwill which has come their way since.
Brown said: “It’s a great feeling. Jules was saying yesterday when we were coming down to Newmarket how many good wishes we’ve had since Royal Ascot and how pleased people are for us, as we are small to medium-sized training operation. People have been so kind and that’s been such a nice surprise.
“We are looking forward to Saturday. It will be a different sort of pressure as it looks like we are going to start favourite, whereas at Ascot Little Big Bear was a short-priced favourite and we went there slightly under the radar.
“So it’s different from that perspective, but you’ve got to deal with it and what a lovely position to be and what a great position to be in – to have a favourite for a Group One race.”
In a monumental achievement for Jamaica's sporting landscape, professional IFBB Pro League athlete Kristen McGregor has emerged victorious in the Figure category at the Mr. Big Evolution Pro competition held from July 7-9 at Casino Estoril in Portugal.
McGregor's exceptional stage presence, posing prowess, and remarkable physical conditioning captivated the entire room, earning her the champion title in her category. This remarkable victory now paves her way to compete at the prestigious Ms Olympia contest later this year.
Reflecting on her journey, McGregor expressed gratitude for the triumph, acknowledging the challenges she had faced in the previous year.
"Last year was a tough year. I took off the season following my first show due to several unforeseen obstacles," she shared. However, with unwavering faith in God and a resilient mindset, McGregor approached her training with determination to secure her spot at the Olympia Championships set for November 2-5.
"I trained for one year and entered my first competition, Mr. Big Evolution Pro, with a strong mind and determination to qualify for the Olympia Championships, and just as planned, it was executed, and I qualified," McGregor revealed.
This achievement marks a historic milestone in Jamaica's bodybuilding scene, as she becomes the first and only female representative from the nation to progress this far in over 25 years.
While the realization of her qualification for the Olympia stage is still sinking in, McGregor embraces the tremendous feeling of accomplishment. "It is indeed a tremendous feeling to have achieved this accomplishment," she expressed. However, she also hopes for greater support, be it financial or through endorsements, from her country as she prepares for the grandest competition of her career.
Acknowledging the challenges and hurdles she has overcome, McGregor expressed gratitude towards the sponsors and supporters who made her journey possible. "I give thanks to all the sponsors who made this show a possibility because it wasn't easy," she stated, extending her appreciation to Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited, Express Fitness, Millennium Technical Services, Champion Industrial Equipment, Dr. Alfred Dawes, other contributors/donors, and her family.
While McGregor relishes the joyous moment of victory, her focus quickly shifts to the daunting task ahead. "Right now, all I am thinking about is coming back home and eating some 'nice food' and getting back in the game because Olympia ain't no joke. This is where the big dogs come out!" she exclaimed.
McGregor is expected to arrive home in Jamaica today, Wednesday, July 12.
Jockey Dane O’Neill is expected to make a full recovery despite sustaining fractured vertebrae and ribs in a fall at Wolverhampton on Tuesday.
The veteran rider was taken to hospital after a fall from Eagle Eyed Tom in the opening race.
The gelding, trained by Charlie Hills, appeared to stumble and clip heels when leaving the stalls in the Sky Sports Racing Sky 415 Handicap, unseating him.
The race was abruptly stopped and voided, while O’Neill was attended to by paramedics on the track before being stretchered off and taken to hospital.
An update on the Facebook account of O’Neill’s wife Laura, read: “Following his fall at Wolverhampton, Dane was treated on the track before being transported by the racecourse ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
“He had a prompt assessment including scans where a fractured thoracic vertebra and some fractured ribs were discovered.
“Dane is likely to have surgery in the next few days and the expectation is he will make a full recovery after a period of rehabilitation.”
The post added: “Dane and his wife Laura would like to thank the medical staff for their care and are grateful for all the best wishes received from his friends and colleagues in racing.”
O’Neill is a key member of the Shadwell operation and racing manager Angus Gold was relieved about the prognosis.
He said: “That’s fantastic. That’s the only important bit – that he makes a full recovery.
“From our point of view, you hate to see that happen to anybody, but from a Shadwell perspective, he is a huge part of our operation.
“We are certainly going to notice his absence very strongly, but all that matters is that he gets better.
“We just wish him the speediest of recoveries and hope they operate soon, and get him back on track.
“As long as he’s all right, that’s all we care about – and we can’t wait to get him back as soon as he is mended.”
O’Neill has ridden 23 winners in Britain so far in 2023 and landed two Group One races at Meydan earlier this year, including Danyah in the Al Quoz Sprint on Dubai World Cup night.
“He is a massive part of the operation, not just on the racecourse, but he rides a lot of work, all around Lambourn for us in particular, and is hugely helpful to all of us,” Gold added.
“He has a good relationship with (head of Shadwell) Sheikha Hissa, and obviously she is very concerned about him. Hopefully, it will all go smoothly for him and we all send him our best wishes.”
George Boughey will walk the track before deciding whether to let Via Sistina take her chance in the Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket on Friday.
The improving five-year-old broke her Group One duck last time out over 10 furlongs in the Pretty Polly at the Curragh.
She is due to drop back down to a mile on the July course but Boughey says there must be enough ease in the ground to enable her to show her best.
“We will work as if she is running but she needs the rain for her to run,” he said.
“The Falmouth has always been a plan for her as she does look very good on a straight track, but softer ground is key to her.
“There are lots of times she could run where she will get soft ground and we are not going to do anything that is not in the best interests of the horse.
“If it did rain, she will be very competitive. We will walk the track and if it is the same as Ireland last time I imagine she will take her chance, but if it is any faster she won’t.
“For her pedigree, if she was to win a Falmouth she would be pretty sexy.”
Via Sistina is one of nine declared for the one-mile Group One that headlines Friday’s action, with a stellar cast lining up on the July course.
Defending champion Prosperous Voyage is one of two for Ralph Beckett and is joined by Royal Ascot runner-up Remarquee, with the Coronation Stakes second making her first outing for new owners Wathnan Racing.
John and Thady Gosden are also double-handed as they saddle not only last year’s Prix de Diane winner Nashwa, but also the Juddmonte-owned Coppice.
The Sandringham scorer was partnered by Frankie Dettori when triumphing at the Royal meeting, but with the Italian serving a ban picked up at the summer’s big week, Tom Marquand picks up a rare Clarehaven ride and deputises aboard the progressive three-year-old.
Ed Walker’s Random Harvest is another to bring smart Royal Ascot form to the table, while Roger Varian’s Ameynah was last seen finishing sixth in last year’s 1000 Guineas and returns from 439-days off the track.
Pam Sly’s Astral Beau and Aidan O’Brien’s Never Ending Story complete the field.
German 1000 Guineas runner-up Stenton Glider could be on her travels again later this year as Hugo Palmer plots a course for America with the talented filly.
The three-year-old has thrice finished runner-up in four starts this term, taking the silver medal in the Fred Darling at Newbury and again in Dusseldorf, before achieving another second-place effort when collared late on by Mystic Pearl in Saturday’s Coral Distaff at Sandown.
She was also unplaced behind Mawj in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket on her second start this term.
Palmer felt Andrea Atzeni’s mount was a little unfortunate not to add to her Chester novice win as a two-year-old on her latest run in the Listed mile contest.
He said: “She was unlucky in some regards. She fended the other two off, they softened her up, Bridestones (third) and Magical Sunset (seventh), but she is rated 10lb higher than Bridestones.
“She is a very genuine filly, she’s tough and she tries, but she is also one of those that just does enough.
“I think she was content in herself that she was just doing enough and William’s (Haggas) filly has just come wide and late, and done her without any chance to respond.
“It was difficult from that draw (10), as I don’t think Andrea could have done anything else, as if she’d had a tow into the race and been able to quicken off the heels of something, she might have gone on and been a little bit clear of them.”
Palmer has plenty of faith that the best is yet to come from the strapping daughter of Dandy Man, who will be handed entries at Ascot and Haydock.
“We will probably make an entry in the Valiant at Ascot (July 29), but we’d be more likely to go to the Dick Hern (Haydock, August 12). She is a very big filly and still filling her frame. I think she’ll be, with luck and a fair wind, a really nice four-year-old. She didn’t run until the back end last year and she is just growing and changing all the time.”
Palmer saddled Hawksmoor to finish third in the Grade One Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland in 2016 and thinks a return to the Kentucky track could be a good long-term fit for Stenton Glider.
“The priority will be to make her a stakes winner this year,” added the Cheshire handler. “I’ve always had it in the back of my mind if she could be good enough to go and warrant the trip, I’d love to take her to the QEII at Keeneland in October. I think American racing there would suit her really well.
“The priority is to make her a stakes winner now she is Listed, Group Two and Group Three placed.
“She is gorgeous and I think she will keep getting better. If she could win either the Dick Hern or the Valiant, then the Atalanta at Sandown (September 2) would be another possibility for her.”
Meanwhile Hackman, who was runner-up to the impressive Kylian in Friday’s Listed Dragon Stakes, will head to Goodwood.
Winner of a five-furlong Listed race at Chester in May, the Mehmas juvenile had little chance with the winner but has taken the race well.
Palmer said: “He is in really good order. He toughed it out to be second, but James (Doyle) has ridden him to be Listed-placed twice over that track at Sandown this year and he just said he feels like it’s a long way on him.
“So he is going to go to the Molecomb and hopefully maybe that very sharp five will play to his strengths.
“He’s not a superstar, but he is a well-above-average horse and can definitely win stakes races.”
Goodwood is also a possibility for Brad The Brief, who seems poised to miss the Group One Pertemps Network July Cup at Newmarket on Saturday in favour of the Listed Raymond & Kathleen Corbett Memorial City Plate at Chester.
“When I left him in, it looked likely there was going to be more rain, so I would say Brad The Brief is an unlikely runner in the July Cup,” said Palmer.
“But we got pretty wet up here, so I would say he’s pretty likely to run in the seven-furlong Listed race at Chester on Saturday.
“While he has never won over seven, he has always shaped like he could and if that went well, then the (Group Two) Lennox could easily be on his radar as well at Goodwood.”
Reggae Boyz Assistant Coach, John Wall, believes the team has become “more unified” since their training camp in Austria prior to the Concacaf Gold Cup in the USA.
The Reggae Boyz held a pre-tournament training camp in Austria from June 11-20 which included friendly internationals against Qatar and Jordan. The Boyz came up short in both those encounters.
Since then, however, Jamaica has seen massive improvements in their performances.
Wall, in an interview of the JFF’s Instagram page, had this to say about whether or not he’s seen improvements since the Austria camp.
“Yes, especially on the team side on an emotional and team bonding level,” he said.
“I think there are bits and pieces that are falling into place and I think we are becoming even more and more unified in our ways and how we want to win games and how we want to perform overall. That’s generally my impression, so far, being in the bubble as I am,” Wall added.
They currently have a record of 3-1 in the ongoing Gold Cup and, after a 1-0 win over Guatemala in the quarterfinals on Sunday, are all set to tackle powerhouses, Mexico, in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
The Jamaicans will be aiming to reach the Gold Cup final for the first time since 2017.
In 2021, they lost by a goal to nil against eventual champions, USA, at the quarterfinal stage.
Richard Hood is once again the man charged with moving Trinidad and Tobago’s senior women’s football programme forward, as he was recently appointed Head coach for a second time by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA).
Hood was deemed best fit for the post by a selection panel, which had to sieve through 151 applicants.
The selection panel which comprised TTFA’s technical director, Anton Corneal, Jinelle James, director women’s football, former national player Steve David and Ken Butcher, former minister of sport and youth affairs and sport director at UTT, initially narrowed the list to 30 and then to 14, before Hood and two others were interviewed.
Hood’s duties began with immediate effect, with his backroom staff which will include critical expertise in the area of performance and video analysis, to be named in short order.
“I would like to thank the NC for having faith in me as well as the interviewing committee for recommending me for the position. I am deeply humbled and appreciative,” Hood told TTFA media.
“Of course, it’s always an honour and privilege to represent Trinidad and Tobago, particularly at the senior level. We have a very challenging passage into the 2024 Gold Cup but it’s not one that’s insurmountable. I am keen to start the process as quickly as possible because we have a very short preparation time before the first assignment in September,” he added.
Hood is no stranger to the position as he once guided T&T to the quarter finals of the Pan American Games in 2011 and Concacaf Olympic Qualifiers in 2016. He also served as head coach of the Under-20 team in 2020, at the Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship, and was assistant coach of the Under-17 team for the 2010 FIFA Women’s Under-17 World Cup when the twin island republic played host.
“My immediate task is to establish the availability of players and I’ve already made several contacts in that regard. So, I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead and will approach same with tremendous enthusiasm and optimism and god’s willing, we will succeed in our task,” Hood noted.
Technical Director Corneal explained the reason behind Hood’s appointment.
“Mr. Richard Hood demonstrated during his interview and application, the necessary areas of expertise for the position. He also possesses the required experience coaching national women teams and understands the women’s competition in our region,” Corneal shared.
Hood’s first assignment in competition will be qualifiers for the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup. The qualifying tournament will take place during the Fifa women’s international match windows in September, October, and November, and will include 35 Concacaf nations divided into three leagues. T&T will play in Group A of League A alongside Mexico and Puerto Rico. They will open away to Mexico on September 26, before contesting the return leg on October 27, after which they will visit Puerto Rico on December 1 and again at home on December 5.
After 90 group stage matches, which include home and away play within each league and group, the top finishers in each of the League A groups (three teams) will qualify for the 2024 Women’s Gold Cup Group Stage. Furthermore, the second-place finishers in each of the League A groups (three teams) and the first-place finishers in each of the League B groups (three teams) will advance to the 2024 Gold Cup Preliminary round.
Sunshine Girls and West Coast Fever star, Jhaniele Fowler, has described winning her fifth Stacey Marinkovich Medal, awarded to the West Coast Fever’s MVP of the season, as an “amazing feeling.”
The dominant goal shooter led the Suncorp Super League in net points with 1516.5 and goals with 872, respectively.
Her 872 goals put her more than 200 goals clear of anybody else, with Donnell Wallam of the Queensland Firebirds coming closest with 669.
Fowler was also selected as the Fever’s Players’ Player of the Year.
“It’s an amazing feeling. I’m more than honored and elated to have been selected for this prestigious medal,” Fowler said.
She noted that having her family there to witness it made it more special.
“It definitely means a lot more to have them to celebrate this momentous accomplishment with,” she said.
With this being her fifth time winning the medal, Fowler was asked if this one felt any different than the others.
“It’s right up there with the other ones,” she said.
“Every year that I win this I try to not take it for granted because there’s a lot of work that goes into this, not only on my behalf but what my teammates have to put in for us to get here and for me to get here is so incredible. Each one means the same,” Fowler added.
Fowler will now turn her attention to the Netball World Cup set to begin on July 28 in South Africa.
“The next couple of weeks looks like me going in with my Jamaican teammates. We’re going into camp for a few weeks and then heading to the World Cup and taking that head on,” Fowler added.
The general belief in Jamaica’s senior Reggae Girlz camp is that they can progress beyond the group stages on this, their second-consecutive Fifa Women’s World Cup appearance.
In fact, Head coach Lorne Donaldson would readily declare that the possibility of his Reggae Girlz achieving the feat is by no means impossible. Still, he is under no illusion that defeating or merely taking points off the new-look, young and formidable Brazil outfit, as well as the well-organised and experienced France team, will be easy.
While their just-concluded camp in Amsterdam inspires confidence, as it assisted in fine-tuning certain technical and tactical aspects, Donaldson admits that the team is still not yet where he wants them to be with the July 20 to August 20 global showpiece in Australia and New Zealand, now nine days away.
“The camp was good; I wish we had a game which would have been the true test, but it was good, nonetheless. The players worked hard, and they seem very focused, but we're not there yet.
“We still have a few more days to go, so we start working on some of the tactical stuff and I the players are going in with a sense of purpose because they know what's at stake,” Donaldson told Sportsmax.tv shortly after arriving in Australia on Monday.
Since the start of their build up to the World Cup, Donaldson has stressed the importance of holding a tight defensive line, being very well organised and more effective when in possession, if they want to be competitive.
The 43rd-ranked Reggae Girlz will open Group F play on July 23 against the number five-ranked Les Bleues, which is now the centre of their focus.
“I think France is playing a game (against Australia on Friday), so we might get a look at what their starting squad is like and just see exactly how we want to approach the game and how we want to match up against them and just go from there. If we want to be competitive, we will need to defend, and be very well organised and when we have possession, we would like to be more effective,” Donaldson shared.
“So, we still have some tactical stuff to look at and work on. I think our players know that they have to show up and be ready to perform so that makes life a little bit easier sometimes, but yes, we have to hold them accountable for certain things especially tactical mistakes,” he added.
After France, the Girlz will then tackle 52nd-ranked Panama on July 29, before closing against 8th-ranked Brazil on August 2.
However, before all of that, they will engage on final preparation game against Morocco which Donaldson believes will serve them well to lock in their plan towards efficient execution Down Under.
“We will use that game to try some things, we will give as much players as possible some minutes because the aim is to improve the work that we're doing, and we saw some stuff that we need to clean up. So, we will use this game to do that and then look at some tape with the players to see how much more we can brush up on our execution,” the coach noted.
That said, Donaldson, who was an assistant to Hue Menzies when the Girlz were hammered 0-3, 0-5 and 1-4 by Brazil, Italy and Australia on their World Cup debut in France in 2019, said they have no intentions of going out in that manner on this occasion.
“We expect to do well and get something out of the tournament,” he declared.
“We are not going to come here to the World Cup to lay down, we are going to push to get some success. We are planning to get out of the group, whichever way we have to get it done, we intend to get it done. So, it's just a matter of how well we execute when it comes to the big day,” Donaldson ended.
Two appeals concerning the finish of the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh have both been dismissed by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board.
The Group One contest produced a messy conclusion as the George Boughey-trained winner Via Sistina drifted across the track in the final furlong, impeding the placed horses in winning by two lengths under Jamie Spencer.
Ben and Sir Martyn Arbib, who own Hughie Morrison’s second-placed Stay Alert, appealed against the raceday stewards’ decision not to revise the placings, but the IHRB dismissed that claim.
Spencer was given a six-day ban for his ride, with the jockey asking the IHRB appeals panel to reconsider the severity of the suspension.
However, that was also dismissed with Spencer ruled out on July 15, 17-20 and 22.
The suspension means he misses the ride aboard Khaadem in Saturday’s July Cup, with Rob Hornby booked to ride the 80-1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes winner at Newmarket instead.
The opening race on Wolverhampton’s Tuesday card was voided after Dane O’Neill took a fall from Eagle Eyed Tom.
The gelding, who is trained by Charlie Hills, seemed to stumble and clip heels when leaving the stalls for the Sky Sports Racing Sky 415 Handicap and unseated O’Neill in the first few moments of the contest.
The race was stopped abruptly before it could be completed and O’Neill was attended to on the track before reportedly being taken off on a stretcher.
Milton Harris is hatching an audacious plan to get Scriptwriter rated highly enough for a tilt at the Melbourne Cup.
The two-mile ‘race that stops a nation’, which will be run at Flemington on November 7, is the richest handicap run anywhere in the world and was worth over £2.5million to connections of Gold Trip, who won it last year.
There there is always fierce competition for a place in the line-up which has a maximum of 24 runners.
But Warminster handler Harris is hopeful the former Aidan O’Brien-trained gelding will show his ability throughout the summer on the Flat, starting with Saturday’s Group Three John Smith’s Silver Cup Stakes at York.
“He’s a Group horse, we’ve always thought that,” said Harris. “I’m going to tempt fate. He’s going to run on Saturday at York, I think. The main target has always been the Ebor at York.”
The Ebor victor will be given an automatic entry for the Melbourne Cup, with the York contest the only international win-and-you-are-in race.
Scriptwriter proved himself among the top young hurdlers last season, winning the Grade Two Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle Trial at Cheltenham in November.
He also landed a decent all-weather handicap on the Flat at Wolverhampton before being touched off in the Finesse Hurdle back at Cheltenham.
Scriptwriter was seventh to runaway winner Vauban in the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot on his return to action last month and while his official Flat rating is 103, he will need to improve if he is to have a chance of going to Australia.
Harris added: “I thought he ran well at Ascot from a bad draw, but just couldn’t win.
“So we are going to York on Saturday and then hopefully the Ebor. If those two races go well, we might have a go at the Melbourne Cup – if you don’t dream, you’ll never have one come to fruition, will you?”
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