John Quinn feels Highfield Princess faces a “tough enough” test in her bid for back-to-back victories in the 1895 Duke of York Clipper Stakes.
The six-year-old was fit from a winter campaign on the all-weather when landing the Group Two prize 12 months ago, a victory which proved a springboard to a fantastic campaign.
Highfield Princess completed a hat-trick of Group One wins, landing the Prix Maurice de Gheest, the Nunthorpe and the Flying Five Stakes in little over a month before rounding off 2022 with an honourable fourth at the Breeders’ Cup.
Quinn is pleased with how his stable star is training ahead of her reappearance, but is more hopeful than confident about her chances of registering a comeback victory due to the fact she lacks race sharpness and must concede weight all round.
He said: “She’s in good shape, I’m pleased with her. She thrives on racing and I would have liked to have got a run into her, but that wasn’t possible because there wasn’t a race there.
“All her life she’s been getting the mares’ allowance off these horses. You look at a horse like Creative Force, he finished in front of us in America and finished in front of us at Royal Ascot last year when we were getting the mares’ allowance, whereas now she’s got the Group One penalty to carry.
“She deserves it, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not going to be simple.”
Win, lose or draw, Quinn hopes his star mare’s outing on the Knavesmire will put her right for a trip to Royal Ascot, where she has the option of running in the King’s Stand and/or the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes.
“We’ll get her going, I’m sure she’ll run well and whatever she does we’ll move on,” he added.
“Every year it has taken her a run or two and now she’s swimming in deeper waters.
“She’s in very good nick and I’m not being negative, but when one looks at it, it’s tough enough.”
Chief among her rivals is Creative Force, who suffered a short-priced defeat on his seasonal debut in Newmarket’s Abernant Stakes, but bolted up in a four-runner conditions race at Haydock on Saturday.
The Dubawi gelding’s trainer Charlie Appleby is happy to send him back into battle quickly.
“Creative Force enjoyed himself at Haydock in a race that rode like a piece of work for him,” the Moulton Paddocks handler told www.godolphin.com.
“He was bucking and kicking on Monday morning, while we feel conditions at York could suit him again.
“We will keep an eye on him ahead of the race and, if we continue to be happy with him, he will be good to go.”
Australian sprinters invariably do well on British soil and hopes are high for another Antipodean challenger in The Astrologist.
Beaten just a head when runner-up to Danyah in the Al Quoz Sprint on Dubai World Cup night at Meydan, the Newmarket-based six-year-old will be ridden by Ryan Moore in his warm-up for the Royal meeting.
Troy Corstens, who trains the Zoustar gelding in partnership with his father, Leon, said: “I’m really looking forward to seeing him run at York. I think he’ll run a super race if we get conditions to suit. It’s always been on my bucket list to have a runner over there and I’m very excited.
“Originally the UK trip was sort of pie-in-the-sky stuff and we booked in to go to Dubai for World Cup night. And he ran so well at World Cup night, Nick Smith (director of racing at Ascot) was speaking to us and just said, ‘Would you be interested in coming over?’
“We talked about it and after he ran so well, we thought let’s hit the ‘go’ button and head over. He’s a very good traveller – he travelled a little bit in Australia and really adapted well.
“We were very keen to get a run into him before the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee and the race at York is just an absolute perfect one for him.”
Michael Dods fires a twin assault, with recent Newmarket Listed race winner Azure Blue joined by dual Stewards’ Cup hero Commanche Falls, who finished third behind Creative Force last weekend.
“Azure Blue came out of Newmarket well and obviously likes plenty of cut in the ground. It’s a big step up in class, but she deserves the chance,” he said.
“The problem Commanche Falls has got is he’s too high in the ratings to get in handicaps and he’s probably not quite good enough for a race like this, but we’ve got to run and see how he can cope.
“Ideally he’d be better off in big handicaps like the Wokingham and the Stewards’ Cup, but he can’t get in those off 112.
“He’s in good form and the race was run a bit slow for him on Saturday. He’s come out of it well, so we’ll let him take his chance again.”
Karl Burke’s Gimcrack runner-up Marshman adds extra spice, coming here instead of waiting for Haydock on Saturday week.
“We could have gone for the Sandy Lane, but I just thought those three horses that ran in the Guineas – Sakheer, Little Big Bear and Noble Style – they all might decide to go for the Sandy Lane, so I thought this could be a better place for Marshman,” said Nick Bradley of the owning Nick Bradley Racing syndicate.
“He’s ready to go and we’re keen to see where we are. He’s run really well at York before and it’s a race a lot of my owners would love to win, so I thought we’d give it a go and see what happens.”
Ghostwriter gallop sparking Cox’s Classic dream
Clive Cox has been buoyed by a racecourse gallop ahead of Ghostwriter’s Qipco 2000 Guineas bid, confident his smart Newmarket form can prove a positive in the opening Classic of the season.
The son of Invincible Spirit was unbeaten throughout his two-year-old season and finished 2023 with a statement victory on the Rowley Mile in the Royal Lodge Stakes.
With that experience under the colt’s belt, Cox was happy to forego an early-season trial in favour of a pipe-opener at Kempton, with Ghostwriter – a general 14-1 shot to claim the scalp of Aidan O’Brien’s odds-on favourite City Of Troy on May 4 – reported to have thrived over the winter.
“I’m very happy with Ghostwriter and he has his Newmarket course form,” explained Cox.
“I’m very pleased he has done exceptionally well over the winter and we will be going there with a racecourse gallop under his belt. He’s done very well and that is why he hasn’t run in a trial.
“He’s been to Kempton and he’s a very athletic, clean-winded horse who has done well over the winter and we think that will have benefitted him far more than racing on testing ground, with his previous experience at Newmarket hopefully holding him in good stead.”
Another star juvenile for the Beechdown Stables team last season was the Kennet Valley-owned Dragon Leader, who suffered defeat just the once in five starts in 2023 as he proved a real money-spinner for connections.
Big victories at York and Redcar sandwiched a near miss in a valuable Doncaster event and Cox is eyeing stepping the son of El Kabeir up in trip this term when ground conditions allow him to return to action.
“He was a very productive runner last year earning over £300,000 in prize-money,” continued Cox.
“I’m pleased to say he’s wintered well, but he’s definitely better with a dry surface and we wouldn’t be making any concrete plans at the minute. When the ground gets a little bit quicker you will see him.
“Last year he was looking like seven furlongs would help him and I would be very hopeful he will get a mile. We kept him at six last year simply because he was so well qualified for those races. Six and a half was no problem for him at Doncaster though in the Weatherbys race.”
‘Mixed emotions’ for connections of Surrey Quest after epic Scottish National
Connections of Surrey Quest may have suffered agony at Ayr in the Coral Scottish Grand National, but could have bigger and better days on the horizon, with next year’s Grand National now entering calculations.
After four miles of action, Toby Lawes’ progressive seven-year-old was left to fight out a thrilling finish to the Ayr feature with Willie Mullins’ Macdermott, with the trainers’ title-chasing Irishman’s runner coming out on top after not only a titanic battle to the line but an excruciating wait while the judge deliberated over the result.
A standard-bearer over jumps for the Surrey Racing syndicate, Surrey Quest’s owners headed to Ayr full of confidence in their Kevin Brogan-ridden 20-1 shot after some promising results this season.
And despite being left with “mixed emotions” following the nose reversal at the hands of the Danny Mullins-ridden winner, they can take comfort that their charge has continued on the upward curve that has already seen him strike twice in his four starts this term.
“We’ve got mixed emotions and we thought the horse was in absolute brilliant shape heading up there,” said Clive Clive Hadingham, co-founder of Surrey Racing with Steve Grubb.
“Statistically we might have needed the run, but other than that everything went to plan and Toby was very meticulous in his preparations. He came here in great shape and everything went to plan, we just lost out on the nod.
“Winning is everything in this business and coming second, not matter how close, it feels like we came nowhere. We’d have been happy with a top-seven finish to be honest so we have to be proud. Kevin and Toby have done a fantastic job with this horse.
“We know he is a good horse and we wouldn’t have come up here if we didn’t think we had a chance. Surrey Racing as a company doesn’t go to races we don’t think we have a chance in and we’re just so proud of the run – we honestly thought at the line we had done it.
“Willie Mullins has so much ammunition and it’s just unfortunate we have come up against one of his and I guess the funny thing is if he wasn’t going for the championship he might not have been here today.”
Surrey Quest holds an entry for the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown on the final day of the jumps season, but his exertions north of the border make it unlikely he will try to replicate what Kitty’s Light’s achieved 12 months ago and make a rapid reappearance.
Instead sights are fully turned to Liverpool and the famous Grand National fences where Surrey Quest could take in December’s Becher Chase ahead a crack at the big one itself in 12 months’ time.
Hadingham continued: “It’s just mixed emotions, we’re so proud of him and we’ve had a super time up here in Ayr. I guess now we know we’re going to go on to bigger and better things with him.
“We might have a look at the Grand National now and we might look at coming back to Ayr again. He’s such an economical jumper that now the National has changed a bit and the fences are slightly lower, that is something we can look at.
“There’s so many big races next year he can go for and the Becher is one we will look at and we’ll take it from there.”
Arrest expected to make his mark as a four-year-old
Kieran Shoemark is relishing stepping into the boots of Frankie Dettori aboard Arrest, as the St Leger runner-up makes his return in the Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Stakes at Newbury.
Arrest played a key role in Dettori’s UK swansong last season and was a beaten favourite for the Italian’s final Derby ride at Epsom, before just failing to send the 53-year-old off in a blaze of Classic glory when second to Continuous at Doncaster in September.
Shoemark was three places behind Arrest with Gregory on Town Moor, but having taken the reins aboard many of John and Thady Gosden’s star Clarehaven inmates since the relocation of Dettori to California, he will get the leg-up aboard Arrest for the first time on Saturday afternoon.
The 28-year-old hopes the soft-ground loving colt can build on his positive finish to last season and feels there is plenty of improvement to be seen during his four-year-old campaign.
“He’s obviously a big horse and hopefully he’s going to improve with age,” said Shoemark.
“Hopefully the ground is not going to dry out too much at Newbury and we know he wants soft ground.
“His run in the Leger was brilliant – the ground went against me on Gregory, but he enjoyed it. He’s a proper mile-and-a-half horse, not short of speed by all means, and the softer the better for him.
“He’s a big, strapping horse and I honestly believe he will get better with age. He’s entitled to, so there will be plenty to look forward to for the year ahead.”
As well as winning the Chester Vase, Arrest’s other victory last term came at Newbury in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes and joint-trainer Thady Gosden is confident the race more commonly known as the John Porter is the ideal spot to kick-start the son of Frankel’s season.
“He’s a very talented horse, he ran great last year and was second in a Classic,” he said.
“He’s developed very well over the winter and is a horse of great size and quality and he’s really filled into his frame and has been really pleasing leading into this race.
“He doesn’t mind getting his toe in at all and the track and trip should suit.”
Arrest will be in receipt of 3lb from William Haggas’ Hamish, who went through 2023 unbeaten, winning on four occasions, all at Group Three level.
Hamish is one of two in the race for the Somerville Lodge handler alongside Mujtaba, but main hopes lie with the stable stalwart, who is owned by the trainer’s father, Brian, and got the better of Karl Burke’s Al Qareem on his final start of last year in the rearranged St Simon Stakes.
The Spigot Lodge-trained five-year-old is another slated to concede weight to Arrest and his trainer is excited to get Al Qareem back on track.
Burke said: “I’m looking forward to seeing him run and he’s been ready to run for the last month.
“He’s working well, a mile and a half is his minimum trip, but on this ground I’m happy to start him off there.
“He’ll step up and be a good one-mile-six and two-mile horse later in the year. It’ll be a tough race, but I think he’ll run really well.
“We were lucky to keep him and he got travel sickness coming back (from Dubai). He’s hard work at home, Danielle Mooney rides him every day and he pulls her arms out every day, but he’s a lovely horse to have.”
Simon and Ed Crisford’s Chesspiece was behind Arrest when sixth in the Leger before finishing off his season with a silver medal in the Listed Noel Murless Stakes at Ascot.
He makes his first start after being gelded in the royal blue of Godolphin, while Andrew Balding’s Alsakib steps out of handicap company after finishing last year on a real high on home soil.
Max Vega won this in 2022 and having finished third last season, returns for a third crack, while trainer Ralph Beckett is also represented by Salt Bay.
Last year’s Irish Derby fourth Peking Opera makes his first Flat outing for Gary Moore, having been seen juvenile hurdling this winter, with Jack Channon’s Certain Lad completing the line-up.
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