Westover found matters conspiring against him on his last visit to Epsom but has the chance to banish those memories when he lines up in a high-class edition of the Dahlbury Coronation Cup on Friday.
Ralph Beckett’s four-year-old was a rather unfortunate third in the Derby behind Desert Crown 12 months ago, seeing his passage blocked up the home straight and having gained compensation when winning the Irish equivalent impressively at the Curragh, will now bid to win a second Group One.
Kept in training by owners Juddmonte, the son of Frankel put up a fine performance on reappearance to chase home Japanese superstar Equinox in the Dubai Sheema Classic and is reported to be in good order ahead of his first appearance of the year on home turf.
“All has been good, he’s in great nick. He worked nicely on Saturday and the ground is good for him, everything has gone well, Ralph and his team are very happy,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for Juddmonte.
“It was a big run in Dubai, he likes good ground, we know that now. He’s a big horse with a knee action and we thought he’d go on softer ground, but I think the Arc showed us he can go on it fine but he’s better on fast ground, so hopefully we get that and he can run a big race.”
John and Thady’s Gosden Emily Upjohn will also look to correct the Epsom record having been thwarted by a short head in the Oaks a year ago.
Her quest for Classic glory took a further hit when transport issues ruled her out of the Irish Oaks, but she broke her top-level duck at Ascot in October when leaving an underwhelming display in the King George behind her to claim the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes in real style.
She makes her seasonal bow here, with Gosden senior saying in relation to her delayed reappearance: “We had a look at Dubai and it was too soon for her. We had this February and it was sort of spring like, it fooled all of us and the fillies and then along came a cold and wet March and April and a lot of the fillies just went back into themselves.
“A lot of the colts did similar and then we’ve had a lot of testing and heavy ground, so I think it’s been a bit of a muddling first part of the season with a combination of the two. To that extent she was very much taking her time, but she seems to be coming to herself now.”
In contrast, Point Lonsdale has already been seen twice this term and will now try a mile and a half for a first time as he bids to add to his winning sequence.
A smart juvenile, the Aidan O’Brien-trained colt was seen only once last season due to a setback, but is unbeaten since his return this year, following up a game success in the Alleged Stakes by claiming the Huxley Stakes at Chester.
“It’s going to be interesting and we’re interested to see what will happen over a mile and a half,” said O’Brien.
“He’s always looked like a horse crying out for this trip. We kept him at seven as a two-year-old because at the time he was our best one over seven, but he always looked like he wanted a mile at two.
“He then ran in the Guineas and got injured and started back at the Curragh this year on very soft ground, so we didn’t know what would happen there because he’s a very good mover.
“He won well that day, looking like he’d get further. After that we were thinking of this race, so to try to get him as sharp as we could, we felt the best way to do that was Chester. It was a little bit sharp but it all went well. It’s going to be interesting.
“It’s a very good race, five very good horses and that is how you want every race. Win, lose or draw, you want the best horse horses in the best races and you can learn about your own horses going forward, that’s what we all want.
“You never mind getting beat if a better horse beats you and this is how you find out how good your own horse is.”
Also back to what looks his best following an absence is Charlie Appleby’s Hurricane Lane, who was third in the Derby during his Classic season before going on to win the Irish Derby, the Grand Prix de Paris and the St Leger.
The five-year-old disappointed in both starts last term and having also failed to sparkle in the John Porter at Newbury in April, many feared his career at the top-level may be over. But he showed all the qualities of old when a six-length winner of the Jockey Club Stakes last month to the delight of his Moulton Paddocks handler.
Appleby told Godolphin’s website: “He showed a return to form last time, which we were delighted to see. It had been a little bit of a bumpy road prior to Newmarket. At Newbury previously, he was ring rusty and conditions took their toll in the end.
“From that run to his second run, we saw marked improvement in his physical presence and his alertness. He got his racing brain back engaged. With those good older horses, it often takes a run to get them back in the game again. I have been delighted with him since that run and I’d say he has improved again. He’s tighter, and sharper mentally. He’s got plenty going for him.”
The select field of five is rounded off by intriguing German raider Tunnes, who not only is a half-brother to Arc hero Torquator Tasso but also claimed the German St Leger and the Group One Grosser Preis von Bayern in 2022.
His trainer Peter Schiergen is no stranger to success on the biggest stages, winning the Coronation Cup in 2002 with Boreal and the 2011 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with Danedream, who landed the King George the following year.
He is excited for his latest raid, in a race that forms part of the Qipco British Champions Series.
“I have a good feeling about the long journey to England. I’m very optimistic,” he said.
“He’s taking on better horses now than at home of course, but I think he’s good enough. I think he has the same class as Boreal and Danedream. He’s better on soft ground, but he acts on any going and good ground will be fine for him.”
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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