WINNER: The Oil Magnate, under Tony Hamilton, wins the MKM Building Supplies Handicap at Beverley on Wednesday "SHE HAS been a smart filly from the beginning of the year,"
said Kevin Ryan of his Flying Childers winner, Madame Trop Vite on Friday, but the ground is the key to her.' Landing the Group 2 event, the first on the card at Doncaster, this was the first - and only - Yorkshire winner of the meeting, but it was her stable mate Senor Mirasol who went off 3-1 favourite, only to finish stone last under Neil Callan, who thought the ground was against his colt.
We had last week named Madame Trop Vite, whose SP was 11-1, as one of the possible winners, together with runnerup Anglezarke (Tim Easterby, David Allan, 14-1) The Tote Exacta paid a whopping £209.70.
The winner had won her maiden at Chester in June and followed up last month by landing the Listed St Hugh's Stakes at Newbury from the front.
Here, Ted Durcan waited with her and followed Senor Mirasol until he tired and she came through well to beat the Easterby runner close home.
The winner may go for the Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket next and the runner up, for the Redcar Two-year-old Trophy, both over six furlongs which both fillies should handle well.
Ryan had winners all week.
Dougie Peel won under Robert Winston at Great Leighs on Saturday.
Callan partnered Errigal Lad to land a gamble at Leicester in a 6f handicap on Monday.
The jockey said: "He has had plenty of chances but is pretty consistent and runs like he would get seven furlongs, so this stiff six is ideal."
Neil Brown was the winning jockey for the Hambleton team on Tuesday at Haydock, partnering Makshoof, and Silvestre de Sousa for their Beverley winner on Wednesday, Argani.
Before this race, there was drama as Patrick Haslam's Bespoke Boy, in first time blinkers, escaped from assistant trainer and son Ben Haslam and his handler, Lucy, to gallop amok among the crowd, narrowly missing a wheelchair and hitting a pushchair just after the child in it had been removed. He was re-caught in the grandstand - no one was injured and the horse escaped with just cuts and grazes.
Mark Johnston and Royston ffrench took a 137-1 treble at Brighton last Thursday and won also at Yarmouth on Wednesday with Jim McGrath and Reg Griffin's Opus Maximus. Joe Fanning won for him on Detonator and Dialogue, at Great Leighs and Lingfield respectively.
Johnston's Shaweel was only just beaten in the National Stakes at the Curragh on Sunday and the trainer said: "We will probably look at the Dewhurst, the Breeders' Cup and there may be race at Keeneland for him at the start of next month."
Nahood, who was second to Lush Lashes recently in the Matron Stakes at Leopardstown, may also go to the States, for the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland.
Tony Hamilton is in top form and shone in four particularly fine winning rides this week. At Chester, he won on Green Park for Richard Fahey and on Offshore Anna for John Quinn. He won for Ollie Pears and Michael Dods at Beverley, too.
Pears' winner, Just The Lady, was bought at the auction after by David Dandy' Nicholls who is in good form, too, in readiness for the Ayr meeting and the Gold Cup he makes so much his own. He and son Adrian took a brace at Musselburgh, where Frederik Tylicki was also in double form, one for Alan Swinbank who doubled up thanks to Neil Brown.
Karl Burke also heads to Ayr in good form, having succeeded at Goodwood and Haydock, both winners ridden by Andrew Elliott.
Ann Duffield, whose string has come back to form after she closed down because they were off-colour, landed a Friday night race at Wolverhampton and a Chester race next day.
Tips: Last Friday at Doncaster, we'd picked Bollin Felix for the Mallard Stakes, with La Vecchia Scuola, but they were second and third to The Betchworth Kid (M Bell, Hayley Turner). Ryan's Union Rose was runner up in the second division of the mile maiden.
On Saturday, Utmost Respect (Richard Fahey, Paul Hanagan) at 9-1 brought some each-way rewards, third in the Ladbrokes Sprint Cup, a Group 1 event rescheduled from the recently lost Haydock meeting.
Carte Diamond missed his engagement at Doncaster on Friday, because of unsuitable going, and took up his place next day at Chester. We were delighted to see him go close in second, having been somewhat hampered late on. After his long layoff from his life-threatening injuries in Australia, it was good to see Brian Ellison's charge back in good form.
Today, in the Ayr Silver Cup, Bill Ratcliffe's Bel Cantor with Kelly Harrison up, looks a sound prospect - unless the ground goes against them.
Whichever draw lands this one may give the clue to tomorrow's Gold Cup. Of the many Nicholls' entries, we fancy Valery Borzov most. Earlier, Linda Stubbs' Huxaar could run well in the 1.45 nursery.
At Catterick tomorrow, Cullybackey could take the seller (2.25) and Dean Iarracht (Michael Dods, Tony Hamilton) might be the answer in the 3.0 nursery, having shown enough on the soft at Ripon in his first run for the Denton yard.
The Week's Winners
Key: unless shown otherwise, all races are Flat on turf. NH = National Hunt (jumps); AW = allweather Flat; ev = evening meeting; Hb = homebred by owner or connections; number in brackets after rider's name indicates lbs apprentice allowance.
Thursday last week. - Brighton: Liberation (trained by Mark Johnston, at Middleham; owned by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum), Royston ffrench; Alcalde (M Johnston; Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum), R ffrench; Timocracy (M Johston; Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum), R ffrench.
Friday. - Doncaster: Madame Trop Vite (Kevin Ryan, Hambleton; Mrs T Marnane), Ted Durcan.
Wolverhampton AW ev: River Kent (Ann Duffield, Constable Burton; Hb, Mr & Mrs G Middlebrook), Catherine Gannon.
Saturday. - Chester: Firebet (Ann Duffield; Mrs H Steel), Paul Mulrennan; Green Park (Richard Fahey, Musley Bank; G A Fixings Ltd), Tony Hamilton; Offshore Anna (John Quinn, Settrington; Colm McEvoy), T Hamilton.
Goodwood: Lesson In Humility (Karl Burke, Wensley; M Nelmes- Crocker), Andrew Elliott.
Great Leighs AW: Desert Falls (Richard Whitaker, Scarcroft; J Barry Pemberton), Dean McKeown; Dougie Peel (K Ryan; Roger Peel), Robert Winston.
Sunday. - Great Leighs AW: Detonator (M Johnston; Hb, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum), Joe Fanning.
Stratford NH: Aleron (J Quinn; Graham Liles), Dougie Costello; Crow Spinney (Mick Easterby, Sheriff Hutton; Hb, E R Hanbury), Mr Oliver Greenall (7).
Monday. - Leicester: Errigal Lad (K Ryan; Errigal Racing), Neil Callan.
Musselburgh: Keys Of Cyprus (David Nicholls, Sessay; The Beasley Gees), Adrian Nicholls; Nchike (D Nicholls;' Middleham Park Racing XXXVII), A Nicholls; Merchant Of Dubai (Alan Swinbank, Melsonby; Highland Racing), Frederik Tylicki (5); Wind Star (A Swinbank; B Harker, R Hall & Dr C Emmerson), Neil Brown (3); King Of Swords (Nigel Tinkler, Langton; P Alderson & J Raybould), F Tylicki (5).
Tuesday. - Haydock: Ursula (K Burke; Tweenhills Racing XIV), A Elliott; Dubai Hills (Bryan Smart, Hambleton; HE Sheikh Rashid Bin Mohammed), Tom Eaves; Bond City (Geoff Oldroyd, Brawby; R C Bond), PJ McDonald; Makshoof (K Ryan; F Gillespie), N Brown (3).
Lingfield AW: Dialogue (M Johnston; Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Al Maktoum), J Fanning.
Wednesday. - Beverley: Ubi Ace (Tim Walford, Sheriff Hutton; N J Maher), Graham Gibbons; Just The Lady (Ollie Pears, Norton; Ian Bishop), T Hamilton (winner sold at auction after to D Nicholls for 6,000gns); Argani (K Ryan; The Big Moment), Silvestre de Sousa; The Oil Magnate (Michael Dods, Denton; Smith & Allan Racing), T Hamilton; Sharp Sovereign (David Barron, Maunby; Raymond Miquel), T Eaves; Rossini's Dancer (R Fahey; Lets Go Racing), B McHugh (5).
Yarmouth: Opus Maximus (M Johnston; Jim McGrath & Reg Griffin), R ffrench.
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