Thursday racing preview: What the trainers say

Royal Ascot scorer Ain’t Nobody has the chance to kickstart a huge July Festival at Newmarket for Kevin Ryan and jockey Tom Eaves when he steps up in trip for the July Stakes.

The duo will link up with red-hot July Cup favourite Inisherin on Saturday, but before that their Windsor Castle hero will bid to remain unbeaten as he makes the move up to Group Two company. The Sands Of Mali colt powered home to hunt down US raider Gabaldon at Ascot and his handler anticipates few problems as he takes on the challenge of a new distance and a classy set of rivals.

“He hit the line strong at Ascot and I don’t think the trip will be a problem,” said Ryan. “He’s won on good to soft at Carlisle and then different ground at Ascot, but he did it well and we’re very happy with him. He’s two from two and has done nothing wrong and we’re very happy with him.”

Big-spending owners Wathnan Racing enjoyed plenty of success with their two-year-olds at Royal Ascot, but Electrolyte was one who narrowly missed out, denied by a nose in the Coventry Stakes.

This race has been earmarked as the obvious spot for Archie Watson’s youngster to gain compensation ever since, with connections linking up with great success in this sphere at Sandown recently.

“He obviously ran very well at Ascot in the Coventry and was impressive first time out before that at Ayr,” said Richard Brown, Wathnan’s racing adviser. “We said after Ascot this would be the obvious place for him and that has remained the case. Archie has been very happy with him and we’re looking forward to seeing him run again.”

It was Wathnan’s Shareholder who proved a thorn in Whistlejacket’s side in the Norfolk Stakes, with the regally-bred Aidan O’Brien colt beaten just over a length in the five-furlong Group Two having led home the group who raced stands side at Ascot.

The form of that contest was given a timely boost by Aesterius, who was a taking winner of the Dragon Stakes last Friday, and Whistlejacket’s jockey Ryan Moore is backing his mount to get involved on his return to six furlongs.

He told Betfair: “This race cut up a bit at the overnight stage, losing the Coventry first and third, but that formline is still represented by the runner-up Electrolyte and it still looks a strong race. I suppose you could say we were a little disappointed that Whistlejacket didn’t win the Norfolk, but maybe things didn’t fully work to his advantage there, and it certainly wasn’t a bad run at all.

“We like to think he is better than he showed there, he handles soft ground well if required, and the return to six furlongs hopefully won’t be an issue. It’s a good race, but he is a good colt.”

Of those not in action at the Royal meeting, Charlie Appleby’s Aomori City created a taking impression when making a winning start at Nottingham last month.

A €260,000 purchase as a yearling, the son of Oasis Dream won with more in hand than the half-length winning margin would suggest and connections immediately pitch the colt into deeper waters for this second start.

“It’s a small but punchy race. Aomori City won first time out and has definitely come forward for that run,” Appleby told www.godolphin.com. “We were keen to come for this race afterwards and I can’t give any negatives on what he has done to date, both on the track and at home.”

Marco Botti views the Princess of Wales’s Stakes as the perfect stepping stone towards the Irish St Leger for Giavellotto.

The five-year-old entire won his second Yorkshire Cup on his most recent outing in May and, as something of a one-mile-six-furlong specialist, the Curragh Group One emerged as his main priority. Given he showed a smart turn of foot at York, Botti has been tempted to drop back to a mile and a half on the July Course and provided conditions do not deteriorate further, he is happy to roll the dice.

“We’ve had quite a bit of rain, but at the moment today (Wednesday) looks dry and he’s not a horse who can’t run on good to soft or ground on the easy side of good,” said the Newmarket-based Italian.

“We don’t want it too soft, but at the moment the plan is to let him take his chance, especially as he is coming back to a mile and a half. It’s not like he won’t handle easy ground. Last year, when he ran in the Goodwood Cup (finished fifth), the ground got a little bit soft and just over two miles it found him out.

“Over a mile and a half, I think we’ll still run unless it gets very soft. He has an entry in Ireland next week (Curragh Cup), but ideally we wanted to avoid that. He’s won on the July course before and it is quite a stiff mile and a half, which is why we felt we could drop back in trip there. We just thought this looked a nice race for him before the Irish St Leger, if all goes to plan.

“We want to just campaign him at around a mile and six this year, last year we took him to Goodwood and York over two miles, but we do feel it just stretches him and his optimum is a mile and three-quarters, which is the Irish St Leger.

“His York form looks good, Vauban ran well in the Gold Cup, he’s a stronger horse this year. He ran well in Saudi, we freshened him up and then he went to Dubai and ran well again.

“He’s still an entire. He used to run in a hood but he’s grown up a lot and is a mature five-year-old now. When he was three, he used to sweat up a lot before his races but he doesn’t do that now.”

One who would love even more rain to fall is William Haggas’ grand campaigner Hamish. He arguably ran a career best last time out in the Coronation Cup when second to Luxembourg.

“He ran a very good race, he kept going and it was generally noted that Ryan (Moore, on Luxembourg) was exceptional that day. Everyone knew he was going to do that (make all) and we couldn’t quite peg him back,” Haggas told Sky Sports Racing.

“Tom (Marquand) said he has never been round Tattenham Corner quite as fast as he did that day and the horse plugged on very well, we were thrilled to bits.

“It’s the same old team we’ve been running against in the past. Arrest is a very good horse, especially with a bit of cut in the ground, but we love that as well.

“We need lots of rain and if it comes it will be interesting, if it doesn’t and it dries up to good or quicker, he won’t run.”

This time Moore is on Harry Charlton’s Time Lock, who was supplemented for the Coronation Cup but failed to give her true running and she was eased once beaten.

“I am not sure why she didn’t run her race in the Coronation Cup last time,” Moore told Betfair. “Maybe it was the track, maybe it was the first-time cheekpieces that are left off here, or maybe she simply had an off-day against Group One horses.

“If she returns to the form of her Group Three win for me last season, then she has a chance, but Hamish is probably the one to beat after the rain that landed earlier in the week.”

Rest of the action

Impressive York scorer Lead Artist will bid to give owners Juddmonte back-to-back victories in the Edmondson Hall Solicitors Sir Henry Cecil Stakes.

Trained by John and Thady Gosden – who won this race with Mighty Ulysses the last time it was staged in 2022 – the son of Dubawi was narrowly denied in the Wood Ditton on debut before shedding his maiden status in real style on the Knavesmire.

He now makes the jump up to Listed level, where he could tee-up a step into even classier company if thriving in a race named after the man who enjoyed many great days training for the owners.

“He’s going to run on Thursday and he’s in good shape,” said Barry Mahon, Juddmonte’s European racing manager. “We obviously bypassed Royal Ascot, which was hopefully the wise thing to do, and he’ll go there in good shape and he’s one that we’re looking forward to.

“It’s been a high-class race in the last couple of years to be fair and it’s a nice stepping-stone into those nice races in the second half of the season – races like the Sussex and the Marois. We’re hoping that Lead Artist can jump into that sort of level.”

A field of six will head to post for the one-mile event, with Charlie Hills’ unbeaten Socialite another chancing his arm at this level having impressed in calmer waters, while Oisin Murphy will once again partner the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained Kitty Rose after her fifth in the Sandringham Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Richard Fahey’s Native American and Charlie Appleby’s Bold Style will both be making the move up to a mile for this event, while Roger Varian’s Al Musmak was a winner over this trip last season before placing in the Royal Lodge and is one who now drops back in distance.

There may be only four in the opening Bahrain Trophy Stakes, but there looks to be a quality quartet engaged as connections seek to continue Space Legend’s education.

A part of Wathnan Racing’s pre-Ascot spending spree, the son of Sea The Stars had no answer for the impressive Calandagan in the King Edward VII Stakes, but has been pleasing trainer William Haggas since and now gets the chance to tackle an extra furlong.

“The slight step up in trip won’t harm him and I think this horse is going to stay,” said Wathnan’s racing adviser Richard Brown. “He ran a tremendous race at Ascot and just bumped into one, Calandagan looked a bit of a freak that day.

“He has come out of Ascot well and we were pondering whether to wait for Goodwood, but William has said he is fit, well and healthy and I think he is still a big baby who will get better with racing, so he is going to go and take his chance.

“Charlie Appleby runs Ancient Wisdom and he deserves a huge amount of respect, as does the rest of the opposition, it looks a tight little race.”

Andrew Balding’s Royal Supremacy was a place behind Space Legend in third at the Royal meeting, while it is Ancient Wisdom who heads the bookmakers’ lists for the Moulton Paddocks team.

A Group One winner at two, he was second to heralded Dante winner Economics at York on his return to action before finishing in mid-division in the Derby.

Ancient Wisdom has not been seen since Epsom, but now bids to give his handler a third Bahrain Trophy win in four years.

“They’ve had rain at Newmarket, although it looks as though the ground will be good to soft or probably nearer genuine good ground,” Appleby told www.godolphin.com. “We feel that the step up in trip is going to be the most important thing for Ancient Wisdom and he goes there in good order.”

Aidan O’Brien’s Portland completes the line-up seeking to become his handler’s first winner of this race since Housesofparliament in 2016.

His jockey Ryan Moore told Betfair: “Ancient Wisdom looks the one to beat on his juvenile form, and then the others in here look pretty evenly matched, with King Edward VII runner-up Space Legend the up-and-comer of those.

“A winner over a mile and a half previously, Portland definitely shaped like a greater test of stamina would suit in the Hampton Court over 10 furlongs last time and he gets that here.”

More from Sporting Life

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.