Brian the Snail '˜fails' to live up to his name with impressive win

FOR A sprinter owned by Sheikh Mohammed, and with Royal Ascot aspirations, Brian The Snail has to be one of the most inappropriately named Flat horses in training.
Richard FaheyRichard Fahey
Richard Fahey

Yet this did not stop the colt winning yesterday’s six furlong sprint at Pontefract for Malton trainer Richard Fahey and jockey William Buick, prompting discussion about a tilt at the Royal meeting’s Commonwealth Cup in June.

The grey colt, like his sire Zebedee, is named after a popular character in The Magic Roundabout, and his acquisition by the Dubai ruler’s Godolphin operation looks likely to pay off.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The three-year-old had to give away a considerable amount of weight to his rivals but Buick always had things under control and the well-regarded runner-up Jule In The Crown was made to look distinctly one-paced.

David AllanDavid Allan
David Allan

The winner will now step into Group Three company in the Pavilion Stakes at Ascot next month, after which his trainer will get a better idea if Commonwealth Cup ambitions can be realised at the Royal meeting.

Fahey said: “I’ve made no secret of how much we like him so I’m delighted. He’s a big, burly, chunky horse so we needed to get a run into him.

“He goes to Ascot now for a race for three-year-olds on May 3 (Pavilion Stakes). That (Commonwealth Cup) has to be on our minds as I’ve always felt he was that sort of horse.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Meanwhile the feature mile and a quarter handicap went to Snoano for Great Habton trainer Tim Easterby and jockey David Allan.

David AllanDavid Allan
David Allan

“He’s a gem of a horse,” said Easterby who hinted that the John Smith’s Cup at York could be a viable proposition.

Billy Roberts won the first race of the Pontefract season at odds of 25-1 – but his victory came as no surprise to Wetherby trainer Richard Guest.

Guest’s three-year-old string, which included Billy Roberts, had been afflicted by a virus last summer.

But Guest is optimistic of an upswing in fortune after Connor Beasley’s companion neatly accounted for Desert Ruler by half a length. “That was expected,” he said.