Melbourne Cup is consideration as Moonrise Landing wins again

A TRIP Down Under to compete in Australia's Melbourne Cup is on the horizon after Moonrise Landing stretched her winning run to five when landing the weddingmates.co.uk Grand Cup at York.
Mobsta ridden by Pat Smullen (black & yellow) wins the Weatherbys Ireland Greenlands Stakes ahead of Flight Risk ridden by Kevin Manning (white & purple) in second and Dick Whittongton ridden by Ryan Moore (blue & orange) in third during day one of the Tattersalls Irish Guineas festival, at the  Curragh. Picture: PA.Mobsta ridden by Pat Smullen (black & yellow) wins the Weatherbys Ireland Greenlands Stakes ahead of Flight Risk ridden by Kevin Manning (white & purple) in second and Dick Whittongton ridden by Ryan Moore (blue & orange) in third during day one of the Tattersalls Irish Guineas festival, at the  Curragh. Picture: PA.
Mobsta ridden by Pat Smullen (black & yellow) wins the Weatherbys Ireland Greenlands Stakes ahead of Flight Risk ridden by Kevin Manning (white & purple) in second and Dick Whittongton ridden by Ryan Moore (blue & orange) in third during day one of the Tattersalls Irish Guineas festival, at the Curragh. Picture: PA.

The five-year-old mare, trained by Ralph Beckett, took the step up in grade in her stride as she outpointed last year’s Northumberland Plate victor Quest For More in determined fashion.

Moonrise Landing has steadily gone through the ranks since winning a handicap in October and showed she was still progressive by registering a game three-quarters of a length success.

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Held up in the early stages, the winner – owned by former British Horseracing Authority chairman Peter Savill – was produced by Fran Berry to challenge Quest For More inside the final quarter-mile.

Ambitious plans could be forthcoming for Moonrise Landing, as she holds an entry in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot and may even be targeted at the Melbourne Cup in November.

“She was very professional. We’ve got to make a plan now, what we do next,” said Beckett, who won last year’s St Leger at Doncaster with Simple Verse.

“The Gold Cup is a possibility, but equally it is possible we might make the Melbourne Cup a long-term plan.”

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There was a popular Royal winner when Diploma, owned by The Queen, won the Infinity Tyres Fillies’ Stakes in convincing style under Yorkshire jockey Danny Tudhope for trainer Sir Michael Stoute.

Meanwhile Mecca’s Angel, the undisputed heroine of last summer’s Ebor festival when winning the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes, came off second best in Haydock’s Temple Stakes after a thrilling tussle with the progressive Profitable.

With over a furlong to run, the two form horses pulled clear. As Adam Kirby asked Profitable for all his worth, he appeared to lean on the filly and carried her across the track, causing Paul Mulrennan briefly to stop riding for a few strides and forcing the stewards to take a look.

But as the winning distance was a neck, there was never much chance of the result being reversed.

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“We were very concerned when it rained like it did, and it always walks better here than it rides and he is better on better ground. I’m so thrilled he’s done it like that,” said winning trainer Clive Cox. “All credit to her (Mecca’s Angel), but I think on better ground he will power away.”

A clearly disappointed Michael Dods felt the interference denied Mecca’s Angel a winning run. The Darlington trainer said: “She was nearly forced through the rail, Paul had to snatch up a bit. If she’d been beaten a head rather than a neck we might have got it.”

Tim Easterby’s My Reward made every yard of the running in the GPW Recruitment Handicap under a canny ride from David Allan and is now booked for the Northumberland Plate at Newcastle.

“It’s nice to win a good pot on just his second run for us,” said Great Habton-based Easterby, whose son William later won York’s finale on Mystic Miraaj. “We wanted to go to the Chester Cup but got balloted out.”

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William Haggas is in no rush to commit to future targets with Besharah following her fine run in last week’s French 1000 Guineas.

Winner of York’s Lowther Stakes last season, the filly was beaten into third when favourite for the Fred Darling Stakes at Chelmsford last month.

She stepped up to a mile for the first time in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches at Deauville and was a far from disgraced fourth.

Skipton-born Haggas said: “She’s come back in terrific form.”

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Besharah is entered in the Coronation Stakes over a mile at Royal Ascot, while she also has the option of coming back in trip to six furlongs in the Commonwealth Cup.

French 2000 Guineas hero The Gurkha is likely to sidestep the Epsom Derby and head to Royal Ascot to contest the St James’s Palace Stakes.

The Ascot race over one mile could also feature Galielo Gold, who won the English Guineas at Newmarket, and Awtaad who landed the Irish equivalent on Saturday. Hugo Palmer, trainer of Galileo Gold, is certainly relishing the rematch after his stable star was beaten by Awtaad from the yard of veteran Irish trainer Kevin Prendergast.

Yorkshire jump jockey James Reveley rode six winners at Auteuil over the weekend, including a famous triumph aboard So French in the Grade One Grand Steeplechase de Paris, which is regarded as the French equivalent of the Gold Cup and carries a first prize of £281,000.

“It’s brilliant. I’ve always had a lot of confidence in this horse despite his inexperience and when the rain came that added to my hopes,” said Reveley.

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