Bassett forced out of Goodwood tilt

The Richard Fahey-trained colt must sidestep the Group Two assignment over seven furlongs after having scoped badly yesterday morning.

He will now be geared towards a possible tilt at the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville on August 7.

The Norton handler said: “Paul (Hanagan) rode him on Saturday, but he (Wootton Bassett) was a bit quiet this morning and wasn’t quite right.

“It’s nothing serious, but he’s got to be 100 per cent to go down there, and we daren’t take him. Hopefully we can still get him to France.

“It’s a shame as we’ve been delighted with him, but there are still plenty of races left.”

Sir Henry Cecil insists he could not be happier with Frankel as his highly-anticipated clash with Canford Cliffs looms.

The unbeaten colt produced a performance of raw power from the front in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket in May, but was not quite so spectacular in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.

That said, the three-year-old remains unbeaten and is set to take on his elders for the first time in Wednesday’s Qipco Sussex Stakes, with the opposition headed up by Richard Hannon’s brilliant Queen Anne hero Canford Cliffs.

“The horse is in very good form and I’m very happy with him in every way at this stage,” said Cecil.

Twice Over silenced those who suggested he was past his best with a typically determined performance in the Sky Bet York Stakes on Knavesmire.

Sir Henry Cecil’s three-time Group One winner and dual Champion Stakes hero had been a little disappointing on his last couple of starts, particularly at Royal Ascot.

But despite being sent off an easy to back 5-2 shot, Tom Queally’s mount showed his undoubted class remains intact as he quickened up smartly in the final furlong to beat Dominant by a length and a quarter.

Queally said: “He’s a very special horse to all of us. I’m delighted he’s back to winning ways. He might have lost his way for a couple of races, but he’s back where he belongs – in the winner’s enclosure. He was the class horse in the race and he won like it.”

Queally went on to complete a double in the Sky Sports Median Auction Maiden, guiding Jedd O’Keeffe’s 7-1 shot Satanic Beat to a taking victory.

Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler was left celebrating for the second successive weekend after Hoof It gave weight and a beating to his rivals in the Sky Bet Dash.

Chandler is managing director of International Sports Management, a company which looks after a number of the world’s top golfers, including emotional Open champion Darren Clarke.

Owned jointly by Chandler and Lee Westwood, Mick Easterby’s 3-1 chance Hoof It recorded his third victory on Knavesmire under Kieren Fallon.

Easterby said: “He’ll go to Goodwood next week for the Stewards’ Cup and the race I’d like to run him is the Portland at Doncaster.”

The trainer went on to score again with 16-1 shot Itlaaq making the most of a step up to two miles in the Sky bet Mobile for iPad Stakes.

Tim Easterby, nephew of Mick, had saddled four winners on a magnificent Friday and was back in the winner’s enclosure with 7-2 chance Last Bid in the Sky Bet Mobile For iPhone Nursery at York.

Title-chasing jockeys Paul Hanagan and Silvestre de Sousa fought out the finish to the Sky Bet Mobile EBF Bertolini Fillies’ Handicap, with the latter shading the argument on Sir Mark Prescott-trained 7-2 favourite Tenby Lady.

The closing Sky Bet Mobile for Android Stakes went to 5-1 shot Karaka Jack.

Betfred are to sponsor the Ebor at York on August 20 for the first time following their successful purchase of the Tote.

First run on Knavesmire in 1843, the Ebor is the most valuable handicap in Europe, with a total prize fund of £210,000, and was first sponsored by the Tote in 1976.

The race will be staged on a Saturday for the first time this year.

Betfred will also sponsor the Melrose Stakes on the same card, run over the same trip as the Ebor, and won last year by Mount Athos.

The latter, trained in Ireland by David Wachman, heads the Ebor market with the sponsors in company with the Brian Ellison-trained Saptapadi at 10-1.

Racing at Ascot was heavily overshadowed by the death of the strongly-fancied Rewilding in the feature King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Frankie Dettori’s mount, winner of the Dubai Sheema Classic and Prince of Wales’s Stakes, broke down badly in the straight, fracturing a cannon-bone and throwing his rider to the ground.

Dettori escaped with what was reported to be just a bruised knee but Rewilding had to be put down. Tim Morris, director of Equine Science and Welfare at the British Horseracing Authority, said: “Rewilding suddenly and completely unexpectedly suffered a major fracture of the lower part of his near-fore. The horse was caught and examined by the vets immediately, and the decision was made that humane euthanasia was the only option. It was the right decision for the horse.”