Early signs are full of promise for Star of Seville

STAR OF SEVILLE could blossom into a 2015 Epsom Oaks contender after recording a high-class victory at Doncaster on just her second career outing.
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The John Gosden-trained filly was soon dominating at the head of affairs in the Universal Recycling Stakes and William Buick’s mount had six lengths in hand over the runner-up Dreamlike.

Buick was impressed with the Lady Bamford-owned filly. He said: “She went very well in the ground and she came on a lot for her first run at Leicester.

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“I didn’t really want to go out and make the running, but there wasn’t anything leading me. I watched the replay and she’s killed the race three and a half furlongs down. On this ground, you want to keep the momentum up, as they can easily down tools. It was a pleasing performance and she’ll be something to look forward to next year.”

Buick, who also won the feature six furlong handicap on Jamaican Bolt for Ryedale trainer Geoff Oldroyd, has enjoyed another successful season – even though riding arrangements meant he could not partner Gosden’s two stable stars Taghrooda and Kingman.

He did, however, win the Group One Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket on Godolphin’s Charming Thought and has the honour of riding Aloft in today’s feature Racing Post Trophy for trainer Aidan O’Brien.

“Although on the betting he would appear to be the stable second string to Jacobean there’s no knowing how much a Coolmore runner improves from one run to the next,” said Buick. “I was in the maiden that Aloft won at Newmarket earlier this month and he did take some time to get there, but he was going away in the closing stages.

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“This looks a relatively weak running of the race so I genuinely believe that anything that’s in has a chance. I have respect for Elm Park, and Celestial Path might be anything, but an improver like Aloft could well provide the best value.”

SIR MARK PRESCOTT has issued a word of warning about Celestial Halo’s participation in todya’s Racing Post Trophy.

The York winner will not run if conditions become particularly testing on Town Moor. “We’d very much like to run him, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens with the ground and the weather,” said the trainer. “He has always worked like a nice horse and I’m pleased so far he has run like a nice horse on the track.”

Prescott has trained multiple Group One winners, but has not struck at the top level since Hooray’s Cheveley Park Stakes triumph four years ago. “It would be lovely to win another Group One . It’s been too long,” he said.

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SAM THOMAS, the jockey who rode Denman to 2008 Cheltenham Gold Cup glory, is setting up a training yard in the Cotswolds.

Thomas, who also won the 2011 Charlie Hall Chase on Nacarat, struggled for rides since splitting from Denman’s trainer Paul Nicholls and started TV work with Channel Four.

“Whilst I still retaining a licence to ride, I am now turning my focus on to setting up a new training yard to pursue my next career,” he says. “At Winterwell Stables, we can accommodate the breaking in of young horses, problem horses in need of sweetening up, pre training, the training of point-to-pointers and in the near future I will hopefully be training under rules.”

THE life of Michael Scudamore, one of horse racing’s all-time greats, is to be celebrated at Cheltenham Racecourse next month.

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Michael Scudamore Intermediate Handicap Hurdle on November 14 will remember a jump jockey who won the 1957 Gold Cup on Linwell and 1959 Grand National on Oxo.

His son Peter was a multiple champion jockey while his grandsons Tom and Michael are steeped in National Hunt racing -the former is now established as one of the country’s foremost riders over obstacles while the latter is a successful trainer in his own right who has enjoyed several notable triumphs with the Mike Tindall-owned Welsh National hero Monbeg Dude.

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