Garswood is set for Ascot challenge

The in-form Malton trainer is eyeing up an audacious bid at the St James’s Palace Stakes where his probable opponents are set to include Aidan O’Brien’s Magician.

Possibly the best of the Ballydoyle three-year-olds, Magician won the Irish 2000 Guineas in emphatic style and was a possible Investec Epsom Derby contender until being withdrawn before the big race that was won by stablemate Ruler Of The World.

Seventh to subsequent Derby beaten favourite Dawn Approach in the Guineas, Fahey’s confidence in his horse is undiminished.

“Garswood will be entered in the St James’s Palace Stakes and the Jersey Stakes and we’ll look at both races,” he said.

“I wish I could go back to Newmarket and start the day again because I’m still sure we didn’t see the real horse last time in the 2000 Guineas.

“He was up in the air when the stalls opened and having lost that little bit of ground, he never looked comfortable from the start.

“For a horse who has loads of pace, he just didn’t travel at all and for whatever reason he just wasn’t himself.

“Maybe he just lost his confidence on the ground after the rain that fell just before the race.”

Fahey, who could field 14 runners at Royal Ascot, said Garswood “did a particularly good piece of work” last week and “he’s going nicely again”.

One horse bypassing the 
St James’s Palace Stakes will be the aforementioned Dawn Approach, though his trainer Jim Bolger is not ruling out a tilt at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the end of the month despite doubts surrounding the stamina of the Guineas hero, who trailed home in last place at Epsom.

“We’ll play it by ear. It was only a slight concern how he came out of the race, but he’s very well,” said Bolger.

He was speaking before Trading Leather – runner-up to Karl and Elaine Burke’s Libertarian in York’s Dante Stakes – led home a clean sweep for three-year-olds against older rivals in the TRM Silver Stakes at the Curragh yesterday.

The form implications of this result will give extra confidence to the Leyburn-based Burkes as they ponder whether to send their Epsom Derby runner-up to the Emerald Isle’s premier Flat track for the Irish Derby on June 29 where Trading Leather, on this evidence, could be a leading player for the Bolger stable.

Though the St James’s Palace Stakes is only open to three-year-olds, unlike the King George at Ascot next month, the winner is normally guaranteed a lucrative second career at stud.

It was one of the races that confirmed Frankel’s brilliance – Sir Henry Cecil’s horse of a lifetime backed up his runaway victory in the 2000 Guineas in 2011 by winning this supreme test despite his jockey Tom Queally making a total hash of the tactics.

Now at stud after winning 14 races in an undefeated career, Frankel is unaffected by the decision of his owner Prince Khalid Abdullah to scale back his Juddmonte Farms breeding empire which sponsors the International at York each August.

“His Highness is going to make some disposals in the course of the year,” said chief executive Douglas Erskine-Crum.

“It is very early days and is a process that will take many months and the name Frankel has not been mentioned here.

“There is a review of the whole operation ongoing, but His Highness’ interest in racing remains undiminished.

“There’s months to go and we’ve hardly started. We’ve got nothing else to say.”

Juddmonte has a total of nine studs in Britain, Ireland and America with horses in training in those countries as well as in France.

The Saudi Prince, who has about 900 horses, came to prominence more than 30 years ago and has owned a plethora of top-class performers. As well as Frankel, they also include Known Fact, Dancing Brave, Zafonic, Warning, Rainbow Quest, Workforce, Midday and Oasis Dream.

Leading German handler Peter Schiergen had a day to remember at Haydock on Saturday after saddling the winner and a runner-up in the two feature events.

Schiergen, a former champion jockey in his homeland and a winner of multiple Group One events as a trainer, is best known on British shores for his handling of the brilliant Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and King George-winning mare Danedream.

His latest raiders had clear claims in their respective Group-race assignments and Nymphea fired a warning shot when narrowly held in the BetVictor Royal Ascot Money Back Pinnacle Stakes.

A little over half an hour later, Schiergen and jockey Andrasch Starke were in the number one spot in the Haydock sunshine as 10-1 shot Amarillo claimed a thrilling Timeform Jury Stakes.

Pastoral Player, the 5-2 favourite and the mount of Bedale’s Graham Lee, had to switch wide for a run and could perhaps be counted a shade unfortunate, as he flashed home and was beaten just a short head by the German runner.

Schiergen said: “I was not sure if we had won, but after just being beaten with Nymphea in the race before, I was hoping we had.”

No jockey is in better form than Yorkshire-based Danny Tudhope. He powered home the Elaine Burke-trained Odeliz in the maiden fillies stakes at Nottingham yesterday.

More significantly, it was a 10th win in the past fortnight for Tudhope, who is attached to David O’Meara’s Nawton stables and is leading the race to be this season’s Cock o’the North – the prize that is traditionally presented by the Yorkshire Post and Racing Enterprises to the region’s leading rider.

Former trainer Joe Mulhall has died at the age of 80. He trained nearly 500 winners from his base near the racecourse in York, working his horses on Knavesmire. His son Joe trains at Scarcroft.