Middleham Park syndicate hoping for more success at Beverley with Absolute Queen and Fairmac

In-form syndicate Middleham Park Racing bid for more Beverley glory with two live chances on the Westwood this afternoon.
History maker: Hollie Doyle, left, rides Nashwa to victory in the  Prix de Diane at Chantilly. Picture: JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)History maker: Hollie Doyle, left, rides Nashwa to victory in the  Prix de Diane at Chantilly. Picture: JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)
History maker: Hollie Doyle, left, rides Nashwa to victory in the Prix de Diane at Chantilly. Picture: JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)

Middleham savoured an evening to remember last week when their distinctive blue and orange silks returned to the Beverley winner’s enclosure three times.

They are again well represented on today’s seven-race card, with the George Boughey-trained Absolute Queen first up in the Here Come The Girls EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes (2.15).

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Fairmac, trained by Mark and Charlie Johnston in Middleham, later goes to post in the feature race, the John Cleverly Memorial Handicap (3.15).

Winning smile: Hollie Doyle celebrates after becoming the first female ride to win a major European Classic. Picture: JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)Winning smile: Hollie Doyle celebrates after becoming the first female ride to win a major European Classic. Picture: JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)
Winning smile: Hollie Doyle celebrates after becoming the first female ride to win a major European Classic. Picture: JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)

Mike Prince, Middleham Park partner and racing manager, said of Absolute Queen: “She ran a belter when second on debut at Nottingham and was doing her best work at the end – even though she was green.

“She might have won if the race was 20 yards further so this step up in trip should suit her.

“It’s quite a strong race, but we’re the best on Timeform ratings so you’d hope she’ll go well.

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“We’ve half an eye on the Goffs Millions sales race at the Curragh in September if she progresses like we hope we think she will,” he added.

Fairmac also finished runner-up on his last start, with Prince expecting the four-year-old grey to be in his element at Beverley.

He said: “Fairmac was a bit below-par at Redcar but we took the blinkers off last time and he ran really well at Ripon.

“He was in the Cumberland Plate but we just felt this was a better option for him.

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“He’s dropping back in trip, but he’s versatile in that respect and the stiff finish at Beverley should suit him nicely.”

Meanwhile, leading racing figures have paid tribute to the trailblazing Hollie Doyle after she broke new ground when landing the first Classic victory of her career.

The 25-year-old partnered John and Thady’s Gosden’s Nashwa in the Prix de Diane at Chantilly on Sunday, the French equivalent of the Oaks.

The three-year-old was previously seen finishing a gallant third in the Oaks itself at Epsom, prior to which she was the winner of a Listed race at Newbury and a novice event at Haydock.

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Those performances saw Nashwa sent off as the 3-1 favourite in France and Doyle thrived under the pressure of the ride as she fought off outsider La Parisienne in the final furlong to triumph by a short neck.

The achievement is another significant marker in Doyle’s ascendant career and makes her the first female rider to have won a major European Classic.

Nashwa is owned by Imad Al Sagar and was bred by his Blue Diamond bloodstock operation, an outfit whose move to employ Doyle as a retained rider in July 2020 has proved a shrewd one.

“The great thing is that we’ve moved away from calling her a good female jockey, now we’re just calling her a very good jockey,” said Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to Al Sagar. “I think she’s really established herself in the top rank now.

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“Imad is a forward thinker. He takes a lot of care and trouble over his whole racing and breeding business, a lot of thought went into appointing Hollie and they have certainly repaid each other.

“There’s nothing better (than winning a Classic), it’s the height of what everyone is trying to achieve.”

Doyle, who cut her teeth on the pony racing circuit, was previously apprenticed to Richard Hannon’s stable alongside fellow rider and future husband Tom Marquand.

Doyle’s spell at the stable came shortly after Hannon had taken over the licence from his father, Richard Hannon senior, but the latter remains involved and has been proud to see how its pupil has risen through the ranks.

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“She was apprentice to us here for some time, she’s a very good jockey,” he said.

“It’s great, her first Classic, she’s a good rider, very good.

“She was always a hard-worker, she’s a really nice girl and everything she’s achieved, she’s achieved through hard work.”

“We had her husband here too, Marquand, we’ve had them all, they’ve done very well and I’m glad they have. I can’t tell you how much I just enjoy watching them.”

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Gerald Mosse, second aboard La Parisienne, is the joint winning-most rider of the Prix de Diane and the Frenchman reached over to shake her hand as the two jockeys pulled up after crossing the line.

“We are sportspeople, we do the same job and the one who wins should be congratulated by the public and the riders,” he said.

“It was a natural reaction, I was very pleased for her. Not so pleased for me!”

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