Tangerine Trees set to confirm French form on return

FLAT racing’s great unpredictability is perfectly illustrated by the contrasting performances of Tangerine Trees, Yorkshire’s reigning horse of the year.

Last in the King’s Stand Stakes, Royal Ascot’s premier five-furlong sprint 12 months ago, Bryan Smart’s remarkable horse then conquered Europe by landing the Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp on Arc day in a dramatic photo-finish.

Now Hambleton-based Smart hopes his stable star can confirm the French form by seeing off Ortensia, the first of Australia’s big sprinting hopes, in the King’s Stand – part of the Qipco British Champions Series.

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The trainer is encouraged by his horse’s seventh place finish in Haydock’s Temple Stakes behind Bated Breath, with the James Doyle-ridden horse likely to take his place in the ultra-competitive 23-runner field after underfoot conditions eased.

“He needed his race at Haydock. I’m very pleased with him, I couldn’t be more pleased,” said Smart, who began his training career as an assistant to National Hunt legend Jenny Pitman.

“He’s done two exceptional pieces of work and he seems really well. I’m looking for a big run from him. He ran badly in the race last year basically because he wasn’t right.”

Tangerine Trees heads a five-strong Yorkshire contingent – in-form Tim Easterby saddles Hamish McGonagall and Ponty Acclaim while Kevin Ryan runs three-time York winner Masamah and Bapak Chinta, who came to prominence by winning the Norfolk Stakes at last year’s Royal meeting.

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The one to beat, as Black Caviar fever envelops Royal Ascot ahead of the Diamond Jubilee Stakes on Saturday over six furlongs, is the wonder mare’s Antipodean rival Ortensia.

Behind Black Caviar at Flemington in November, 2010, the mare has hit the headlines in her own right since joining trainer Paul Messara, winning the Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai on World Cup night.

Messara feels the five furlongs at Ascot should be fine for the seven-year-old but, like quite a few trainers in the race, would prefer a sound surface.

He said: “She was the best she had been before Dubai and I feel she is coming into this race in the same sort of form.

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“The ground is a concern, she has mixed form on rain-affected tracks and is better on top of the ground. She has a devastating turn of foot on a quick surface.

“If we were running on a drier track I’d be confident but four or five of the horses in the betting also prefer it firm so it could be an open race.

“I’ve had a really good look at the form and I think we have most of them covered. If we got good ground, I’d assess her chance very well.

“I will always put the horse’s welfare first but if she came through the race fine and the weather was fine, then I’d consider running her on Saturday as well. But Black Caviar is the best we have ever seen in the sprinting division.”

He added: “This is a special week and we’re thrilled to be here to compete, it’s the championship of racing around the world.”

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