Salisbury Sunday
HE’S been rather a frustrating horse to follow, but Sir Michael Stoute’s Regal Reality (Richard Kingscote) is a very smart performer when he’s in the right frame of mind.
Dropped to a mile and down in class with a visor fitted for the first time, he struck in the Group 3 AJN Steelstock Sovereign Stakes, running out a comfortable winner at odds of 7/1 to give both trainer and owners Cheveley Park Stud their first group winner of the summer.
Settled behind the early pace predictably set by Marie’s Diamond, the five-year-old showed a smart turn of foot when sent on by Richard Kingscote with a little over a furlong to run, and he soon had the race in the bag, with only Beat Le Bon (Richard Hannon/Sean Levey) making any significant late headway.
He was beaten three and a half lengths into second, with Positive (Clive Cox/Adam Kirby) a head behind him in third.
The runner-up did well to get so close having lost considerably more ground by standing still in the stalls than he was eventually beaten.
The pair who headed the market, Bunbury Cup winner Motakhayyel and Duke Of Hazzard, filled the last two spots, with no obvious reason for their poor showings.
Chris Richardson credited the winning trainer with the decision to try headgear: “If he is on his game on the day and when things go right, he is hugely talented, as we saw when he ran so well in the Eclipse last year. The visor made a huge difference and that was a good call from Sir Michael Stoute.
“He is a horse that likes top of the ground so that is a major factor in plans. We could go travelling with him if everything is ok, as that is why he was gelded and kept in training.”
Chester Monday
continues to thrive
IT’S unusual to see Chester on a Monday, but this fixture was swapped from the previous day due to concerns about attracting an unwanted crowd on the weekend – how times change!
The feature was a six-furlong listed race the #chestertogether Queensferry Stakes, which was won by Julie Camacho’s evergreen Judicial, who gave Callum Rodriguez and armchair ride as he powered home by two and three-quarter lengths lengths from Major Jumbo (Kevin Ryan/Kevin Stott).
This was a third course win for Judicial, who was adding to his success in the Chipchase Stakes at Newcastle in June.
He looks better than ever at the age of eight, which were also the sentiments of the delighted winning rider.