Coolmore Wootton Bassett

Nunthorpe Stakes (Group 1)

THE Nunthorpe Stakes is heading back ‘down under’ for the first time since 2012, as the Australian mare Asfoora (Henry Dwyer/Oisin Murphy) powered clear to win Friday’s feature race.

The 2024 Group 1 King Charles III Stakes winner was sent off at a surprisingly big 11/1 for her second stab at York’s premier Group 1 sprint but, despite this, she recorded an easy one-and-a-quarter-length success over the 100/1-shot Ain’t Nobody (Kevin Ryan/Kevin Stott) and 10/1 Frost At Dawn (William Knight/Mickael Barzalona).

The seven-year-old mare by Flying Artie had finished fifth and seventh in her two UK Group 1 races so far this season, so she had something to prove at York on Friday.

And yet, there wasn’t a moment’s worry from pillar to post, as Murphy had her sat in the box seat behind the early pacesetter, Night Raider.

The far side group, made up of Night Raider, Frost At Dawn, Manaccan, and Asfoora, took a small advantage over the rest of the field with three furlongs left to race and, while Manaccan and Night Raider faded, Asfoora flew between them both at the furlong pole.

She was away and gone from there, though both Rumstar and Ain’t Nobody made eye-catching progress towards the line and could be worth watching again for later this year.

Big prizes

There are still some big sprinting prizes to be won this season, though Dwyer is leaning towards the Group 1 Bar One Racing Flying Five Stakes at the Curragh on September 14th.

“Assuming she pulls up well, the Flying Five would be a yes,” Dwyer said. “With the ground you can get in France [for the Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye], if it were to be a heavy track, we may not go there.

“America [for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint] is a big logistical challenge, and it would depend on whether she is still feeling and going well.”

Following her Nunthorpe Stakes success, Asfoora is 7/2 for the Group 1 Bar One Flying Five Stakes with Paddy Power.

WITH no Kyprios to worry about, 5/6 favourite Trawlerman (John & Thady Gosden) has stamped his authority on the staying division this season, and he continued to do so with a gritty success in Friday’s Group 2 Weatherbys Lonsdale Cup Stakes.

Driven to success by William Buick, the Godolphin-owned seven-year-old showed a strong level of determination to see off his 3/1 stablemate Sweet William (John & Thady Gosden/Robert Havlin) and the 16/1 Al Nayyir (Tom Clover/Rossa Ryan).

From the moment the stalls opened, everything was in order for Buick and Trawlerman. Shackleton, Aidan O’Brien’s three-year-old who was in receipt of 14lb from Trawlerman, set an even tempo from the front until he was joined by the eventual winner with one mile to go.

As the race began to heat up, Buick got to work on the Golden Horn gelding, and to the spectators watching it was clear to see Sweet William, Al Nayyir and Dubai Future were travelling slightly better than the odds-on favourite.

However, as they thundered down the Knavesmire home straight, the challengers to Trawlerman’s throne soon dissipated, leaving the 2022 Sky Bet Ebor Handicap winner clear.

The success gave John Gosden his fifth win in the Lonsdale Cup, three of which came with Stradivarius, and the famous trainer harked back to his three-time Gold Cup winner in his post-race interview on Racing TV.

“Stradivaius came here and won the Yorkshire Cup aged eight, which was quite extraordinary,” Gosden said. “He was an exceptional stayer because he had enormous acceleration, whereas with this boy, Trawlerman, when you go 15 rounds with him, you know you’ve been 15 rounds with him. He just grinds you into the ground.

“If someone wants to go faster, he can just wait until they drop out and go. He doesn’t have to have the lead because he’s not that prima donna bully-boy, and when he sets his rhythm, he likes his rhythm. It’s like running in a marathon against some of those great Ethiopians or Kenyans, and they set that rhythm that they like; they will break good runners.”

Trawlerman will now look to add another Group 2 British Champions Long Distance Cup to his trophy cabinet later this season.

THE 2025 York Ebor Festival has treated us to some impressive juvenile performances, none more so than Lifeplan (13/2) in the Group 2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Gimcrack Stakes.

Trained by the Malton-based Irishman Declan Carroll, the now unbeaten-in-two colt by Kodi Bear streaked clear of the eight-strong field to record a first Group 2 for both his jockey, Zak Wheatley, and his handler.

The eventual winner sat in midfield in the early stages of the contest, just behind the 7/2 runner-up Rock On Thunder (Kevin Ryan/Kevin Stott). As Rock On Thunder moved through to take a commanding advantage at halfway mark, Wheatley covered the move with ease, and the front two soon pulled clear of the trailing pack.

To the eye, it looked as if Ryan’s Night Of Thunder colt had the race sewn up with one furlong left, but Lifeplan would not lie down, and he eventually got past to win by a length. The gap back to the third, 2/1 favourite Do Or Do Not (Ed Walker/Tom Marquand), was five lengths, and then it was a further length and three quarters back to Comical Point in fourth, so the front two certainly produced huge efforts to go clear by such a wide margin.

Carroll took a gamble on this horse at the sales in October 2024 as he cost €165,000 as a yearling, but to his owners, Martin Tedham & Wasdell Properties Ltd, the £141,775 in prize money for winning the Gimcrack certainly makes it all worthwhile.

“I loved him as a yearling, really liked him,” said Carroll on Racing TV. “They may be a nice yearling, but until they’ve had a saddle on their back, nobody knows. I would have loved to get another run into him before coming here as it’s a big ask to come from a novice straight into a Group 2, but he’s quite streetwise, and he’s a tough, hardy colt.”

Lifeplan has an entry for the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket in September, a race he is 8/1 for with Paddy Power.

Ballydoyle again

The seven-furlong British Stallion Studs EBF Convivial Maiden Stakes often throws up a good horse and the Aidan O’Brien-trained No Nay Never colt Frescobaldi (100/30) got off the mark agt the third attempt, staying on strongly to hold the Alan King debutant Spyce, who was the unlucky horse in the race, losing a lot of ground at the start.

In the opening race, a good week for the Egan family was completed when John got on the scoreboard to follow wins this week for son and daughter David and Alexandra, winning the Sky Bet Handicap on Asgard’s Captain (16/1) for Dylan Cunha.

Fifth Column completed a double for Godolphin, John & Thady Gosden and William Buick in winning the final handicap.