Haydock Park Racecourse

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Real Quality Goes For Haydock's Totesport Silver Bowl On Saturday 17/05/05

Elliots World and Party Boss share the top-weight of the 29 three-year-olds entered for the £95,000 totesport Silver Bowl, the highlight of Haydock Park's two-day meeting on Friday and Saturday, May 20 and 21.

There is quality throughout in the mile handicap. Mark Johnston's Elliots World (9st 7lb) finished fourth in last season's Group Two Royal Lodge Stakes at Ascot while the Clive Brittain-trained Party Boss (9st 7lb) landed six consecutive races on the all-weather at Lingfield over the winter including two Listed contests.

Johnston, successful with Atlantic Rhapsody five years ago, could also be represented by Leo's Lucky Star (8st 12lb) and Fiefdom (8st 10lb), while Brittain, who sent out Silver Season to victory back in 1981, has also entered Excusez Moi (8st 8lb), impressive when winning a Yarmouth maiden earlier this season.

Ian Semple has two entries in the form of Real Quality (9st 2lb) and Defi (8st 3lb) and the Scottish trainer today revealed that he intends to run the former.

He said: "I'll be running Real Quality in the totesport Silver Bowl, while Defi will line up at Goodwood tomorrow."

Real Quality has lived up to his name winning two of his three career starts including on his seasonal bow in a keenly-contested conditions race at Doncaster earlier this month, when quickening clear under a fine Dane O'Neill ride to master Brecon Beacon by two and a half lengths.

"Real Quality has come out of Doncaster very, very well, in real good form and I am delighted with the horse.

"The handicapper only put him up 7lb, which pleased me, and I think that he is a Group Three horse, similar to last year's totesport Silver Bowl winner Gatwick. I think that you have to be Group class to nearly win the totesport Silver Bowl and that he won't be far away," continued Semple.

"I see that there is a bit of rain forecast which will help - I'd rather see the ground on the easy side of good than the fast side of good so it's all looking quite good at the moment.

"Real Quality is a lazy little horse at home, he doesn't do more than he has to but I knew he was decent and we put our toe in the water to see how good he is and he couldn't have done it any easier at Doncaster.

"We always thought that he was decent - I spoke to jockey Mickey Fenton about Real Quality last year when he won at Newcastle [beating Three Degrees by three-quarters of a length] and Mickey rode the second horse. He said to me that Three Degrees would definitely get some black type and that she was Listed or Group class.

"Without any doubt, I think that Real Quality can still be competitive off a mark of 100. I think that before we finish the year, he'll be put up 7lb or 8lb higher than that anyway. I'm hoping to head from Haydock to a Listed or a Group Three somewhere with him."

Mick Channon, victorious with Gatwick 12 months ago, has entered Dream Tonic (7st 10lb) while Gerard Butler, successful in both 2002 and 2003 with Common World and Jazz Messenger, has one entry this year in Looks Could Kill (8st 4lb), a staying-on third behind the Michael Jarvis-trained Notability (8st 10lb) in the Stanleybet Handicap at Chester on May 5.

The totesport Silver Bowl could see the seasonal reappearance of Sir Michael Stoute's Home Affairs (8st 6lb), who defeated Notability in a maiden at Yarmouth last season and was deemed good enough to contest the Group One Darley Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket. John Gosden has two to choose from in Jalamid (9st), a Newbury maiden winner earlier this season and Jonquil (8st 11lb), who got the better of Looks Could Kill in a maiden at Goodwood last season.

Other interesting contenders include recent Warwick winner Walkonthewildside (8st 8lb), Hawkes Bay (8st 3lb) from the in-form Mark Tompkins yard, the Richard Fahey-trained Tagula Sunrise (8st), a winner at Haydock Park in 2004, Marcus Tregoning's Mogaamer (8st 13lb), who looked a shade unlucky when fifth in the Listed Feilden Stakes at Newmarket last time out and Wedding Party (8st 5lb), from the Amanda Perrett yard and successful in a valuable fillies' nursery at Newmarket last season.

Kirkland Tellwright, Haydock's Clerk of the Course, reported the current going as: "Good to Firm," and the groundstaff are watering.

He said: "The forecast is mixed - we are dry today and we're expecting some rain, somewhere between nothing and 15mm.
"If we knew how much rain we were going to get, life would be easier - the problem we have is that we simply must have some water on the track to stop it getting too firm.

"So we're watering as little as we can in anticipation of a certain amount of rain."

THE totesport SILVER BOWL
ROLL OF HONOUR (1957-2004)

YEAR RAN WINNER WGT SP JOCKEY TRAINER OWNER
1957 15 MARK ANTONY 8-11 10/1 Manny Mercer Jack Jarvis Jim Philipps
1958 8 ROYAL PAINTER 7-5 7/1 Michael Hayes Sam Hall H Halmshaw
1959 8 MUCKLE JOHN 8-9 100/9 Geoff Littlewood Harry Peacock Lord Zetland
1960 9 QUADRUPLE 8-7 9/4F Doug Smith Jack Watts Lord Derby
1961 10 DOUBLE BEE 8-4 8/1 Snowy Fawdon Jimmy Elwell J Hardy
1962 10 GAY CASINO 9-1 8/1 Johnny Greenaway Rufus Beasley Major Hugh Dawson
1963 11 HIGH FLOWN 9-5 9/2 Frankie Durr Jimmy James Major Lionel Holliday
1964 12 CURRENT SPEECH 8-11 6/1 Joe Sime Sam Hall Jack Hanson
1965 8 DANELLA 8-3 4/1 Edward Hide Bill Hide H G Webster
1966 15 TRACKER 7-11 10/1 Johnny Greenaway Dick Peacock Sir Edward Hanmer
1967 7 FRANKINCENSE 8-7 7/2 Greville Starkey John Oxley Lady Halifax
1968 10 CHARLIE'S PAL 7-3 9/2 George Duffield Ryan Jarvis H R Strangward
1969 12 TATJANA 7-0 100/7 Michael Teelin Bill Elsey Countess Margit Batthyany
1970 9 TUDOR TINKER 9-0 4/1 Colin Williams Michael Jarvis David Robinson
1971 7 SMART SAM 8-5 7/4F Tony Murray Doug Smith A Don
1972 6 ROY BRIDGE 9-2 9/4F Lester Piggott John Oxley Maj Gen Sir Randle Feilden
1973 9 APPLE KING 8-4 5/2F Brian Connorton Eric Collingwood H Price
1974 15 VOTECATCHER 8-2 13/2 Tony Murray Ryan Price Major Derek Wigan
1975 9 REBEC 7-12 5/1 Frankie Durr Henry Cecil Lord Howard de Walden
1976 12 GUNNER B 8-8 7/2 Joe Mercer Geoff Toft Pauline Barratt
1977 11 OWEN JONES 7-9 5/1 Malcolm Johnston Henry Cecil Jim Joel
1978 11 FAIR TOP 7-10 7/2F John Lowe Bill Elsey Hugh Leggatt
1979 10 BOLD OWL 8-1 6/1 Taffy Thomas Harry Wragg Norman Wachman
1980 13 GREENWOOD STAR 7-7 5/2F Philip Robinson Gavin Hunter Greenwood Homes Ltd
1981 12 SILVER SEASON 9-5 20/1 Ernie Johnson Clive Brittain M Hassan
1982 12 SPANISH POOL 9-6 5/1 Brian Taylor Jeremy Hindley Mrs M Haggas
1983 10 SCHUSS 8-5 11/4F Willie Carson Dick Hern Lord Porchester
1984 10 INCISIVE 7-9 7/2JF Kevin Darley Ernie Weymes Lady Howard de Walden
1985 11 TRUCIDATOR 9-7 12/1 John Lowe Steve Norton M S H Hartley
1986 13 AL BASHAAMA 7-10 8/1 Paul Hamblett Luca Cumani Sheikh Mohammed
1987 8 MOHAMED ABDU 7-8 9/4 John Lowe Steve Norton N Shainan
1988 15 JAMARJ 9-7 6/1 Mark Birch Peter Easterby Ian Armitage
1989 13 SAFAWAN 8-11 11/2 Pat Eddery Michael Stoute H H Aga Khan
1990 8 CASHTAL DAZZLER 7-7 14/1 Lindsay Charnock Jack Berry G H Atkinson
1991 13 TAKADDUM 9-3 5/1 Geoff Baxter Peter Walwyn Hamdan Al-Maktoum
1992 11 SHARPITOR 9-0 13/2 John Reid William Jarvis Henry Lopes
1993 13 MOORISH 8-2 11/1 Tom McLaughlin Paul Cole Fahd Salman
1994 12 DANCE TURN 9-0 25/1 Russell Price Robert Armstrong George Ward
1995 9 SONIC BOY 9-7 9/1 Jimmy Quinn Fulke Johnson Houghton Anthony Pye-Jeary
1996 10 WINTER ROMANCE 9-0 9/4F Pat Eddery Ed Dunlop Maktoum Al-Maktoum
1997 6 ALEZAL 9-1 5/2F Seb Sanders William Jarvis Howard Spooner
1998 10 FRENCH CONNECTION 7-9 12/1 Paul Fessey Jack Berry Peter Dodd
1999 17 DATE 8-13 12/1 Willie Ryan Ed Dunlop Abdullah Ali
2000 16 ATLANTIC RHAPSODY 8-3 11/1 Joe Fanning Mark Johnston Atlantic Racing Ltd
2001 18 ECCLESIASTICAL 8-8 11/2 Oscar Urbina James Fanshawe Cheveley Park Stud
2002 12 COMMON WORLD 8-13 7/4F Kieren Fallon Gerard Butler Sheikh Khaled Al Sabah
2003 12 JAZZ MESSENGER 7-12 6/1 Paul Hanagan Gerard Butler Sven Hanson
2004 18 GATWICK 8-10 11/2 Sam Hitchcott Mick Channon Henry Ponsonby

HISTORY OF THE totesport SILVER BOWL

The totesport Silver Bowl was first run at Haydock in 1957 and has grown into one of the most important mile handicaps for three-year-olds.
It is also an extremely valuable race, with a total prize fund of £95,000 for the 2005 renewal, which compares very favourably with £50,000 on offer for the Britannia Handicap at Royal Ascot at York in June.

The contest was known in 1957 as the John Davies Handicap but between 1958 and 1985 it was run under the banner of the Cecil Frail Handicap - in memory of Cecil Frail, who was the clerk of the course at Haydock until 1936 and came from a famous racing family.
His father, John Frail, was clerk of the course for over 50 years at Shrewsbury Racecourse until its closure in 1888, while his brother, Charles, also acted in the same capacity.
totesport sponsored the Silver Bowl for the first time in 1986 and racing's biggest sponsor has continued to back the mile handicap since then.

Mark Antony won the inaugural running for trainer Jack Jarvis and jockey Manny Mercer in 1957.

Over the years, the most successful jockey in the Silver Bowl has been John Lowe, who won the race on three occasions - Fair Top (1978), Trucidator (1985) and Mohammed Abdu (1987). No current jockey has captured the totesport Silver Bowl more than once.

No trainer has been dominant either, although nine have saddled the winner twice. Gerard Butler is the latest handler to have achieved this feat, sending out Common World to victory in 2002 and Jazz Messenger the following year while Newmarket-based Ed Dunlop has also done well in recent years, winning with Winter Romance in 1996 and Date in 1999.

The best horse to have won the totesport Silver Bowl during its 48-year history is Gunner B, who recorded the widest winning margin seen to date when successful by eight lengths in 1976. Later in his career the son of Royal Gunner was transferred to the care of Henry Cecil and in 1978 won the Earl of Sefton Stakes at Newmarket and the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot while his biggest victory came in the Group One Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park. During his long career at stud, Gunner B became an outstanding sire of jump horses, with the likes of Grand National winner Red Marauder and star hurdler Iris's Gift among his talented offspring.

Other good horses to have been successful in totesport Silver Bowl include the 1967 victor Frankincense, trained by John Oxley. Frankincense went on to capture the Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster in 1968, landing Oxley's head lad Barry Hills a small fortune which enabled him to set up his own training establishment.
Safawan, triumphant for Sir Michael Stoute and the Aga Khan in 1989, progressed to Pattern race success the following season with victory in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury.

Ecclesiastical, the 2001 hero, went on to finish second at Royal Ascot in the Britannia Handicap. As a four-year-old, he moved to Hong Kong (where he ran under the name of Olympic Express) and has proved a top-class performer for Ivan Allen in the former British colony with four Group One victories coming in the Hong Kong Classic Mile, Hong Kong Derby, Hong Kong Mile and Hong Kong Gold Cup.

Last year's winner Gatwick, owned by a Henry Ponsonby syndicate that included the Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, went on to contest the Vodafone Derby at Epsom the following month, when he ran credibly to finish tenth behind North Light.

ORDER OF RUNNING

FRIDAY & SATURDAY 20th & 21st MAY 2005

First Day - Friday 20th May

TIME RACE DISTANCE PRIZE MONEY
2.30pm The bet365 Maiden Auction Stakes 5f £5,000-added

3.05pm The skybet.com Handicap Stakes 6f £10,000-added

3.40pm The Focus DIY Maiden Stakes 1m £10,000-aded

4.10pm The Bank Of Scotland Corporate Stakes 1m £14,000-added

4.45pm The Strongbow Cider Maiden Stakes 1m 2f 120yds £10,000-added

5.15pm The Betfred The Bonus King Handicap Stakes 1m 2f 120yds £5,000-added

5.45pm The Stanleybet Maiden Stakes 1m 4f £5,000-added

Second Day - Saturday 21st May

1.50pm The Tomboy Cavanagh Handicap Stakes 1m £5,000-added

* 2.20pm The Happy Anniversary Pauline Handicap Stakes 5f £25,000-added

* 2.55pm The Option Hygiene Sandy Lane Stakes (Listed Race) 6f £28,000-guaranteed

* 3.30pm The totesport Silver Bowl (Heritage Handicap) 1m £95,000-guaranteed

4.05pm The E.B.F. Joan Westbrook Pinnacle Stakes (Listed Race) 1m 4f £38,000-guaranteed

4.40pm The E.B.F. whitetobrown.com Maiden Fillies' Stakes 6f £6,000-added

5.10pm The George Duffield Apprentice Handicap Stakes 5f £5,000-added

* Channel 4 Televised Races