Moet and Chandon International Stakes |
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| Heritage Handicap, Ascot 15:00 £150,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 7f, Class 2  |
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1 Northern Express 22/1
2 New Image 8/1
3 Fresh 17/2
4 Metal Merchant 9/1
5 Carrytheone 10/1
6 Make Me King 16/1
18 ran Distances: nk, nk, ½l
Time: 1m 27.37s (slow by 1.67s)
Northern Express powers home in the International Stakes at @Ascot for @PMulrennan and Michael Dods…
— Sky Sports Racing (@SkySportsRacing) July 27, 2024
pic.twitter.com/Ob2oCLhRq1
Northern Express, the six-year-old trained by Michael Dods, delivered an impressive front-running performance to secure a well-deserved victory over seven furlongs at Ascot.
Despite narrowly missing out on top honors in previous big handicaps, including two runner-up finishes at York and a fifth-place finish in the Buckingham Palace at the Royal meeting, Northern Express seized the moment.
Under the guidance of regular pilot Paul Mulrennan, the 22-1 shot held off the fast-finishing duo of New Image and Fresh by a couple of necks.
Mulrennan attributed the success to the addition of cheekpieces, which helped the consistent Northern Express find the winner’s circle
Mulrennan said: “He has been a real good servant to everyone, we discussed it last week that he was just getting a little bit cute in his old age so we popped the cheekpieces on.
“I think he has finished fourth in this race the last twice, but typical of Michael he is great at keeping these horses going year after year and it’s great to get a winner here.
“You have to remember he has won over a mile hence we weren’t afraid to use him over seven and he kept grinding it out.
“He’s been very consistent in knocking on the door, and the cheekpieces had the desired effect. We couldn’t see any pace on and luckily I was able to get onto a fairly easy lead.”
He added: “The owners are all here and it’s massive as it is very hard to come down here and win.”
Moet and Chandon International Stakes
(Heritage Handicap)
£150,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 7f, Class 2
18 ran
Going: Good to Firm, Good in places
POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (1) Northern Express 6 9-10 Michael Dods Paul Mulrennan 22/1
2 (17) nk New Image 4 8-11 David O'Meara Mark Winn 8/1
3 (18) nk Fresh 7 8-13 James Fanshawe Billy Loughnane 17/2
4 (12) ½ Metal Merchant 4 9-5 Jack Channon David Probert 9/1
5 (6) ½ Carrytheone 7 9-9 Michael Bell Pat Dobbs 10/1
6 (4) nk Make Me King 4 9-13 3ex H Al Jehani James Doyle 16/1
7 (2) nse Hickory 6 8-10 James Fanshawe Saffie Osborne 14/1
8 (7) hd Divine Libra 4 9-3 Charles Hills Christophe Soumillon 18/1
9 (14) shd Aalto 4 8-12 3ex Ian Williams Luke Morris 13/2
10 (15) 1 Billyjoh 4 9-3 Michael Appleby Rossa Ryan 11/2F
11 (9) hd Riot 7 8-9 3ex David O'Meara Hollie Doyle 33/1
12 (10) hd Ropey Guest 7 9-7 George Margarson Tom Queally 28/1
13 (13) 1¾ Eminency 4 8-7 Stuart Williams Silvestre De Sousa 22/1
14 (16) ½ Bless Him 10 9-6 David Simcock Jamie Spencer 16/1
15 (8) ¾ Summerghand 10 8-13 David O'Meara Tom Marquand 20/1
16 (11) nse Dancing Magic 4 9-2 Roger Teal Kieran Shoemark 33/1
17 (5) 2½ Fivethousandtoone 6 9-12 Andrew Balding Oisin Murphy 28/1
18 (3) 1½ Orazio 5 9-11 Charles Hills William Buick 10/1
