 |
|
|
|
|
Betfair Molecomb Stakes 2008 |
Tregoning Sings Finjaan Praises in Betfair Molecomb Stakes
29/07/08
1st 4 Finjaan 5/1 3F
2nd 2 Bonnie Charlie 8/1
3rd 13 Jargelle 7/1
Non Runners 1 Art Preview 8 Light The Fire 14 Mrs Kipling 15 White Shift
Trainer Marcus Tregoning was full of praise for his Group Three £60,000 Betfair Molecomb Stakes winner Finjaan after the Royal Applause colt, a 5/1 shot, battled bravely in the final furlong to win by a head from Bonnie Charlie.
The winner has now won of his three starts and Tregoning is excited about the future.
He said: “I have nothing as quick as him at home and I have had to work him with a couple of older horses.
“He just needed the other horse to come to him and give him something to race with.
“Recently I have been thrilled by his work, which is why he was well-supported today.
“I like to bring my best horses to Goodwood - you get the best ground here and it is always a great thrill. We won with Sir Percy here as well.
“My predecessor (Major Dick Hern) loved it here and had lots of winners. I have tried to follow in his footsteps and keep it going, even if I haven’t been quite as successful!
“This horse is very quick and I think he’s pretty useful. He’s still a little bit green - he has a bit more to learn yet. We just waited for him to develop and I’m so glad that we didn’t run him at Ascot – this was the right place to come to.
“I think he will go further. It was a toss up between the six-furlong race and this race and the worry was the ground with him. The forecast was a bit unsettled – we thought we’d get more rain than we did. We certainly wouldn’t want to run him on soft ground again. So we’ve come for the five-furlong race and it was a very hot race.
“He’s definitely pretty fast. For a speed horse, he’s very quick. I’ve had some nice horse like Dominica , who was pretty sharp, and obviously Sir Percy, who won twice over six and was a very quick horse. He was a very fast horse actually as a two-year-old.
“Finjaan is more of a sprinting type and I’m thrilled to bits to have a different type of horse.”
Winning jockey Richard Hills added: “They went very quick. The front two really did go off fast. This horse has got a lot of speed and I was happy where I was. I knew he would finish as well.
“I didn’t think I was headed. It all happens quite quickly here. Martin has been riding him a lot of work and he said to me that he’s one of the fastest two-year-olds that he’s ridden so we quite confident going into the race.”
RUNNER-UP BLEW UP
Connections of Betfair Molecomb Stakes runner-up Bonnie Charlie believe the colt will come on for his effort in the five-furlong contest and be spot on for the Doncaster St Leger sales race at York on August 21.
“Richard (Hughes) thought he was going to win it but our horse had been off for over 100 days and Richard felt that he just blew up on him,” said James Stafford, racing manager to owners Thurloe Thoroughbreds.
“He’d had little niggling problems with his knees, that’s all corrected now and he’s done very well physically in the meantine. He’s a bloody good horse and he’ll go for the sales race at York and won’t get a penalty. It’s over six but it wasn’t the trip that stopped him today, just a lack of match fitness.”
The colt’s trainer Richard Hannon added: “He was just a little ring rusty and we didn’t know what would be in the locker but he’d worked well with Prolific so we thought we’d let him take his chance. He looked all over the winner but probably just needed the run.”
William Haggas, trainer of third-placed Jargelle, said: “She’s very fast and will go for the St Hugh’s Stakes at Newbury next. She was just not quite good enough but ran a bloody good race and we’re thrilled. She’s very tough and genuine.”
4.05pm BETFAIR MOLECOMB STAKES (GROUP THREE)
£60,000 guaranteed, 5f, For 2yo Weights colts and geldings 9st; fillies 8st 11lb Penalties a winner of a Group 3 race 3lb; of a Group 1 or Group 2 race 5lb Entries 19 pay £375 Penalty value 1st £34,062; 2nd £12,912; 3rd £6,462; 4th £3,222; 5th £1,614; 6th £810
1 FINJAAN (Hamdan Al Maktoum) Marcus Tregoning 2-9-0 Richard Hills [6] 5/1
2 BONNIE CHARLIE (Thurloe Thoroughbreds XXII) Richard Hannon 2-9-0 Richard Hughes [8] 8/1
3 JARGELLE (IRE) (B Smith, A Duke, J Netherthorpe, G Goddard) William Haggas 2-8-11 Liam Jones [13] 7/1
4 RIEVAULX WORLD (Rievaulx Racing Syndicate) Kevin Ryan 2-9-0 Neil Callan [1]
5 SPIN CYCLE (IRE) (HE Sheikh Rashid bin Mohammed) Bryan Smart 2-9-0 Ted Durcan [2] 3/1f
6 FLASHMANS PAPERS (D Gorton) John Best 2-9-0 Steve Drowne [15]
7 THUNDEROUS MOOD (USA) (Fitri Hay) Paul Cole 2-9-0 John Egan [11]
8 EFFORT (Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum) Mark Johnston 2-9-0 Joe Fanning [4]
9 GLOBAL CITY (IRE) (Godolphin) Saeed bin Suroor 2-9-0 Frankie Dettori [14]
10 ICESOLATOR (IRE) (B Bull) Richard Hannon 2-9-0 Pat Dobbs [9]
11 NOVERRE TO HIDE (USA) (Kent Bloodstock) John Best 2-9-0 Liam Keniry [3]
11 ran
Non-runners: 1 Art Preview, 8 Light The Fire, 14 Mrs Kipling, 15 White Shift
Distances: hd, 1 1/4, hd, 1 1/2, nk, 1/2, 2 1/2, 2 1/4, nk, 6
Time: 57.88s
Breeder: Shadwell Estate Company Limited
Breeding: b c Royal Applause - Alhufoof (USA) (Dayjur (USA))
Totes: Win: £6.40 Places: £2.20, £2.50, £2.60 Exacta: £57.40
Winning trainer:-Name: Tregoning, Marcus Philip Born: July 31, 1959 Based: Kingwood House Stables, Lambourn, Berkshire Riding Career: Point-to-Points Date of First Trainer’s Licence: 1997. Previously assistant-trainer to Major Dick Hern for 14 years. Classic Wins (1): Vodafone Derby (2006 Sir Percy) Big Race Wins: Cumberland Lodge Stakes (2001 Nayef, 2004 High Accolade, 2005 Mubtaker), Dewhurst Stakes (2005 Sir Percy), Dubai Champion Stakes (2001 Nayef), Dubai Sheema Classic (2002 Nayef), Geoffrey Freer Stakes (2002, 2003, 2004 Mubtaker), John Porter Stakes (2006 Mubtaker), Betfair Molecomb Stakes (2008 Finjaan), Juddmonte International Stakes (2002 Nayef), Letheby & Christopher Predominate Stakes (2003 High Accolade, 2004 Manyana), Newmarket Stakes (2002 Highdown), Princess Elizabeth Stakes (2001 Sheppard’s Watch), Prix Guillaume d’Ornano (2002 Highdown), Royal Lodge Stakes (2003 Snow Ridge), Select Stakes (2000 Ekraar, 2001 Nayef), September Stakes (2003 Mubtaker), Vintage Stakes (1999 Ekraar, 2005 Sir Percy) totesport Derby Trial (2007 Aqaleem) Royal Ascot Wins (3): King’s Stand Stakes (2002 Dominica), Prince Of Wales’s Stakes (2003 Nayef), King Edward VII Stakes (2003 High Accolade) First Goodwood Winner: Maghaarb (Frizell Insurance Maiden Stakes, June 28, 1998) Goodwood wins: 45 (6 at July Meeting) Horses in Training 2001-08: 88; 113; 122; 133; 139; 113; 100; 101; Winners (1997-2007): 0; 13; 26; 21; 53; 32; 56; 26; 49; 29; 25; Wins In 2008: 13
Winning jockey:-Name: Hills, Richard John. Born: Newmarket, 22/1/63 Apprenticeship: With Tom Jones. First winner: Border Dawn (Doncaster 26/10/79) Classic wins: (5) 1000 Guineas (1995 Harayir, 2000 Lahan), 2000 Guineas (2004 Haafhd), St Leger (1999 Mutafaweq), Vodafone Oaks (2005 Eswarah) Other major wins: Autumn Stakes (2000 Nayef), Champion Stakes (2001 Nayef), Chesham Stakes (1996 Shamikh), Dubai World Cup (1999 Almutawakel), Falmouth Stakes (2000 Alshakr, 2002 Tashawak), Geoffrey Freer Stakes (2002 Mubtaker), German Oaks (2002 Salve Regina), Great Voltigeur Stakes (2002 Bandari), Greenham Stakes (2001 Munir), Hungerford Stakes (1998 Muhtathir), Juddmonte International Stakes (2002 Nayef), July Cup (1998 Elnadim), Betfair Molecomb Stakes (2008 Finjaan), Middle Park Stakes (1997 Hayil), Norfolk Stakes (1986 Sizzling Melody, 1989 Pettilante), Princess Of Wales’s Stakes (1994 Wagon Master; 2001 Mutamam; 2004 Bandari), Queen Mary Stakes (1997 Nadwah), Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (1994 Maroof, 2001 Summoner); Rockfel Stakes (1999 Lahan); Royal Lodge Stakes (1998 Mutaahab, 2002 Al Jadeed), Select Stakes (2000 Ekraar, 2001 Nayef), September Stakes (2000 Mutamam); Temple Stakes (1999 Tipsy Creek); Watership Down Stud Sales Race (2002 Sharplaw Venture), Yorkshire Cup (1985 Ilium) Other details: Took over as number one jockey to Hamdan Al Maktoum on the retirement of Willie Carson. Royal Ascot wins: 20 First Royal Ascot win: Queen’s Vase (June 19, 1985 Wassl Merbayeh) Major Royal Ascot wins: Jersey Stakes (2008 Aqlaam), Gold Cup (1990 Ashal); Prince of Wales’s Stakes (1987 Mtoto, 2003 Nayef), Hardwicke Stakes (2006 & 2007 Maraahel), Hampton Court Stakes (2007 Zaham) First Goodwood win: King Of Comedy (John Kent H’cap, September 14, 1985) Goodwood winners: 73 (17 at July Meeting) Wins (1990-2007):56, 67, 52, 57, 59, 70, 71, 85, 83, 77, 81, 79, 81, 75, 66, 72, 54, 72 Wins This Year: 37
