Glorious Goodwood

2012 Lennox Stakes

racing news/

Garswood Takes bet365 Lennox Stakes
30/07/13

1 Garswood 9/4F
2 Caspar Netscher 10/1
3 Boom And Bust 20/1
NR: Aljamaaheer, Red Jazz
10 ran Distances: nk, 1l
TIME 1m 27.30s (slow by 3.00s)

Garswood, ready winner of the bet365 Lennox Stakes, is still “a big schoolboy”, according to trainer Richard Fahey, with the promise of much more to come. The three-year-old won the Free Handicap on his seasonal debut before a seventh place in the 2,000 Guineas and a fourth in the Jersey Stakes. He has now has put his career firmly back on track in the Group Two feature on the Glorious Goodwood opening day.

Garswood
© Racehorse Photos

“We’ve always felt he was a very nice horse,” said Fahey of the son of Dutch Art, “and he’s not at all the finished article yet. He’s a big boy and he’s growing up all the time. He will be in training next year and we haven’t really got stuck into him 100 per cent this year as there will be more to come. We’re hand picking our way with him so far with that in mind but if we do have a Group One target for him this year, it’s the Prix de la Foret at Longchamp.”

Garswood, the 9/4 favourite, came with a strong run from last to first under Ryan Moore to beat Caspar Netscher by a cosy neck. “We’ve got him really switched off now,” said Fahey, “and he was only learning his trade today in the last 100 yards. He really is still a big schoolboy at the moment.”

Fahey was delighted to pick up the £66,840 first prize for owners David Armstrong and Cheveley Park Stud, and that it covered his own expenditure for the day, a new tweed cap purchased on course because of the rain. “It was either the cap or a straw hat and it cost £48 and is the most expensive cap I’ve ever bought, and up in the north you could get a cap and a suit for that, “ he quipped.

Ryan Moore, riding his 99th winner at Goodwood (with 25 of those coming at Glorious Goodwood) said: “Three-year-olds have a good record but he’s done well as he had to go round the whole lot of the field.

“He got a little bit of interference at the start so he was further back than he should have been, but he won that quite snugly there.
“He’s quite a heavy horse, so he’d probably appreciate cut in the ground, but it’s not bad ground.”

Emma Armstrong (part-owner) added: “That was excellent, absolutely super! We knew that he could do it and we got our rain this morning. We knew then, when he got his ground, today would be his day.

“Ryan is 100 per cent for us – he has ridden two horses for us over the years and won on both – so we are more than happy. I hope that we can get Richard another winner later with Upholland.”

Bet365 Lennox Stakes
£150,000 added, 3yo plus, 7f, Class 1
10 ran
Going: Good to Soft

Caspar Netscher
© Racehorse Photos

GREAT COMEBACK FROM CASPAR

Last year’s German 2,000 Guineas winner Caspar Netscher had a great run back after resuming his racing career following a spell where he proved sub-fertile at stud.

The four-year-old was bought back by his previous owner Charles Wentworth and in April joined David Simcock, who was delighted by the colt’s neck-second to Garswood.

“I’m delighted,” said Simcock. “I can’t believe he won’t come on from that run and – as you would expect – he was a bit fresh early on. He travelled well, had a really good demeanour and it looked like he was going to do it.

“Mentally he is very good and he is a pleasure to train. I hope he has two or three racing years ahead of him.

“He joined me in April and there was a long turnaround getting him ready for racing and it has worked well getting him back now as the right races come at the right time. We’ll look at the Hungerford Stakes, the Park Stakes and the Foret will be his late-season target. I will also stretch him to a mile at some point.”

Marcus Tregoning, trainer of third-placed Boom And Bust, said: “I’m absolutely delighted and he is a really consistent performer. He had quite a few of them off the bridle two furlongs out and it’s possible that the Celebration Mile back here might suit him. We’ll see how he takes this race. It was softer than ideal but he handled it.”