Richmond Stakes
Group 2, Goodwood 14:25
£175,000 guaranteed,
2yo only,
6f, Class 1   
Thursday 3rd August 2023

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1 Vandeek 11/8F
2 Ballymount Boy 25/1
3 Toca Madera 15/2
7 ran NR: Asadna, Emperor's Son, Jasour, Unquestionable, Watch My Tracer
Distances: 1l, 5l, 2l Time: 1m 13.45s (slow by 3.35s)

The son of Havana Grey, Vandeek was well-backed when making a successful debut at Nottingham 13 days ago, took the step up to Group company in his stride.

Having travelled strongly into contention under Andrea Atzeni, the exciting two-year-old put the race to bed entering the final furlong and had a length in hand at the line.  

Ballymount Boy stepped forward from his win at Hamilton last month to take second, with a further five lengths back to G2 July Stakes third Toca Madera.

Simon Crisford said: “Vandeek was bought at the Craven Breeze-Up Sale and we were very lucky he was allocated to us – if you get the good horses in your stable, you have half a chance of doing well.

“It is nerve-wracking [when a horse has cost 625,000gns] because you don’t want to miss your lines as he nearly did at Nottingham. It makes you think twice about your campaign, but I think with a horse like that having won the way he did at Nottingham, he had to go and do something better.

“A little bit of juice in the ground suits him, but next year he will go on quick ground. This year as a two-year-old we will keep him to sensible ground and not too firm. His bones still aren’t mature enough to cope with really quick ground.

“I think there’s tonnes of room for improvement to come. We will head to the Prix Morny on August 20. Obviously that’s dependent on Shaikh Khalid’s [bin Hamad Al Khalifa, owner] wishes, but he likes to be bold and brave, and I am sure he would very much like us to go for the Group One in Deauville.

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On whether this is a potential Guineas contender, he said: “Well we don’t know how this form is going to stack up. The Prix Morny is going to be an altogether different type of race. Stamina wise, he’s out of an Exceed And Excel mare, there’s tonnes of speed in his pedigree, but he strikes us at home like he will go further.

“I was questioning whether we should go to the Acomb for his next race, rather than the Richmond. He’s always looked like a horse that will go further. And he’s big, scopey, and stands over a lot of daylight. He will stay.”

Atzeni said: “Vandeek looked pretty special when he won first time out at Nottingham. He was obviously very green that day – a little slow out of the gates – but he made up a lot of ground and picked up quite nicely.

“Obviously when you step up at this level, you never know how good you are until you try. He has a bit of a pedigree and has obviously improved since Nottingham. He showed today how good he is – I think he is a very good horse.

“He has a great mind for a breeze-up horse. He has won at Group Two level now and he is going to go up to Group 1 level – I can’t see why he wouldn’t be good enough. I think he is a horse that will get better with racing as physically he is still a bit immature. He is only going to strengthen up and will be a nice horse for next year.”

Trainers Quotes

Adrian Keatley said: “Ballymount Boy didn’t help himself early on – he was a bit slow to get into his stride, but he is a fair horse and we were expecting that kind of run from him. We will see where we go with him next, but we might contemplate seven furlongs. He was similar today to what he did the first time he ran – he was slowly away and took time to get going, but when he gets into top gear, he is a fair horse. He is a Group horse for sure, so it is onwards and upwards.”

Jason Hart added: “I was really happy with him. Just at halfway on the ground, he got a bit flat-footed, but he stayed on strongly and galloped past everything up to and after the line. He will definitely stay further. He is a nice horse and Adrian has always said of his homework that he really likes him, and he has trained an [Irish] 1,000 Guineas winner.”

SureWIn

Richmond Stakes (Group 2)
£175,000 guaranteed, 2yo only, 6f, Class 1
7 ran
Going: Soft

POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (3)    Vandeek 2 9-2 Simon & Ed Crisford Andrea Atzeni 11/8F
2 (1) 1 Ballymount Boy 2 9-2 Adrian Paul Keatley Jason Hart 25/1
3 (6) 5 Toca Madera 2 9-2 Brian Meehan Sean Levey 15/2
4 (7) 2 Hala Emaraaty 2 9-2 Alice Haynes Tom Marquand 22/1
5 (12) ½ Bobsleigh 2 9-2 Eve Johnson Houghton Charles Bishop 7/1
6 (9) 9½ Sketch 2 9-2 Freddie & Martyn Meade Oisin Murphy 2/1
7 (11) 1¾ Nazalan 2 9-2 S Woods Frankie Dettori 16/1
NR 12 (4) Watch My Tracer 2 9-2 George Scott NON RUNNER
NR 1 (10) Jasour 21 2 9-5 Clive Cox NON RUNNER
NR 2 (8) Asadna 2 9-2 Alice Haynes NON RUNNER
NR 5 (5) Emperor's Son 2 9-2 Richard Fahey NON RUNNER
NR 10 (2) Unquestionable 2 9-2 A P O'Brien NON RUNNER

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