Betfred John Of Gaunt Stakes |
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| Group 3, Haydock Park 15:35 £85,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 7f 37y, Class 1  |
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1 Tiber Flow 6/1
2
Sirona 12/1
3
Pogo 11/2
11 ran NR: Noble Dynasty Distances: 1l, ½l, ½l
Time: 1m 29.87s (slow by 2.47s)
Tiber Flow returns to form in the Betfred John Of Gaunt Stakes under @TomMarquand for the @WilliamHaggas team! 🥇 pic.twitter.com/1HDlDoeaJp
— Haydock Park Races (@haydockraces) June 8, 2024
Tiber Flow rebounded from a challenging outing at York to secure victory here.
Last month, the gelding and jockey Tom Marquand experienced a crashing spill during the Duke of York Stakes. However, Marquand’s skillful ride in the Group Three race on Merseyside helped Tiber Flow overcome that mishap.
By switching positions and timing his move perfectly, Marquand guided Tiber Flow to a one-length win over Sirona, with Pogo finishing third.
Marquand said: “Obviously when we got him back home after York he looked fine but you just never know how a fall is going to have affected them.
“He’s a hardy little battler, everyone was happy with him, hence him being here today, but it was a bit of a fact-finding mission because as well as he looked at home you just don’t know.
“He hadn’t run over seven furlongs for a little while so I took him back from a horrible draw and in fact the race worked out beautifully. They went quick but coming up the middle made it easier for me rather than having to swing out wide.
“He seemed to really enjoy that and it’s fantastic to see him back to his best. To be fair, I just wondered if having being tried at a higher level he just found things a bit easier today, it was maybe that more than the trip – also going around a bend gave him something else to think about.
“He was strong through the line and seven furlongs is well within his stamina range.
“Before today the Chipchase at Newcastle was a possible option but whether that changes now he has seen seven out so well, I don’t know. Plans can change very fast.”
Assistant trainer Maureen Haggas added: “He’s a tough horse and as he gets older he’s probably getting a bit better.
“It didn’t look visually like he came around the bend very well, it nevertheless gave him something else to think about as he’s been doing most of his racing over six furlongs.
“There’s the Wokingham for him at Ascot but probably not, he’s won a good race today and I’m sure William and the owners will work it out.”
John Of Gaunt Stakes (Group 3)
£85,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 7f 37y, Class 1
11 ran
Going: , Good, Good to Firm in places
POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (10) Tiber Flow 5 9-2 William Haggas Tom Marquand 6/1
2 (5) 1 Sirona 4 8-13 David Menuisier Oisin Murphy 12/1
3 (4) ½ Pogo 8 9-2 Charles Hills Kieran Shoemark 11/2
4 (12) ½ Point Lynas 5 9-2 Edward Bethell Callum Rodriguez 11/1
5 (8) nk Flight Plan 4 9-7 K R Burke Daniel Tudhope 16/1
6 (3) ¾ Quinault 4 9-2 Stuart Williams Richard Kingscote 9/1
7 (9) 1 Popmaster 6 9-2 Ed Walker Saffie Osborne 10/1
8 (7) hd Ramazan 4 9-2 Richard Fahey Billy Garritty 5/1
9 (1) ½ Witch Hunter 5 9-2 Richard Hannon Sean Levey 7/2F
10 (2) 1½ Bless Him 10 9-2 David Simcock Jamie Spencer 25/1
11 (11) 1¼ Jumby 6 9-2 Eve Johnson Houghton Charles Bishop 16/1
NR 4 (6) Noble Dynasty 6 9-2 Charlie Appleby NON RUNNER
