Betfred Temple Stakes |
 |
|
| Group 2, Haydock Park 13:50 £125,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 5f, Class 1  |
||
|
||
1 Kerdos 12/1
2 Live In The Dream 8/1
3 Seven Questions 16/1
9 ran NR: Makarova Distances: ½l, 2¼l, nse
Time: 59.64s (slow by 1.74s)
Kerdos blasts home in the £125,000 @Betfred Temple Stakes!
— Haydock Park Races (@haydockraces) May 25, 2024
Trainer Clive Cox lands this big Group 2 prize once again, with @RKingscote in the saddle for owners John Connolly & A D Spence 🥇 pic.twitter.com/DOHnmJc3w2
In an unexpected turn of events, Kerdos made a late swoop to secure victory.
While much of the attention was on Australian challenger Asfoora, who started as the 4-1 joint-favourite on her British debut, it was Clive Cox’s charge that ultimately prevailed.
Last year’s Nunthorpe hero, Live In The Dream, set the early pace in his seasonal return and appeared poised to fend off all challengers as he entered the final furlong still in the lead. However, Richard Kingscote expertly guided 12-1 shot Kerdos, edging ahead by half a length at the finish line. Seven Questions secured third place, while Asfoora had to settle for fourth.
Following this impressive performance, bookmaker Quinnbet adjusted Kerdos’ odds to 10-1 (from 20-1) for the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot
Kingscote said: “We thought he’d improved from last year and we also thought he was better than he’d shown this year.
“I got a nice lead into it, through the first furlong I wanted a bit of cover but once I did he dropped his head nicely.
“There’s still things we can work with on him, but he’s a nice horse going forward. He’s the type of horse Clive does really well with.”
Part-owner Alan Spence said: “It’s the third time we’ve won this race as we won with his sire, Profitable and also with Priceless so we’ve had three Temple Stakes winners, all with Clive which takes a bit of doing.
“The faster they are, the better Clive likes them!
“We were a bit worried about the ground today but they haven’t used the straight course and it’s not as heavy, if anything it’s only soft.
“It looked like he took a bit of getting going today but I think that is because the other one (Live In The Dream) goes so fast, but once he was settled we were there.
“Royal Ascot is the plan, it was before today.”
Adam West was more than satisfied with Live In The Dream’s first run since finishing fourth at the Breeders’ Cup meeting back in November.
He said: “That couldn’t have gone better. He missed the break by half a beat today and I think that was because the horse next to him was playing up.
“He’s done everything I wanted to see today and he’s having a nice blow – I think he’s going to be a superstar this year.
“All the others had had runs, fair play the winner is nice and has been produced brilliantly but knowing what he has left in the tank for next time, we’ve avoided a penalty so we couldn’t have asked for more.
“We’re not going to Ascot, it’s too stiff a track for him, so we’re going for the Coral Charge at Sandown – that’s always been the plan and it’s a our home track. He can get some confidence there before he heads for bigger things but I’m absolutely delighted.”
Temple Stakes
(British Champions Series)
£125,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 5f, Class 1
9 ran
Going: Soft
POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (2) Kerdos 4 9-6 Clive Cox Richard Kingscote 12/1
2 (3) ½ Live In The Dream 5 9-6 Adam West Sean Kirrane 8/1
3 (6) 2¼ Seven Questions 3 8-12 George Scott Callum Shepherd 16/1
4 (7) nse Asfoora 5 9-6 Henry Dwyer Mitchell Aitken 4/1J
5 (9) ¾ Beautiful Diamond 3 8-9 K R Burke Clifford Lee 4/1J
6 (10) nse Rogue Lightning 4 9-6 Tom Clover James Doyle 17/2
7 (1) ½ Equality 6 9-6 Charles Hills Saffie Osborne 17/2
8 (8) 3 Vadream 6 9-3 Charlie Fellowes Daniel Tudhope 9/2
9 (5) hd Flora Of Bermuda 3 8-9 Andrew Balding Oisin Murphy 10/1
NR 6 (4) Makarova 5 9-3 Ed Walker NON RUNNER
