Betway Winter Derby |
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| Group 3, Lingfield 15:15 £100,000 added, 4yo plus, 1m 2f, Class 1  |
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| Saturday 25th February 2017 | |
1 Convey 11/2
2 Pinzolo 17/2
3 Absolute Blast 9/1
9 ran NR: Mutakayyef Distances: nk, hd, nk
Time: 2m 4.68s (slow by 3.68s)
Convey books Good Friday place with Lingfield Park victory
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Stepping up to a mile and a quarter for the first time, the Sir Michael Stoute-trained five-year-old travelled well in midfield for Andrea Atzeni and quickened smartly when coming widest of all in the straight to collar long-time leader Pinzolo (17/2, Ismail Mohammed/Tom Marquand) near the line for a neck success in 2m 4.68s.
The victory gave Stoute his first success of 2017, while new owner Robert Ng gained immediate payback for the 130,000 guineas cost of the horse at Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale.
Absolute Blast (Archie Watson/Oisin Murphy) who took the lead inside the final furlong but lost out in the closing stages, finished a further head back in third, with a neck to Zhui Feng (Amanda Perrett/Jim Crowley) and the same margin to the fifth home Grendisar (Marco Botti/Adam Kirby) in a blanket finish.
Battalion (Jamie Osborne/George Baker), the 7/4 favourite and very slow into stride out of the stalls, was a never nearer sixth.
Ante-post favourite Mutakayyef (William Haggas) missed the contest due to a foot abscess.
Andrea Atzeni said: "Convey did it quite well. Obviously, it was his first time over this trip - I wasn't sure that he would get it but Sir Michael was pretty positive and thought he would stay.
"It worked out perfectly from a bad draw. I actually lost my left iron coming out of the stalls but somehow managed to put it back on. He travelled smoothly and I didn't want to go too early because I didn't know what he was going to do in front.
"To be fair to the horse, he was always doing enough to win his race and saw the trip out really well.
"After Mutakayyef came out, I thought that Convey was the best horse in the race. He obviously likes the All-Weather, having won on it before, and is a horse that has always had a lot of ability. He has been gelded and could be a decent horse over the summer."
Convey is unbeaten in two starts on the All-Weather, having won easily on his debut at Kempton Park in 2014.
Ismail Mohammed commented: "I was very pleased with Pinzolo. He is a mile and a half horse and ran very well over 10 furlongs today. Finals Day is a possibility but we might end up on the grass instead. We will see how he comes out of this race."
Betway Winter Derby
£100,000 added, 4yo plus, 1m 2f, Class 1
9 ran
Surface: Polytrack
Going: Standard
| Pos | Dr | D | Horse SP | Jockey Weight | Trainer | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | (10) | Convey 11/2 | Andrea Atzeni 9-0 |
Sir Michael Stoute | 5 | |
| 2nd | (9) | nk | Pinzolo 17/2 | Tom Marquand 9-0 |
I Mohammed | 6 |
| 3rd | (5) | hd | Absolute Blast (IRE) 9/1 | Oisin Murphy 8-11 |
Archie Watson | 5 |
| 4th | (8) | nk | Zhui Feng (IRE) 11/1 | Jim Crowley 8-13 |
Mrs A J Perrett | 4 |
| 5th | (2) | nk | Grendisar (IRE) 11/4 | A Kirby 9-0 |
M Botti | 7 |
| 6th | (1) | 3½ | Battalion (IRE) 7/4f | G Baker 9-0 |
J A Osborne | 7 |
| 7th | (6) | 2 | You're Fired (IRE) 50/1 | D C Costello 9-0 |
K R Burke | 6 |
| 8th | (3) | 22 | Mythical Madness 20/1 | J P Spencer 9-0 |
D O'Meara | 6 |
| PU | (4) | Solar Deity (IRE) 40/1 | S Donohoe 9-0 |
Jane Chapple-Hyam | 8 | |
| NR | (7) | Mutakayyef 5/4 | Jim Crowley 9-0 |
W J Haggas | 6 |
