Betway Winter Derby |
|
Group 3, Lingfield 14:05
£110,000 guaranteed,
4yo plus,
1m 2f, Class 1  |
| Saturday 26th February 2022 |
1 Alenquer 11/4
2 Lord North 6/5F
3 Fancy Man 11/4
7 ran NR: King Of The South Distances: 2½l, 1l, 4¾l
Time: 2m 0.51s (fast by 1.49s)
Alenquer, last season’s G1
Juddmonte International runner-up was making his first appearance since October in a deep field that included dual G1 winner
Lord North, who was returning after almost a year off the track, and Listed Betway Winter Derby Trial victor Fancy Man.
Sent off an 11/4 chance under Cieren Fallon, Alenquer tracked front-runner Al Zaraqaan, with 6/5 favourite Lord North and Fancy Man following in midfield of the seven runners.
Alenquer made his move passing the three-furlong pole and the William Haggas-trained four-year-old opened up a length advantage at the top of the home straight as Lord North switched to the outside and Fancy Man spied a run down the inner rail.
Fancy Man briefly got within half a length but neither rival was able to lay down a serious challenge to Alenquer, who pulled clear to win by two and a half lengths in a time of 2m 0.51s. Lord North was second, with Fancy Man a length further back in third.
Maureen Haggas said: “Alenquer is a pretty solid horse with pretty solid form and Lord North had been off for a long time. The only thing that concerned me was the trip on this track. He has good form over a mile and a quarter but this is a sharp track.
“Having said that, he was quick into his stride and was able to get himself a good position. He wasn’t pretty coming down the hill and was a bit unbalanced, so for him to win like that having found the track a challenge bodes well.
“I think he may have been more ready than we thought because he wasn’t blowing much afterwards. The guy who rides Alenquer at home every day Jason Favell does an unbelievable job because he is not an easy ride – you would not believe how badly behaved he is at home compared to how he behaves at the races. The performance the horse has put in today is all down to Jason.
“Alenquer will head for the Dubai Sheema Classic next, all being well. He was second to Mishriff at York and deserves to have a crack at a race like that.”
Fallon said: “That was straightforward. Alenquer jumped well and was able to get a nice position up there. Hollie [Doyle] was going a nice enough gallop [on Al Zaraqaan] into the first bend, so I was able to sit off her and let my mount get comfortable on the track.
“When Hollie tried to take a breather, I wanted to keep the pressure on, just to make sure it was an out-and-out gallop because this horse stays a mile and a half. This is a tight track and I did not want it to be a sprint at the end.
“As you saw coming around the home bend, he was so unorganised and was running out a bit, but he found his feet in the straight and won like a good horse.
“He had a racecourse gallop at Southwell two weeks ago and we knew coming here that this run would bring him on. He doesn’t look like he has had much of a race but he should take a step forward from this.”
Betway Winter Derby
£110,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 1m 2f, Class 1
7 ran
Going: Standard
POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 Alenquer 4 9-0 William Haggas Cieren Fallon 11/4
2 2½ Lord North 6 9-0 John & Thady Gosden Robert Havlin 6/5F
3 1 Fancy Man 4 9-0 Richard Hannon Sean Levey 11/4
4 4¾ Forest Of Dean 6 9-0 John & Thady Gosden Kieran O'Neill 16/1
5 hd Pistoletto 5 9-0 John Ryan Darragh Keenan 150/1
6 ¾ Al Zaraqaan 5 9-0 Archie Watson Hollie Doyle 22/1
7 8 Barn Owl 4 9-0 Gary Moore Rhys Clutterbuck 100/1
NR 6 King Of The South 5 9-0 William Knight NON RUNNER
