Zoustar Palace House Stakes |
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| Group 3, Newmarket 14:20 £60,000 added, 5f, Class 1  |
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| Saturday 4th May 2019 | |
1 Mabs Cross 6/1
2 Equilateral 11/2
3 Major Jumbo 8/1
11 ran Distances: nk, 1¾l, ½l
Time: 58.67s (slow by 1.17s)
Mabs Cross wins it in a photo finish with Equilateral
A sprinter to keep an eye on this season…
— Newmarket Racecourse (@NewmarketRace) May 4, 2019
Mabs Cross triumphs in the Group 3 Zoustar Palace House Stakes on QIPCO 2000 #Guineas day pic.twitter.com/IRCjcazuuP
Mabs Cross comes out on top in a photo-finish to win the Group 3 Palace House Stakes at Newmarket for Michael Dods, David Armstrong and Paul Mulrennan.
Carrying a penalty for her victory in the Group One Prix de l'Abbaye last autumn, the 6/1 charge finished strongly to reel-in Equilateral, who had looked all over the winner entering the final furlong, and score by a neck.
Major Jumbo was third, one place ahead of the fast-finishing market leader Sergei Profokiev.
Winning rider Paul Mulrennan said: “Giving that penalty away, she has proved she is the real deal. She has improved as the winter has gone on and she has got stronger.
“She had to do it the hard way, as she was always stuck out on the wing a little bit as she had nothing to race with.
“She is a very special filly and fair to play to Michael Dods – he is a dab hand with these. She will improve as well as she has not had a run this year.
“The King’s Stand, Temple, Nunthorpe and back for the Abbaye will be on the agenda, so it is happy days. This is extra special as I missed the bulk of last season (through injury), but you have got to take the highs with the lows.
“There will be plenty more good days in her. It is nice that Michael and the owners have stayed loyal to me as the phone was hopping for other people to get on her.”
Emma Armstrong, wife of winning owner David Armstrong, was equally delighted with the performance having arrived at the track with an open mind.
She said: “I am fantastically proud. We knew she was fit and well. She had the big penalty and we came with an open mind to see what we would find out.
“I think we may go to the Temple Stakes at Haydock, so hopefully at the end of the month we will see her again. I would think we will look at Royal Ascot as well.”
A re-match with the runner-up at Royal Ascot is a possibility, according to his trainer Charlie Hills.
He said: “Equilateral missed the break a bit which didn’t help, but he’s run a great race when he was in front for a long way. He’s had three quick races so we’ll give him a break now and look at the King’s Stand.”
Zoustar Palace House Stakes (Group 3)
£60,000 added, 5f, Class 1
11 ran
Going: Good to Firm
| Pos | Dr | D | Horse SP | Jockey Weight | Trainer | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | (10) | Mabs Cross 6/1 | P Mulrennan 9-10 |
M Dods | 5 | |
| 2nd | (2) | nk | Equilateral 11/2 | Oisin Murphy 9-6 |
C Hills | 4 |
| 3rd | (11) | 1¾ | Major Jumbo 8/1 | J P Spencer 9-6 |
K A Ryan | 5 |
| 4th | (9) | ½ | Sergei Prokofiev (CAN) 6/4f | R L Moore 9-0 |
A P O'Brien | 3 |
| 5th | (6) | ½ | Ornate 40/1 | Phil Dennis 9-6 |
D C Griffiths | 6 |
| 6th | (3) | s.h | El Astronaute (IRE) 12/1 | Jason Hart 9-6 |
J J Quinn | 6 |
| 7th | (5) | 1¼ | Judicial (IRE) 12/1 | G Lee 9-6 |
Miss J A Camacho | 7 |
| 8th | (7) | 2¼ | Tarboosh 16/1 | Kevin Stott 9-6 |
P T Midgley | 6 |
| 9th | (8) | 2¼ | Sir Thomas Gresham (IRE) 20/1 | M Dwyer 9-6 |
Tim Pinfield | 4 |
| 10th | (1) | 2¼ | Encore d'Or 33/1 | Jim Crowley 9-6 |
R M H Cowell | 7 |
| 11th | (4) | 10 | Queen Of Desire (IRE) 25/1 | D Tudhope 9-3 |
R Varian | 4 |
