bet365 Gordon Richards Stakes |
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| Group 3, Sandown Park 14:00 £65,000 added, 4yo plus, 1m 2f 7y, Class 1  |
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| Friday 24th April 2015 | |
1 Western Hymn 7/2
2 Postponed 15/8F
3 Cannock Chase 2/1
5 ran Distances: ¾l, 2¼l, 4l
TIME 2m 10.25s (slow by 4.75s)
Western Hymn and the unstoppable Frankie Dettori win the Gordon Richards Stakes
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Tracking pacesetting favourite Postponed from the outset, Western Hymn quickened up to take command of the Group Three mile-and-a-quarter contest inside the final two furlongs.
The strong-travelling Cannock Chase looked poised to pounce after being angled out for a run by Ryan Moore, however, when push came to shove, he just failed to find the gears to match the winner, eventually giving way to finish third on his first start since winning at Royal Ascot last summer.
With Cannock Chase out of the picture, it was left to the rallying Postponed to throw down one last challenge, but the John Gosden-trained Western Hymn stuck on tenaciously to take the race by three-quarters of a length, the second leg of a superb four-timer on the afternoon for winning rider Frankie Dettori.
The victory marked the second year in succession Western Hymn had triumphed on the card, having taken the bet365 Classic Trial at the corresponding meeting 12 months ago.
Gosden said: "I'm just happy to see the horse back. He's been off a long time, he got stuck in the mud at Deauville and it was pretty bad at Ascot in the big race there, so it's good to have him back and see him running his race.
"I think the horse in front (Postponed) is a pretty good horse, so Frankie wasn't going to tack too far off the pace.
"It was noticeable Postponed came back again when our fellow was idling in front, but having said that, he's beat them fair and square.
"He's come here in good form and showed his class and we can now look towards races like the Hardwicke Stakes (at Royal Ascot). We'll put him in that as it closes on Tuesday and Frankie seemed to think he would get a mile and a half.
"He's much more professional since we gelded him but he's still full of character."
Luca Cumani said of the runner-up: "I was very pleased with the way he ran as he would have preferred faster ground. They watered the ground and that wasn't suitable for him, so I could not be any happier with the run.
"We could look at the Tattersalls Gold Cup in Ireland or we could come back here for the Brigadier Gerard."
Bet365 Gordon Richards Stakes
£65,000 added, 4yo plus, 1m 2f 7y, Class 1
5 ran
Going: Good, Good to Firm in places
| Pos | Draw | Dist | Horse SP | Jockey Weight | Trainer | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | (1) | Western Hymn 7/2 | L Dettori 9-0 |
J H M Gosden | 4 | |
| 2nd | (5) | ¾ | Postponed (IRE) 15/8f | A Kirby 9-0 |
L M Cumani | 4 |
| 3rd | (4) | 2¼ | Cannock Chase (USA) 2/1 | R L Moore 9-0 |
Sir Michael Stoute | 4 |
| 4th | (2) | 4 | Tullius (IRE) 6/1 | J Fortune 9-0 |
A M Balding | 7 |
| 5th | (3) | 1½ | Ayrad (IRE) 16/1 | Andrea Atzeni 9-0 |
R Varian | 4 |
