Boodles Yorkshire Cup
Group 2, York 15:45
£180,000 guaranteed,
4yo plus,
1m 5f 188y, Class 1   
Friday 17th May 2024

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1 Giavellotto 7/2
2 Vauban 7/2
3 Gregory 5/1
6 ran NR: Hamish Distances: 4¾l, ¾l, 4l
Time: 2m 55.96s (fast by 0.64s)

Giavellotto secured a second consecutive victory in the race, dominating his rivals at York’s Dante Festival.

The Group Two feature race saw six runners compete, with Tower Of London as the 7-4 favorite. However, Tower Of London failed to perform, finishing out of contention. The Willie Mullins-trained Vauban, making his first start since the Melbourne Cup, also couldn’t challenge Giavellotto.

Ridden by Oisin Murphy, Giavellotto confidently surged past Vauban and William Buick, leaving a significant gap between himself and the other horses. He crossed the finish line with a comfortable lead of four and three-quarter lengths. Despite Vauban’s satisfactory performance, Tower Of London disappointed, finishing fifth.

Giavellotto skipped Royal Ascot last year and is not entered in the Gold Cup this season, as trainer Marco Botti believes the two-and-a-half-mile trip is too far for him.

He said: “He loves the track, fortunately, he always shows his best form at York. Earlier in the week I thought the ground might be a problem because we know he acts on fast ground best and the forecast didn’t look great, but we’ve been lucky with the rain.

“The race went to plan, he got into a nice rhythm and while he got to the front a little sooner than we wanted, he galloped all the way to the line.

“It’s good to be back and it’s a race that suits him, the track is perfect. We’ve tried several times over two miles and while I’m not saying he doesn’t stay, because he has run well a few times, but it does stretch him. The Gold Cup trip is too far for him.

“I’ll need to discuss with the owners but the plan was not to go to Ascot. The Irish St Leger I know is in September and the ground could be softer, but it was a race we considered last year and we didn’t go but I would say that could be his target. I doubt we’ll go to Ascot.

“He put it to bed very easily today but the track suits him well and Oisin gave him a great ride, he was in a lovely rhythm and he picked up well.

“I was a bit shocked he was in front so early, he made them look slow today.

“We have been thinking of running him over a mile and a half eventually, we wouldn’t rule it out. Between a mile and a half and two miles, I think I’d rather run him over shorter than further. He’s definitely got stronger.”

Vauban is entered for the Gold Cup and Buick felt it was a good starting point for the campaign.

He said: “I was delighted, they’ll be very happy with that. He’s going to get further and he felt he was going to improve for that, so there are plenty of positives to take from it.”

Ascot is the next port of call for Gregory, who won the Queen’s Vase at the meeting last year.

Joint-trainer John Gosden said: “I really liked the way he got his second wind and stayed on again. The plan is to go straight to the Gold Cup. He’ll enjoy the distance.”

QuinnBet

Boodles Yorkshire Cup (Group 2)
(British Champions Series)
£180,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 1m 5f 188y, Class 1
6 ran
Going: Good, Good to Firm in places

POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (1)    Giavellotto 5 9-3 Marco Botti Oisin Murphy 7/2
2 (2) 4¾ Vauban 6 9-3 W P Mullins William Buick 7/2
3 (4) ¾ Gregory 4 9-3 John & Thady Gosden James Doyle 5/1
4 (6) 4 Al Qareem 5 9-3 K R Burke Clifford Lee 17/2
5 (3) 1¾ Tower Of London 4 9-6 A P O'Brien Ryan Moore 7/4F
6 (5) 41 Naqeeb 4 9-3 William Haggas Jim Crowley 18/1
NR 5 (7) Hamish 8 9-3 William Haggas NON RUNNER

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