Bumper 30 for Jockey Club Stakes
16/04/08

An impressive entry of 30 - up from 22 in 2007 - has been received for the £90,000 Group Two stanjamesuk.com Jockey Club Stakes, details of which are revealed today. The mile-and-a-half event, for four–year-olds and upwards, takes place on The NatWest Rowley Mile on Sunday, May 4, day two of the StanJamesUK Guineas Festival.

Sixties Icon
© racing-images.co.uk

Among those entered is the Jeremy Noseda-trained Sixties Icon, who won the race last year. The five-year-old, winner of the St Leger in 2006, is due to gallop before racing at Newmarket today.

Time Allowed was the last mare to take the Jockey Club Stakes in 1997. Newmarket trainer David Elsworth is hoping that he can buck that trend this year with Gower Song, who has been in great form over the winter months in Dubai, where she won a Group Three contest before finishing a relatively close-up seventh in the Group One Dubai Sheema Classic.

Elsworth, who also has entered Balkan Knight, commented today: "At this moment in time, the plan is to run Gower Song in the John Porter (run at Newbury on Saturday) and then all being well head to Newmarket on May 4.

"She has been pleasing in her work since returning from sunnier climes, is fit and in the best form of her life.

"She didn’t get any luck at all in the Sheema Classic, having been drawn 16 of 16.

"Ted Durcan rides her very well and dropped her in but in hindsight that didn’t work out as she didn’t get the best of runs.

"Had she been able to get a good run, she would have been several lengths closer. She is a very good filly.

"Whether old Balkan Knight will be ready, I’m not quite sure. He is a bit backward in his coat but it’s possible he could run as he’s doing very well."

There is an international flavour to the entries with two entries from France, three from Ireland and one from Germany.

Both of the French-trained entries are from the Andre Fabre stable, successful in this race with Shirocco two years ago. Fabre’s duo are Coastal Path, unbeaten in four starts last year including at Group Two level and Getaway, a Group Two scorer at Deauville in August who was last seen when finishing a fine fourth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Adlerflug, victorious in the 2007 German Derby, is the German entrant from the stable of Jens Hirschberger. The reigning champion trainer Aidan O’Brien has two entered with last year’s St Leger third and sixth, Honolulu and Macarthur, while the other Irish-trained entry is the Group Three winner Mores Wells from the Kevin Prendergast stable.

Sir Michael Stoute has a fine record with his older horses and is the most successful current trainer in the stanjamesuk.com Jockey Club Stakes, having won the Group Two contest no less than six times. The master of Freemason Lodge has two engaged this year - last season’s Grade One Canadian International runner-up Ask and Galactic Star, successful in the Listed Newmarket Equine Security Godolphin Stakes over the course and distance in October.

Fellow Newmarket handler Luca Cumani has won the race three times, most recently with subsequent Japan Cup victor Alkaased in 2005, and his two possibles for this year’s renewal are Lion Sands, last seen out when successful over two furlongs further in the Listed Grove Farm Stud Noel Murless Stakes on The NatWest Rowley Mile in October and the lightly-raced Speed Gifted, triumphant in two out of his three starts last season but yet to race above handicap company.

Other interesting entries include the 2006 Breeders’ Cup Turf hero Red Rocks, the 2006 Vodafone Derby runner-up Dragon Dancer and the Mark Johnston-trained pair of Soapy Danger, successful in the Group Two Princess of Wales’s Stakes on the July Course in 2006 and Zaham. Mick Channon has entered Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe runner-up Youmzain and Group Two scorer Halicarnassus.

THE stanjamesuk.com JOCKEY CLUB STAKES
Class 1, Group 2. Total Prize Fund £90,000. For four-year-olds & upwards, one mile & four furlongs. 2.30pm Newmarket, Sunday, May 4. Weights: colts & geldings 8st 12lb; fillies 8st 9lb. Penalties: after May 31, 2007, a winner of a Group Two race of one mile or further 3lb; of a Group One race of one mile or further 5lb. Entries closed April 15, entries released April 16 (30 entries). Five-day confirmation stage April 28, final declaration stage 10.00am, May 2. Entries supplied by Weatherbys and include the racing up to & including Monday, April 14. May not includes some overseas form.

Form Horse Age Owner Trainer
5/16112- ADLERFLUG (GER) 4 Gestut Schlenderhan Jens Hirschberger GER
123116- ANNA PAVLOVA 5 Galaxy Racing Richard Fahey
024/112- ASK 5 Patrick Fahey Sir Michael Stoute
142642- BALKAN KNIGHT 8 Raymond Tooth David Elsworth
031606- BIG ROBERT 4 Martin Graham William Muir
1111- COASTAL PATH 4 Khalid Abdulla Andre Fabre FR
46/0130- DRAGON DANCER 5 John Pearce Geoff Wragg
521114- GALACTIC STAR 5 Saeed Suhail Sir Michael Stoute
113/124- GETAWAY (GER) 5 Baron Georg von Ullmann Andre Fabre FR
1-62410 GOWER SONG 5 Usk Valley Stud David Elsworth
510-450 HALICARNASSUS (IRE) 4 Box 41 Mick Channon
112330- HONOLULU (IRE) 4 Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor Aidan O'Brien IRE
(1)6/0010- HOTEL DU CAP 5 John Pearce Geoff Wragg
4/145(3)1- LION SANDS 4 Stronach Stables Luca Cumani
1/3336-0 MACARTHUR 4 Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor Aidan O'Brien IRE
14011-(1) MALT OR MASH (USA) 4 A P Patey Richard Hannon
450136- MORES WELLS 4 Iona Equine Kevin Prendergast IRE
010/100- PETARA BAY (IRE) 4 Slavica Ecclestone Terry Mills
014430- RED ROCKS (IRE) 5 Paul Reddam Brian Meehan
102533- REGIME (IRE) 4 Highclere Thoroughbred Racing XL Michael Bell
116/100- SIXTIES ICON 5 Susan Roy Jeremy Noseda
15/230-1 SOAPY DANGER 5 Renata Jacobs Mark Johnston
151- SPEED GIFTED 4 Ronchalon Racing (UK) Ltd Luca Cumani
23P00-P THE LAST DROP (IRE) 5 Jack Hanson, Cavendish Inv Ltd, Sandy Patrick Barry Hills
510014- TRANQUIL TIGER 4 Khalid Abdulla Henry Cecil
150610- TUNGSTEN STRIKE (USA) 7 John Connolly Amanda Perrett
234535- UNDER THE RAINBOW 5 Bill Gredley Barry Hills
41260-0 YELLOWSTONE (IRE) 4 Fitri Hay Jane Chapple-Hyam
35242-5 YOUMZAIN (IRE) 5 Jaber Abdullah Mick Channon
11322-(0) ZAHAM (USA) 4 Hamdan Al Maktoum Mark Johnston

30 entries
3 Irish-trained
2 French-trained
1 German-trained