Royal Ascot

Miss Andretti Another Aussie Winner
19/06/07

1st (16) Miss Andretti 3/1 FAV
2nd (3) Dandy Man 15/2
3rd (7) Magnus 14/1

Miss Andretti followed in the footsteps of previous winners Choisir (2003) and Takeover Target (2006) to land a third King’s Stand Stakes for Australia.

The 3/1 favourite was never in serious danger and powered home in the final furlong to score by a lengths and three quarters from Dandy Man.

Trainer Lee Freedman commented: “You don’t see that too often!

“That was why we brought her over - we wanted the world to see how good she is. That was an awesome display

“I always wanted to win a Group One race in Europe. We’ve come 12,000 miles with her which is always risky - she had to travel and settle it so it was a massive gamble.

“It is marvellous just to come here and compete. Craig (Newitt) has a great record on her and she kept picking up.

“I think I’ll retire now!

“I had been confident but that had eroded over the past week, particularly when I saw the draw.

“I like to be modest, but I wan’t surprised the way she won in the end.

“I have wanted to bring horses over before but have never had the support of the owners, so I am very grateful to everyone connected with Miss Andretti.

“I would also like to thank Nick Smith and the whole team at Ascot.

“She will now go back to the paddocks for a couple of days and she won’t even have a saddle on her. She’ll tell us if she wants to run in the Golden Jubille Stakes on Saturday.

Craig Newitt added: “I was happy to be where I was on her. You can always ride her with confidence.

“She is the best horse in the race and always gives her best.

“I told everyone I wasn’t nervous but I was! There was a fair amount of pressure. It’s a privilege to ride her.”

Part-owner Sean Buckley added: “That was a great effort and training performance.

“The only bad thing is that I’ll never have another horse like her!”

Miss Andretti broke the five-furlong course record at Ascot when recording 57.44s.

DANDY DIVIDES AUSSIES

The Tracey Collins-trained Dandy Man prevented a a first four clean sweep for the Australian raiders when finishing runner-up to Miss Andretti in the King’s Stand Stakes.

“He’s run a terrific race,” said a delighted Collins. “He had to come home on his own and you have to be tough to do that.

“He divided the Australian horses and you can’t take anything away from the winner - she’s a four-time Group 1 winner. He probably won’t come back on Saturday, we’re more likely to wait until the July Cup - I just hope these Aussies go back to the southern hemisphere soon.”

Trainer Peter Moody will make a late decision on whether third-placed Magnus runs in Saturday’s Group 1 Golden Jubilee Stakes. “He just found it all a bit fresh today,” said Moody. “We’ll see how he pulls out after this but we probably won’t make a decision on whether he runs in the Golden Jubilee until 8am on Saturday. He could stay on for the July Cup and Nunthorpe.”

Owner Ron Crabtree added: “It was an exciting run and showed what a great filly Miss Andretti is. It was our first run for a while and he was a bit fresh today, he was sweating in the box beforehand, but he showed his class and stuck on for third. He’s a wonderful horse for punters to back because he is always there or thereabouts.”

Last year’s winner Takeover Target finished fourth and trainer Joe Janiak’s son Ben reported: “I was slightly disappointed but he was run off his feet a bit early on and probably needs further. We’ll see how he comes out of this but the Jubilee has always been his main aim.”

Jockey Jay Ford added: “There were no excuses, he’s just a bit older 12 months on and six furlongs should suit him better on Saturday.”

BENTLEY BISCUIT - JARRED UP

Jockey Nash Rawiller reported that Bentley Biscuit found ground conditions too quick for his liking.

He indicated that it is unlikely Gai Waterhouse’s charge will line up in Saturday’s Golden Jubilee Stakes.

He said: “There is no doubt that the ground is fast and has dried out as the day has gone on and my bloke didn’t appreciate it any stage.

“At no stage did he stretch out. He is jarred up pretty bad. I’m hoping he is here for Saturday but it would need a lot of rain. Otherwise, we’ll wait for the July Cup.”

Mark Wallace is unlikely to bring Benbaun back for Saturday’s Golden Jubilee Stakes - because the Aussies are too good.

Newmarket-based Wallace held his hands up after his six-year-old charge could only finish 12th to record-breaking mare Miss Andretti in the King’s Stand.

Wallace said: “I don’t think there is any point in taking them (the Australian sprinters) on again. They are different gear.

“Benbaun hasn’t run badly. He pulled a front shoe off - what difference that makes, I don’t know.

“Where will he go next? There is a race at Newcastle and the valuable (Listed) race at the Curragh on Irish Derby day which he has won and also come second in.”

3.05pm KING’S STAND STAKES (GROUP TWO)
(FIRST BRITISH LEG OF THE GLOBAL SPRINT CHALLENGE)
£200,000 guaranteed, 5f, For 3yo+ Weights 3yo colts and geldings 8st 12lb; fillies 8st 9lb; 4yo+ colts and geldings 9st 4lb; fillies 9st 4lb; fillies 9st 1lb Weight For Age 3 from 4yo+ 6lb Entries 53 pay £500 First Forfeit 37 pay £580 Second Forfeit 1 pay £15,000 Confirmed 26 pay £360 Penalty value 1st £121,259.38; 2nd £45,958.11; 3rd £23,000.41; 4th £11,468.17; 5th £5,744.76; 6th £2,883.06

1 MISS ANDRETTI (AUS) (P Buckley, D Mueller, G Guenzi) Lee Freedman AUS 6-9-01 Craig Newitt [19] 3/1 f
2 DANDY MAN (IRE) (Princess Haya of Jordan) Tracey Collins IRE 4-9-04 Pat Shanahan [1] 15/2
3 MAGNUS (AUS) (R Crabtree) Peter Moody AUS 5-9-04b Damien Oliver [17] 14/1
4 TAKEOVER TARGET (AUS) (Joe & Ben Janiak) Joe Janiak AUS 8-9-04 Jay Ford [14] 11/2
5 ENTICING (IRE) (Lael Stables) William Haggas 3-8-09 Jamie Spencer [12]
6 DESERT LORD (Bull & Bell Partnership) Kevin Ryan 7-9-04b Neil Callan [20]
7 BEAUTY IS TRUTH (IRE) (Richard Strauss) Robert Collet FR 3-8-09 Thierry Thulliez [10]
8 THE TATLING (IRE) (Dab Hand Racing) Milton Bradley 10-9-04 Darryll Holland [15]
9 GREEN MANALISHI (T Fawcett, S McCarthy, J Brennan & J Smith) Kevin Ryan 6-9-04 Ted Durcan [21]
10 MOORHOUSE LAD (Ron Hull) Bryan Smart 4-9-04 Tom Eaves [18]
11 TAX FREE (IRE) (Ian Hewitson) David Nicholls 5-9-04 Adrian Nicholls [7]
12 BENBAUN (IRE) (Ransley, Birks, Hillen) Mark Wallace 6-9-04v Pat Smullen [5]
13 PIVOTAL POINT (Exors of Late R Bernard & John Perry) Peter Makin 7-9-04 Seb Sanders [4]
14 MOSS VALE (IRE) (Lady O’Reilly) David Nicholls 6-9-04 Frankie Dettori [11]
15 CONQUEST (IRE) (Highclere Thoroughbred Racing XXX VIII) William Haggas 3-8-12b Hugh Bowman [9]
16 MANZILA (FR) (M Guerriche) Freddie Head FR 4-9-01 Olivier Peslier [2]
17 KING ORCHISIOS (IRE) (Mr & Mrs Julian & Rosie Richer) Kevin Ryan 4-9-04p Daragh O'Donohoe [6]
18 MATSUNOSUKE (Scobie Coogan) Scobie Coogan 5-9-04 Johnny Murtagh [8]
19 DAZED AND AMAZED (R Ablett) Richard Hannon 3-8-12 Richard Hughes [16]
20 BENTLEY BISCUIT (AUS) (Gai Waterhouse) Gai Waterhouse AUS 6-9-04 Nash Rawiller [3]

20 ran
Non-runner: 19 Hamoody (Ground)
Distances: 1 3/4, nk, 1/2, 1 1/2, 1 3/4, hd, 1/2, 1/2, 1 1/4, hd, sh, 1/2, hd, sh, 1, 1, nk, 5, 1/2
Time: 57.44s (course record - previous course record 59.79s)
Breeding: b m Ihtiram (IRE) - Peggie’s Bid (AUS) (Marooned)
Breeder: Mr & Mrs K & Mrs P Beauglehole
Totes: Win: £4.20 Places:£2.20; £3.00; £5.30 Exacta:£36.80

MISS ANDRETTI (AUS) FACTFILE
6 b m Ihtiram (IRE) - Peggie’s Bid (AUS) (Marooned)
Owner: Sean Buckley Trainer: Lee Freedman
Jockey: Craig Newitt Breeder: Keith & Peggy Beauglehole
Form in 2007: -1111

Miss Andretti
With three straight victories in 2007 - all at Group One level - Miss Andretti is undoubtedly one of the classiest sprinters on the planet. The six-year-old mare captured the Lightning Stakes, the first leg of the 2007 Global Sprint Challenge, over five furlongs at Moonee Valley on February 3, breaking the course record as she blitzed to a length and a half success over Magnus. Miss Andretti returned to the Melbourne track two weeks later for the second leg of the Global Sprint Challenge, the six-furlong Australia Stakes, and showed blistering acceleration to account for Any Suggestion by a length and a quarter. On her most recent outing in the Newmarket Handicap at Caulfield over six furlongs on March 10, Miss Andretti cracked another course record as she held off Gold Edition by a head, conceding 8lb to the runner-up, with Magnus close up in fourth place. After her latest triumph, trainer Lee Freedman compared Miss Andretti with the great three-time Melbourne Cup heroine Makybe Diva, who he also trained. She won today’s King’s Stand Stakes in style and will probably tum out again for Saturday’s Golden Jubilee Stakes over an extra furlong.

Lee Freedman
Born August 12, 1956, Lee Freedman is one of the most successful Australian racehorse trainers of the past 25 years. Having sent out his first winner, Sitting Bull, at Canberra in 1983, Freedman has gone on to land a total of 119 Group One races. His Interest in racing developed when his father, Tony, retired as a property developer to concentrate on training and breeding. Freedman dropped out of university to run the family stud farm in Yass, NSW, before setting up as a trainer with his brothers Anthony, Richard and Michael, initially at Warwick Farm, Sydney and later at Avenel and Caulfield. He enjoyed phenomenal success in the late 1980s through to the mid-1990s with a host of big race wins. Suspended for four months in 1995 after substituting a horse at a barrier trial, Freedman was subsequently embroiled in the Encosta de Lago affair, in which the top three-year-old he trained tested positive for a prohibited substance but was allowed to run in the 1996 Bill Stutt Stakes, which he won. His fortunes declined between the 1997/98 and 2002/2003 seasons as he saddled only 15 Group One winners compared to 13 in the 1995/1996 season alone. However, he radically changed his training set-up after the 2000 Melbourne Cup, moving to ‘Markdel’, Rye, his purpose built training establishment named after his intellectually handicapped brother Mark and mother Del. More recently, Freedman acquired a two-year-old training facility at Tuerong, Denistoun Park. He trained the phenomenal mare Makybe Diva to land the second and third legs of her Melbourne Cup treble (2004 & 2005), a contest he also took with Tawrrific (1989), Subzero (1992) and Doriemus (1995). Freedman has also won the Caulfield Cup four times (1992 Mannerism, 1994 Paris Lane, 1995 Doriemus, 2003 Mummify), the Golden Slipper four times(1993 Bint Marscay, 1994 Danzero, 1995 Flying Spur, 1996 Merlene) and the Cox Plate twice (1992 Super Impose, 2005 Makybe Diva). He trained his 100th Group One winner with Mummify in the Yalumba Stakes at Caulfield on October 9, 2004, and paid his first visit to Royal Ascot last year with Falkirk, who finished a fine fourth behind compatriot Takeover Target in the King’s Stand Stakes. Miss Andretti’s success in the 2007 Australia Stakes gave Freedman the full set of Victoria Group One races (27 in total). He is married to Janelle and has two daughters, Emma and Georgia.

Craig Newitt
Born March 10, 1985, Craig Newitt was always destined to become a jockey - his parents, Guy Newitt and Virginia Wells, were both jockeys, as were their fathers, Geoff Newitt and Tas Wells. From the age of nine, he mixed the pony club and riding track-work. After being granted an apprenticeship in 2000, Newittt rode his first winner on Kimbra’s Way at Elwick, Hobart, Tasmania, in November 2000, and quickly established himself as a fine rider, landing the Tasmanian jockeys’ premiership in 2000/01. In 2002, he was offered the chance to ride in Melbourne and joined Lee Freedman’s stable, taking the 2002/03 Victorian apprentices’ premiership. His first Group win was on the Freedman-trained True Glo in the 2003 Queensland Guineas at Eagle Farm. In June, 2004, Newitt’s career took a nosedive when he was disqualified by the Racing Victoria stewards for 18 months, after giving false evidence at the Leone Chiara enquiry, which stemmed from an enquiry into Newitt’s ride on the horse seven months earlier. However, he was soon back in the big time after returning to ride in November, 2005, ending the season with four Group One winners, including the Australian Cup with 50/1 chance Roman Arch.