Royal Ascot

Royal Ascot 2009

King Edward VII Stakes
19/06/09

1 Father Time 9/1
2 Your Old Pal 14/1
3 Black Bear Island 9/2
12 ran

Father Time Lands King Edward for Henry Cecil

Henry Cecil, having been stuck on 70 for seven long years, registered his 71st and one of his most emphatic Royal Ascot victories when Father Time, one of two Cecil horses in the King Edward VI Stakes, powered home for an emphatic four length victory over Your Old Pal.

“I want to get to a 100, but having a few flat years...it takes a bit of catching up. I’ve still got quite a lot to do,” said Cecil.

Coming into the race the trainer had been hopeful, that either Father Time, ridden by Eddie Ahern, or Native Ruler, with Tom Queally on board, would come up trumps.

“I thought that both horses had good chances and that this was my best chance of the week - one or other of them,” said Cecil, who added, “It’s worth thinking about the St Leger, isn’t it? I hadn’t really thought about but you can think about it now.

“At home, he’s quite sort of laid back. He works nicely but he’s taken quite a long time - he’s a bit of a baby - to come to himself. He’s very athletic for a horse. He used to carry his head quite high which is why we put a crossed-noseband on him.

“He wants a trip and he’s a funny little horse - he’s an own brother to Passage Of Time, who didn’t really get a mile and a half but he looks like he gets it really well. He’s got a lot of potential. Hopefully he’ll go on from here.

“It’s always good to win at Royal Ascot and they have been running well this week - some seconds and thirds and fourths. You have to have the best horses to win at Ascot - you don’t win here with second best and even if you give your best, it’s may not be good enough,” said Cecil.

There was, as ever, rapturous applause when Cecil entered the winning enclosure: “The public has always been very good to me and perhaps I have fallen in love with them as well.”

Asked about his health, the trainer said : Healthwise, I am not tip-top, but I am still alive, aren’t I?”

Jockey Eddie Ahern said: “They went a really good gallop, which he definitely likes, and it was a good draw. I was going through the race and I came off the rail like Mr Cecil wanted me to do. At the mile and a half start, it goes downhill and we were going pretty quick down there. Up the back straight they were going very, very quick. And there was a stage where I wanted to get a little closer. With those Aidan O’Brien horses, you have to be careful as they might get away. But Richard Hughes said to me, ‘Don’t go yet, they’re going too quick’, so I have to thank him.

“My horse wasn’t stopping going to the line. He was galloping all of the way and after line he galloped on really well so I am sure that a mile and six furlongs is not a problem.”

RAFFLES ENJOYS THE OLD PALS ACT

The Jeremy Noseda-trained Your Old Pal could not match winner Father Time in the King Edward VII Stakes, but he ran a blinder to take second and was greeted in the winner’s enclosure by his enthusiastic owners, Raffles Racing.

Noseda said: “He ran a solid race, I’ve no complaints - in fact I’m delighted. We came here thinking that if he stayed the trip he might finish third or fourth and he’s finished second, so that’s great.

“That’s as good as he’s run in any race, and while it’s nice to win I’m more than happy. The horse has done everything I could have asked.”

Asked for future plans, Noseda said: “The Gordon Stakes [at Glorious Goodwood] is an obvious one to look at, and I’ve had the mile-and-a-quarter Secretariat Stakes at the Arlington Million weekend in mind. We’ll sit down with the team and discuss it.”

Of Raffles Racing, Noseda said: “They are a bunch of young lads enjoying their first time in racing on their own account, and one of the most critical things is that they have some fun.

“Henry St George, whose father [Edward] was a major patron of mine, put the group together - they came to me with a view to buying a horse at the breeze-up sales and so I went along with [bloodstock agent] Jamie McCalmont, but kept getting outbid.

“Willie Browne [of Ireland’s Mocklershill Stud] had a horse that failed to go through the ring after suffering a little setback, and he said ‘Take him for a month and if you like him keep him, if not send him back. We agreed a price. I took the and the arrangement worked out well, because it turned out to be Your Old Pal.

“It was a bit like having a car to drive for a month to see if you like it - I’m grateful to Willie for that, but you need a bit of luck.”

Ballydoyle’s Aidan O’Brien and jockey Colm O’Donoghue were not disappointed with third-placed Black Bear Island.

O’Donoghue said: “We’ve no complaints - he ran a blinder and kept on going right to the line,” while O’Brien said: “He’s had two back-to-back hard races and will probably be put away until the autumn.”