Royal Ascot

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royal ascot 2011/

Best Terms Triumphs in Queen Mary Stakes
15/06/11

1 Best Terms 12/1
2 Shumoos 6/5 Fav
3 Caledonia Lady 100/1
14 ran Distances: shd, hd, 1½l
TIME 1m 0.22s (slow by 0.52s)

Best Terms gave trainer Richard Hannon a fifth Queen Mary Stakes with a tenacious short-head victory under Richard Hughes.

Best Terms
© Racehorse Photos

The 12/1 winner brought up a 155/1 double on the day for Hannon and Hughes who had earlier teamed up for an 11/1 triumph with Strong Suit in the Jersey Stakes.

Best Terms showed plenty of speed in the five-furlong contest and then battled hard in the final strides to repel runner-up Shumoos and the fast-finishing Caledonian Lady.

The Exceed And Excel filly, carrying the colours of her owner/breeder Robert Barnett, made famous thanks to the exploits of 1982 Oaks heroine Time Charter, joined Fly Baby (1981), Lyric Fantasy (1992), Risky (1993) and Gilded (2006) as Hannon-trained winners of the Group Two race.

The trainer said: "She wasn't born until the 19th of May but she is vey quick. I thought the horse this side (Caledonian Lady) was going to catch her but she stuck her head out and she's still unbeaten."

Richard Hannon jnr., assistant trainer to his father, said: "She ran well last time but she had a lot more on her plate today - I thought she had a bit too much on her plate.

"We will give her a break now and might go to York for the Lowther Stakes in August and then the Cheveley Park Stakes, or something like that.

"This is the meeting that really matters and it's always great to have winners here."

Hughes, riding his second Queen Mary Stakes winner after Gilded, said: "We always liked her. She's so small but she keeps pulling it out. They say good things come in little packages."

Will Edmeades, racing manager to the owner, added: "We chucked the mare (Sharp Terms) in a field two years ago because she was not coming up with the goods but she is back in foal now to Exceed And Excel."

Position	Horse Trainer	Jockey Weight	Starting Price Beaten Distance
1	Best Terms R Hannon	R Hughes 8st 12lbs	12 - 1 Winner
2	Shumoos B J Meehan	Martin Dwyer 8st 12lbs	6 - 5 Short Head
3	Caledonia Lady P G Murphy	D Holland 8st 12lbs	100 - 1 Head
4	Fire Lily D Wachman	R L Moore 8st 12lbs	8 - 1 1 1/2 length
5	Kohala T D Barron	G Gibbons 8st 12lbs	40 - 1 3/4 length
6	Ruby's Day E J O'Neill	L Dettori 8st 12lbs	20 - 1 Short Head
7	Gypsy Robin Wesley Ward	Jeffrey Sanchez 8st 12lbs	13 - 2 1 length
8	Vocational M Johnston	S De Sousa 8st 12lbs	12 - 1 1/2 length
9	On The Dark Side K A Ryan	J P Spencer 8st 12lbs	25 - 1 1 1/2 length
10	Somasach J S Bolger	K J Manning 8st 12lbs	12 - 1 2 1/2 lengths
11	Charlotte Rosina R A Teal	John Fahy 8st 12lbs	33 - 1 1 1/4 length
12	Dozy K A Ryan	P Makin 8st 12lbs	9 - 1 1/2 length
13	Ebony Clarets R A Fahey	P Hanagan 8st 12lbs	50 - 1 2 1/2 lengths
14	Bubbly Ballerina A Bailey	M Barzalona 8st 12lbs	33 - 1 4 1/2 lengths

MEEHAN SETS SIGHTS ON NEXT BIG TARGET FOR SHUMOOS

A three-way finish in the Queen Mary Stakes saw Best Terms hold off the Brian Meehan-trained Shumoos and Caledonia Lady, trained by Pat Murphy, by a short-head and a head.

Meehan was in no doubt of the runner-up’s next target, saying: “I think she wants six [furlongs] so we’ll go and win the Cherry Hinton instead!”

Murphy, perhaps better known as a jumps trainer but clearly equally adept with young Flat horses, was delighted with the performance of Caledonia Lady, who was sent off at 100/1.

He said: “We knew she was useful. We’ve had a couple of two-year-olds who have won and she’s better than them. She got a little tired in her last run at Leicester.

“She might have been a 100/1 shot but she wasn’t coming as a no-hoper from the yard. We knew she’s run a very respectable race. I must admit that I felt that there were three fillies in the race that I thought were out of the top drawer so I was hoping she’d run into the first half-dozen. To run that well is fantastic.”