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| Royal Hunt Cup 2012 |
Prince Of Johanne Reigns Supreme in Royal Hunt Cup
20/06/12
1 Prince Of Johanne 16/1
2 Excellent Guest 33/1
3 Don't Call Me 50/1
4 Field Of Dream 66/1
30 ran Distances: ½l, ¾l, nk
TIME 1m 38.24s (fast by 0.76s)
Prince Of Johanne gave trainer Tom Tate his first victory of the season and first Royal Ascot success when he landed the Royal Hunt Cup by a decisive half length under John Fahy.
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The six-year-old has been a model of consistency throughout his career and finished last season with a thrilling success in the Cambridgeshire Handicap, before returning this year with a second to Fury at York in May.
Tate said: “He is a grand horse and he is a bit better over a mile. He showed a lot of speed to win over a mile and a furlong in the Cambridgeshire and his form is there. One of the pundits in the paper said that this double was last done in 1949, so that put a bit of a dampener on our hopes.
“He is a tough little horse and we are still finding out about him. He loves a strongly-run mile and he loves the fast ground. The horse loves doing his own thing and his rider John Fahy is very intuitive and goes with him - he is a very good rider.”
Fahy added: “I remembered last season I was enjoying watching these races at home. It means an awful lot for someone young like myself to get a winner here.
“The horse is very close to my heart. He has given me a Cambridgeshire winner and he has also given me a winner at Royal Ascot - I couldn’t tell you which one was better.
“A lot of the pace was on the far side and my lad likes to have a bit of space. When I won the Cambridgeshire on him, I kicked him in the belly very soon and I did the same today.
“I have to a big thanks to give to John Reid and Richard Quinn, who have helped me out so much. They have given me some of their secrets to riding here.
“This is a very important year for me because I lost my claim last season. Clive Cox has been very good to me along with my agent. Hopefully, it’s onwards and upwards.”
Royal Hunt Cup (Heritage Handicap)
£125,000 added, 3yo plus, 1m, Class 2
30 runners (3 reserves)
Going: Good
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Position |
Horse Trainer |
Jockey Weight |
Starting Price Beaten Distance |
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1 |
Prince Of Johanne T P Tate |
J P Fahy 9st 3lbs |
16 - 1 Winner |
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2 |
Excellent Guest G G Margarson |
T P Queally 8st 11lbs |
33 - 1 1/2 length |
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3 |
Don't Call Me D Nicholls |
S Hitchcott 8st 8lbs |
50 - 1 3/4 length |
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4 |
Field Of Dream J A Osborne |
J P Spencer 9st 0lbs |
66 - 1 Neck |
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5 |
Invisible Man S bin Suroor |
L Dettori 9st 10lbs |
20 - 1 1/2 length |
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6 |
Cai Shen R Hannon |
R Hughes 9st 8lbs |
12 - 1 Neck |
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7 |
Stevie Thunder Ian Williams |
R Clark 8st 10lbs |
50 - 1 1/2 length |
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8 |
Dimension J R Fanshawe |
J P Murtagh 9st 1lbs |
9 - 2 1/2 length |
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9 |
Capaill Liath K A Ryan |
Amy Ryan 8st 9lbs |
33 - 1 Neck |
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10 |
Man Of Action S bin Suroor |
S De Sousa 9st 2lbs |
25 - 1 1 1/4 length |
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11 |
Captain Bertie C Hills |
W A Carson 8st 10lbs |
12 - 1 1 1/4 length |
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12 |
Belgian Bill George Baker |
K Fallon 9st 2lbs |
10 - 1 Neck |
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13 |
Albaqaa P J O'Gorman |
Harry Bentley 8st 12lbs |
66 - 1 Nose |
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14 |
Mabait D M Simcock |
Martin Lane 8st 13lbs |
16 - 1 2 3/4 lengths |
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15 |
Brae Hill R A Fahey |
T Hamilton 9st 2lbs |
33 - 1 Head |
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16 |
Boom And Bust M P Tregoning |
Hayley Turner 9st 2lbs |
16 - 1 Neck |
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17 |
Edinburgh Knight P W D'Arcy |
Jim Crowley 9st 8lbs |
12 - 1 Neck |
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18 |
Rock Critic D K Weld |
P J Smullen 9st 6lbs |
25 - 1 1/2 length |
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19 |
King Torus R Hannon |
Martin Dwyer 9st 10lbs |
50 - 1 1/2 length |
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20 |
Bonnie Brae D R C Elsworth |
R L Moore 9st 3lbs |
20 - 1 1/2 length |
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21 |
Mull Of Killough Jane Chapple-Hyam |
S W Kelly 9st 2lbs |
20 - 1 1/2 length |
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22 |
Justonefortheroad R A Fahey |
Shane B Kelly 9st 2lbs |
40 - 1 1 3/4 length |
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23 |
Fair Trade H Morrison |
D Holland 9st 9lbs |
33 - 1 3 lengths |
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24 |
Boogie Shoes R Varian |
N Callan 8st 13lbs |
25 - 1 4 1/2 lengths |
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25 |
Common Touch R A Fahey |
P Hanagan 8st 12lbs |
33 - 1 3/4 length |
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26 |
Arabian Star A M Balding |
David Probert 8st 9lbs |
16 - 1 9 lengths |
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27 |
Trade Storm D M Simcock |
William Buick 8st 13lbs |
16 - 1 6 lengths |
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28 |
Golden Desert S Dow |
L Morris 8st 9lbs |
100 - 1 10 lengths |
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29 |
King's Trail T Kodama |
S Foley 8st 10lbs |
100 - 1 37 lengths |
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30 |
Bridgefield M Al Zarooni |
M Barzalona 9st 2lbs |
16 - 1 71 lengths |
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FIELD PLANTS HIMSELF IN FOURTH
Having come with a late rattle to gain fourth in the Royal Hunt Cup Field Of Dream’s trainer, Jamie Osbourne, reflected on what might have been:
“He’s run very well but if he had jumped with them I think he would have been close, we were beaten by about two lengths but he gave them five or six at the start. He just planted himself.
“This race was all ways the plan and despite his price of 66/1 we thought he would go well but his race was really over at the gate.
“He’s done that off a mark of 97 and he is a decent horse but we have just got to find the key to getting him to get his head in front. I think off this mark these are his sort of races - fast- run miles. I think we will probably leave him until Goodwood now and hope for a good draw there.”
