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| Royal Ascot News 2013 |
Royal Ascot Redemption Aim for Banoffee
04/06/13
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Morrison told At The Races: "She didn't run anywhere near the form she showed at Chester. Whether something was amiss with her that day, we'll find out.
"The first thing Kieren said was, 'Never run her on that ground again'. She's got a very neat, daisy-cutting action and the grass was very long. It's a bit like walking through six inches of water or a foot of water - it makes a lot of difference to some people.
"I doubt we'll go for the Irish Oaks. If she bounces back we'll go for the Ribblesdale I think - and hope they mow the grass there!"
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Charlie Hills' colt missed most of last season but looked a useful young stayer when scoring at Doncaster in March.
"We were pleased with Model Pupil's run at Sandown," the trainer told www.charleshills.com.
"It was a muddling pace which didn't help him, but he stayed on up the hill in pleasing fashion and we will head to the Gold Cup at Ascot. He'll also appreciate better ground."
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The six-year-old was a nine-length winner on his first start since finishing fifth in the Melbourne Cup and 12th in the Japan Cup last November.
Trainer Luca Cumani is now eyeing a trip to the Royal meeting for the mile-and-a-half Group Two on June 22, but expects his charge to face a tough task.
"He's fine and is going for the Hardwicke. I think there will probably be a certain St Nicholas Abbey in that race," he said.
"It's not going to be easy, but where else can we go?"
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The daughter of Iffraaj has won two of her three stars to date and was impressive in the Listed National Stakes at Sandown omn May 30.
While Brittain has not ruled out the Albany Stakes over six furlongs, he is favouring the Queen Mary over the minimum distance.
"She'll go to straight to Ascot and probably run in the Queen Mary although the Albany is not completely out of the question, we'll just see who goes where," said the veteran Newmarket handler.
"Wherever she turns up they will all have her to beat.
"I don't think five or six furlongs will make any difference to her. The further she went the other night the easier she was going to win. She was head and shoulders above them.
"She's still improving, we don't train our two-year-olds to be early types but she has that much ability it's all natural.
"In the future she'll certainly get a mile and our main focus with her is next year's Guineas."
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Last year’s winner of the six-furlong contest, Dawn Approach, went on to be champion juvenile and Stubbs – an easy Navan maiden winner on his previous start – looks set for bigger things.
“It was a mess of a race and they only hacked for a furlong. He did well to come from last to first. He’ll have to go to Royal Ascot now, look at what the winner of this race last year did,” the winning rider told www.irishracing.com
Bookmakers Stan James make Stubbs 5/1 favourite for the Coventry Stakes and the company’s spokesman Joseph Burke said: “It was the best two-year-old performance by an Irish-trained colt this season and Stubbs bids to follow in the hoofprints of 2012 winner Dawn Approach and go on to win the Coventry Stakes.”
Stubbs is a son of 2008 Irish Oaks heroine Moonstone making him a three-parts brother to this season’s Lingfield Derby Trial winner Nevis.
