Horse Racing
Gosdens continue in fine form at Newmarket
John and Thady Gosden continued their hot streak in the Newmarket sunshine with a double on day two of the July Festival.
Following winners at Kempton and Yarmouth earlier in the week, the Clarehaven team landed the Bahrain Trophy on Thursday with the King and Queen’s Point Of Law and followed that by bagging two major handicaps on Friday.
Heraldry (5-1) was first to strike, turning the tables on Decade Of Time in the curtain-raising Oddschecker Handicap.
The latter had come out on top when the pair met at Windsor in early May, but that was over a mile and Heraldry appeared to relish the extra yardage of this 10-furlong contest as he came from last to first to win going away under William Buick.
“He missed the cut for the Golden Gates Handicap at Royal Ascot, but the great news is he had somewhere else to come and we couldn’t be more pleased with him,” said John Gosden.
“William was very happy with him trip-wise, but if you went for the Cambridgeshire (over nine furlongs) you’d probably get more of a pace. They went a gentle pace today, which is quite right in this heat.”
The Gosdens and Buick were on the mark again in the Betway Trophy, with 7-2 shot Valedictory outpointing Roaring Legend by a neck to tee himself up for a possible shot at the Ebor at York.
“We’re delighted with him and the cheekpieces have helped,” Gosden added.
“They didn’t go much pace, he crept down the outside and showed a good attitude. He could easily have given the race back, but he won it grittily, which was not something that was always apparent in him.
“He dropped the jockey on the way to the start at Goodwood, so he’s got quite the sense of fun!
“We’ll see what the handicapper does and where we go from here. He’d have to get into it (Ebor) and we’ll see where we are – one step at a time.”
Buick completed a treble in the Weatherbys Banking Group British EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes aboard the Charlie Appleby-trained Acting Lady.
The 100-30 shot was narrowly beaten at odds-on in a three-runner race on the July course two weeks ago, but rewarded those who kept the faith with a neck verdict over Sierra Belle.
Appleby’s assistant, Alex Merriam, said: “She was probably a bit unlucky the last day, she toughed it out today and we’re pleased with her.
“I think probably six furlongs is fine, although you could possibly drop back to five – I didn’t think she looked slow. We’ll see what Charlie has to say and see what options there are for her.”
The Saffie Osborne-ridden Twilight Calls (8-1) led home stablemate Rapper’s Delight to provide trainer Richard Spencer with a one-two in the Debenhams Handicap.
Ryan Moore produced Sierra Sands (8-1) with a withering late run to land the concluding Jockey Club Estates Handicap for trainer Ed Dunlop.
