racing news/

Smart has Duo Able and Primed for £300,000 Doncaster Test
04/09/08

Able Master and Prime Mood are set to form a two-pronged assault on the lucrative Weatherbys Insurance £300,000 Two-Year-Old Stakes for North Yorkshire trainer Bryan Smart on day two of Doncaster’s Ladbrokes St Leger Festival, Thursday, September 11.

The six and a half furlong contest carries excellent prize money down to 10th place, with the winner guaranteed a first prize purse of at least £150,000. Weights are governed by a horse’s sale price.

Smart revealed this morning: “Both Able Master and Prime Mood are likely to turn up for the race. Able Master won’t want it too soft and Prime Mood will want softer ground, so you have got to have them both in because with this weather you don’t know what the ground will be like on the day.”

Able Master, who is set to carry 8st 9lb, won his first two starts over five furlongs at Ripon and Beverley before taking third spot behind Smokey Storm in the Listed Woodcote Stakes over a furlong further at Epsom in June. The Elusive City colt returned from a lay-off to finish fifth of 12 behind Shaweel on good to soft going in the Group Two Gimcrack Stakes at Newbury, on August 22.

The Thirsk handler continued: “Able Master has done well and I’m very pleased with him. I think the ground went a little bit against him in the Gimcrack last time and also he was a bit fresh. He didn’t settle and Robert (Winston) said he’ll improve - he had a fair time off. This horse is in good order.”

Stablemate Prime Mood (8st 9lb), a maiden after three starts, filled the runner-up berth on his first two outings before running home strongly to take third in a six-furlong Ripon maiden, on August 30.

Smart said: “Prime Mood didn’t handle the track at all at Ripon last time. For him to finish third, staying on like he was, we were very pleased with him.

“We’re hoping for a good run and it would be nice to pick up some prize money. These two horses have every chance if everything goes to plan. Tom Eaves is stable jockey so he’ll have the choice of the two.”

The race was won in 2007 by the Andrew Balding-trained Dream Eater, who went on to finish a highly-creditable fifth to Henrythenavigator in the Group One 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket in May. Balding could be represented by Cavera in this year’s race.