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Racing News |
Desert Phantom Seeks Four-timer in Somerville Tattersall Stakes
30/09/08
Unbeaten Listed winner Desert Phantom seeks to secure a four-timer in the £60,000 Group Three Somerville Tattersall Stakes at Newmarket on Thursday, October 2, the opening day of the Cambridgeshire Meeting.
Trainer David Simcock is happy with the colt’s progress since landing the Listed Ripon Champion Two-Year-Old Trophy under Richard Mullen on August 25. That success came at the end of a dour duel with runner-up Favourite Girl.
Desert Phantom steps up to seven furlongs having raced exclusively at six furlongs. The Arch colt followed a heavy ground maiden victory at Haydock in July with a conditions race triumph at Windsor on August 10.
Simcock revealed this morning: “Desert Phantom has progressed well since Ripon and I’m very happy with him. I would like to see a bit more rain before Thursday. He handles give in the ground, whereas some of the other horses won’t so that makes a difference.
“I’m very pleased with him physically and mentally he’s done very well. He goes there in good shape, it’s a marked step up in class but we’ll see. He’s not an overly exuberant horse at home so it’s difficult to say how good he could be. It’s a competitive race with a lot of unexposed horses that have won their maidens well and could be anything.
“Richard Mullen has won on him twice and takes the ride again. It would be nice for the horse and all concerned if he could win a Group Three.”
A field of nine is set to contest the Somerville Tattersall Stakes, including the Henry Cecil-trained Wingwalker, successful on both his starts to date.
Brian Meehan is responsible for unbeaten Newbury maiden winner Control Zone, while Barry Hills is due to saddle once-raced Newmarket maiden victor North East Corner and stablemate Dabbers Chief.
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The Mick Channon-trained Akhenaten landed a Chester maiden last time, Ashram, trained by John Hills, scored on his debut and showed improved form to take second in a Kempton conditions race recently, while the more experienced Prime Delivery and Derbaas have each posted solid efforts in good company.
The Somerville Tattersall Stakes has produced some top-class winners in recent years, including the Aidan O’Brien-trained Aussie Rules who was successful in 2005, and subsequently won the French 2,000 Guineas as well as the Grade One Shadwell Turf Mile in the US.
Milk It Mick prevailed in 2003, defeating the 2004 Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Bachelor Duke. Milk It Mick took the prize en route to victory in the Group One Darley Dewhurst Stakes and subsequently captured the Grade One Frank E Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita.
Where Or When took the spoils in 2001, defeating the O’Brien-trained Della Francesca. The Terry Mills-trained colt went on to defeat Hawk Wing in the following season’s Group One Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, while the runner-up captured the Grade Two Belmont Breeders’ Cup Handicap in 2003.
In 2000, King Charlemagne defeated subsequent triple Group One hero Grandera and then went through the 2001 season unbeaten, including victory in the Group One Prix Maurice de Gheest.
Thursday, day one of the three-day Cambridgeshire Meeting, offers high quality sport, with the fantastic seven-race card also featuring two Listed races and the £250,000 Tattersall October Auction Stakes (2.35pm), which has attracted a maximum field of 30.
The Listed £44,000 G4S Rous Stakes (4.20pm) is a real speed test over five furlongs and has 13 declarations, while the mile and three quarters Listed £40,000 Noel Murless Stakes (3.10pm) brings stamina to the fore and has seven horses declared.
Friday’s excellent action includes the two most prestigious six-furlong races for juveniles in Britain. The £170,000 Group One 32Red.com Cheveley Park Stakes (2.40pm) sees some of the best two-year-old fillies in Europe race on The NatWest Rowley Mile course, while the £170,000 Group One Shadwell Middle Park Stakes (3.10pm) draws together the speediest colts.
The totesport.com Cambridgeshire takes centre stage on Saturday’s superb card, which also features the £213,000 Group One Kingdom Of Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes (3.15pm) over a mile, which has 21 fillies and mares entered, including the season’s star filly Lush Lashes, Halfway To Heaven, last year’s winner Majestic Roi and fellow Group One heroines Darjina, Nahoodh and Listen. The Harry Dunlop-trained Festoso is a supplementary entry.
Saturday is Britain’s richest race-day with the afternoon also featuring the inaugural Tattersall Timeform Million (2.45pm), with a guaranteed minimum prize fund of £1,000,000, and the Tattersall Timeform Fillies’ 800 (2.10pm).
