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Herbert Won’t Deny Colt’s Champagne Stakes Prospects
23/07/10
Sir Michael Stoute has included the unraced juvenile Deny among the 82 entries for the £100,000 Group Two Champagne Stakes at Doncaster’s Ladbrokes St Leger Festival on Saturday, September 11.
The seven-furlong contest is one of the highlights of the season for two-year-olds with its roll of honour including subsequent champions such as Grundy (1974), Warning (1987), Rodrigo De Triano (1991) and Noverre (2000).
Owned by Highclere Thoroughbred Racing’s Matilda syndicate, Deny is a 150,000 guineas yearling purchase out of Sulk, winner of the Group One Prix Marcel Boussac as a two-year-old in 2001.
The Mr Greeley colt is one of five Champagne Stakes entries for Stoute, who won the prestigious contest in 1979 with Final Straw, the others being the unraced quartet of Labarinto, Raahin, Star Of Dance and Epsom Derby entry The Mongoose.
Harry Herbert, managing director of Highclere Thoroughbred Racing, revealed today: “Deny is only just now moving into fast work so we will have to see how he gets on but they like him at Sir Michael’s and you can see why. He is the horse you pick out in the string and say, ‘oh, what’s that’, and likewise going up the gallops.
“It’s early days but, fingers crossed, he could be a nice horse and that is Sir Michael’s entry so we will take it as a positive sign at this stage.
“He was a most beautiful yearling and is a magnificent stamp of horse. He is beautifully bred by Mr Greeley out of a two-year-old champion filly, Sulk. He is a physical specimen, very imposing and a fabulous mover. He is one of those horses that glides over the ground, you don’t hear him when he comes past, he is really light on his feet.”
Trainer Richard Hannon has a classy bunch of two-year-olds this season and has engaged a trio of Newmarket July Festival winners. King Torus landed the Group Two 32Red.com Superlative Stakes at Newmarket on July 9, Libranno won the Group Two TNT July Stakes on July 8, and Casual Glimpse took a six-furlong conditions race the same day.
The Michael Jarvis-trained Elzaam was collared in the final stride when second to Strong Suit in the Group Two Coventry Stakes and was third to Libranno at Newmarket, while the Jeremy Noseda-trained Formosina defeated Samuel Morse when taking the Group Two Ladbrokes.com Railway Stakes at the Curragh in June but was sixth of six to King Torus at Newmarket last time.
The Clive Brittain-trained Zaidan is unbeaten in two starts and impressively landed the Listed Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot by three lengths.
Memen gave trainer Paul Cole a nursery success at Newmarket’s July Festival, while the same meeting saw the Ed Dunlop-trained Native Khan make an impressive winning debut.
Aidan O’Brien’s Ballydoyle entry is 18-strong with Samuel Morse joined in the list by, among others, Listed winner Zoffany, Listed Windsor Castle Stakes runner-up Petronius Maximus and promising Curragh maiden winner Roderic O’Connor.
