Boodles Diamond Ormonde Stakes |
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| Group 3, Chester 15:10 £75,000 added, 4yo plus, 1m 5f 89y, Class 1  |
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| Friday 6th May 2016 | |
1 Dartmouth EvsF
2 Wicklow Brave 4/1
3 Elidor 10/1
NR: Blue Rambler, Oriental Fox (GER)
5 ran Distances: nk, ¾l, 1½l
TIME 2m 58.70s (slow by 10.70s)
Dartmouth battles to a narrow victory from Wicklow Brave
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Dartmouth made all of the running to provide the Queen with victory at Chester.
The four-year-old colt had to give away weight to the rest of the field but was braveness personified in the hands of Ryan Moore, who gave the winner an intelligent frontrunning ride.
Wicklow Brave, whose jockey William Buick lost his whip close home, surged gamely towards the winning line on the far rail, but the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Dartmouth had flown, with a neck the winning distance.
Moore said of the 11/10 favourite: "He's done well. We were really pleased with him and he enjoyed himself."
The Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot could now be on the agenda for Dartmouth.
John Warren, the Queen's bloodstock and racing advisor, said: "He's a lovely horse.
"Sir Michael has typically trained him beautifully and now he has turned into a very useful older horse. He's an improver and a late-maturing horse and will give Her Majesty a lot of fun this year.
"Physically, he's starting to come to himself and now is probably the time to dip his toe into a slightly bigger pool.
"Her Majesty having a runner at the Royal meeting is always a thrill and we hope to get him there in one piece."
Stoute was not at Chester, but told Press Association Sport from his Newmarket base: "He is a very game and consistent horse and I am delighted with the win, as those penalties are always dangerous.
"He is a beautifully-balanced horse, so he would have had no problems on that track. He is nice, smooth-running horse.
"We would have loved to have got a lead today, but we didn't expect to get one so we were prepared to make it ourselves.
"He is a very popular horse at the yard as he is handsome boy with a lovely temperament that has been very consistent.
"He has got a bit of a way to go yet to be Group One horse. He is in the Hardwicke, but we will have a think where to go.
"The Queen does like having runners at the Royal meeting, but I can't say it is a definite as it is a long way off, but it's a possibility."
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Willie Mullins said of runner-up Wicklow Brave: "The horse ran a cracker. "I'm hoping he'll improve for that run and hoping he will improve throughout the season.
"I imagine we'd look at the Hardwicke at Royal Ascot. That would be our top target."
Boodles Diamond Ormonde Stakes (Group 3)
£75,000 added, 4yo plus, 1m 5f 89y, Class 1
5 ran
Going: Good
| Pos | Dr | D | Horse SP | Jockey Weight | Trainer | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | (2) | Dartmouth Evsf | R L Moore 9-3 |
Sir Michael Stoute | 4 | |
| 2nd | (7) | nk | Wicklow Brave 4/1 | W Buick 9-0 |
W P Mullins | 7 |
| 3rd | (5) | ¾ | Elidor 10/1 | S De Sousa 9-0 |
M R Channon | 6 |
| 4th | (6) | 1½ | Cymro (IRE) 5/1 | R Kingscote 9-0 |
Tom Dascombe | 4 |
| 5th | (1) | 3 | Father Christmas (IRE) 6/1 | J A Heffernan 9-0 |
A P O'Brien | 4 |
| NR | (4) | Blue Rambler 33/1 | D Holland 9-0 |
Ian Williams | 6 | |
| NR | (3) | Oriental Fox (GER) 6/1 | F Norton 9-0 |
M Johnston | 8 |
