Sky Bet York Stakes |
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| Group 2, York 15:15 £120,000 added, 3yo plus, 1m 2f 88y, Class 1  |
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| Saturday 28th July 2018 | |
1 Thundering Blue 5/1
2 Brorocco 12/1
3 Elarqam 5/4F
7 ran NR: Fabricate Distances: nk, nk, 2l
Time: 2m 9.41s (slow by 2.71s)
Thundering Blue wins it in a tight finish under Fran Berry
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Thundering Blue continued his progression when taking a competitive renewal of the Group 2 York Stakes.
David Menuisier’s five-year-old had finished runner-up to the front-running Euchen Glen in the John Smith’s Cup most recently and he improved on that performance when edging out Brorocco.
Elarqam set out to make all the running in a bid to get his back on track following a disappointing run in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, when he was found to be off-colour afterwards.
He led well into the final furlong, but just could not quite last home and was nabbed in the last 50 yards.
Fran Berry got the grey Thundering Blue past the post first by a neck from Brorocco, with Elarqam a further neck away in third.
Menuisier said: “I can’t believe it. I’m still in shock. He’s now five, but he just keeps improving and improving.
“We were very unlucky here last time, so this is our revenge. He takes every yard of that trip to come and win, but there’s something about York that he loves, so why not (run in the Juddmonte)?
“That was my first Group winner so it’s a dream.”
Fourth in the Guineas at Newmarket, Elarqam was trying 10 furlongs for the first time.
Richard Hills, representing owner Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, said: “He didn’t appear to stay by the looks of that.”
Sky Bet York Stakes (Group 2)
£120,000 added, 3yo plus, 1m 2f 88y, Class 1
7 ran
Going: Good to Soft, Soft in places
| Pos | Dr | D | Horse SP | Jockey Weight | Trainer | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | (6) | Thundering Blue (USA) 5/1 | Fran Berry 9-6 |
D Menuisier | 5 | |
| 2nd | (3) | nk | Brorocco 12/1 | F Norton 9-6 |
A M Balding | 5 |
| 3rd | (8) | nk | Elarqam 5/4f | Jim Crowley 8-11 |
M Johnston | 3 |
| 4th | (7) | 2 | Smart Call (SAF) 11/2 | R Kingscote 9-3 |
Sir Michael Stoute | 7 |
| 5th | (5) | 3¼ | Forest Ranger (IRE) 5/1 | T Hamilton 9-9 |
R A Fahey | 4 |
| 6th | (1) | 3½ | Euro Nightmare (IRE) 25/1 | P Makin 9-3 |
K Dalgleish | 4 |
| 7th | (2) | 2¼ | Euginio (IRE) 9/1 | Tom Marquand 9-6 |
R Hannon | 4 |
| NR | (4) | Fabricate | D Allan 9-6 |
M L W Bell | 6 |
