Balmoral Handicap (sponsored By Qipco) |
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| (British Champions Series) Handicap, Ascot 16:45 £250,000 added, 3yo plus, 1m, Class 2 |
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| Saturday 18th October 2014 | |
1 Bronze Angel 20/1
2 Maverick Wave 25/1
3 Empire Storm 33/1
4 Levitate 10/1
5 Heavy Metal 28/1
27 ran
Bronze Angel completes a brilliant double by winning the Balmoral Handicap after taking the Cambridgeshire at Newmarket!
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Bronze Angel stayed on strongly to win by one and a quarter lengths.
The 20/1 shot, who also won the Cambridgeshire in 2012, was given a cool ride by promising apprentice jockey Louis Steward and the pair teamed up again to bag another big pot from the John Gosden-trainer Maverick Wave.
Trainer Marcus Tregoning was wreathed in smiles following the race and couldn’t speak highly enough of his talented young jockey.
“Louis is a very good jockey and his claim was invaluable today,” said Tregoning.
“He’s a very cool jockey and we like the way he rides. He gets on very well with the horse and has given him another good ride today.
“To win two Cambridgeshires with this horse was very special but to come here and win on a fantastic day like this is the icing on the cake. He might have another run this season but we’ll have to see. His owner (Lady Tennant) is extremely excited at the moment so we’ll let the dust settle and see how he is but he’s in bursting form.
“He’s been a very good horse for the yard and I can’t say enough good things about him. He’s very special. We were a bit worried about the ground coming into the race as he’s never run on anything like it before but he’s handled it well.”
The 20-year-old Steward was almost speechless after Bronze Angel gave him another big-race success.
“I am pretty much speechless after this,” he said.
“It’s just amazing for a horse to do it on good to firm ground and then do it on ground like this. To come here off a ban and win again is brilliant – it’s only my second day back.
“All credit to the horse – I am just the pilot. It’s unbelievable.”
“It’s been a great season and I’m hoping to build on this. My boss (trainer Michael Bell) has arranged for me to go to Dubai in the winter so I’m going to ride work for Godolphin. I’m only due to ride work at the moment but hopefully I can pick up a couple of spare rides while I’m out there.”
Balmoral Handicap (sponsored By Qipco)
£250,000 added, 3yo plus, 1m, Class 2
27 ran
Going: Heavy, Soft in places
| Pos | Dr | Dist | Horse SP Jockey | Age | Wgt | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | (10) | Bronze Angel (IRE) 20/1 Louis Steward (3) |
5 | 9-5 | M P Tregoning | |
| 2nd | (12) | 1¼ | Maverick Wave (USA) 25/1 R Havlin |
3 | 8-8 | J H M Gosden |
| 3rd | (13) | nk | Empire Storm (GER) 33/1 Mikey Ennis (7) |
7 | 9-6 | M J Attwater |
| 4th | (6) | 1¼ | Levitate 10/1 Joe Doyle (5) |
6 | 8-9 | J J Quinn |
| 5th | (8) | ¾ | Heavy Metal 28/1 K Fallon |
4 | 8-11 | M Johnston |
| 6th | (9) | 3 | Chil The Kite 25/1 O Peslier |
5 | 9-10 | H Morrison |
| 7th | (22) | nk | Gabrial's Kaka (IRE) 10/1 J P Spencer |
4 | 9-2 | R A Fahey |
| 8th | (25) | 1¼ | Russian Realm 10/1 R L Moore |
4 | 8-9 | Sir Michael Stoute |
| 9th | (20) | hd | Buckstay (IRE) 14/1 Jim Crowley |
4 | 8-7 | P W Chapple-Hyam |
| 10th | (3) | nk | Georgian Bay (IRE) 33/1 Jordan Vaughan (7) |
4 | 8-9 | K R Burke |
| 11th | (5) | ¾ | Bold Thady Quill (IRE) 20/1 P J Smullen |
7 | 9-1 | K J Condon |
| 12th | (4) | 8 | Chatez (IRE) 8/1J D Sweeney |
3 | 8-8 | A King |
| 13th | (16) | ½ | Cornrow 8/1J William Buick |
4 | 8-11 | J H M Gosden |
| 14th | (1) | 2¾ | Belgian Bill 25/1 L Dettori |
6 | 9-2 | George Baker |
| 15th | (27) | ½ | Farlow (IRE) 25/1 P Mathers |
6 | 8-1 | R A Fahey |
| 16th | (2) | 2¼ | Fort Bastion (IRE) 25/1 D Tudhope |
5 | 8-11 | D O'Meara |
| 17th | (15) | 5 | Baraweez (IRE) 14/1 C O'Donoghue |
4 | 9-0 | B Ellison |
| 18th | (24) | hd | Askaud (IRE) 50/1 N Mackay |
6 | 8-0 | S Dixon |
| 19th | (11) | 5 | Tigers Tale (IRE) 33/1 Danny Brock (3) |
5 | 8-8 | R A Teal |
| 20th | (21) | 3½ | Hawkeyethenoo (IRE) 20/1 G Lee |
8 | 8-13 | J S Goldie |
| 21st | (17) | 1 | Dream Walker (FR) 25/1 Martin Lane |
5 | 8-4 | B Ellison |
| 22nd | (28) | 3½ | Sirius Prospect (USA) 16/1 R Winston |
6 | 9-4 | D K Ivory |
| 23rd | (7) | hd | Abseil (USA) 25/1 James Doyle |
4 | 8-10 | Sir Michael Stoute |
| 24th | (14) | 7 | Velox 14/1 Cam Hardie (3) |
4 | 8-13 | L M Cumani |
| 25th | (19) | 3¾ | Piri Wango (IRE) 25/1 T P Madden (7) |
5 | 9-6 | G M Lyons |
| 26th | (23) | 4½ | Jack's Revenge (IRE) 16/1 R Hughes |
6 | 9-0 | George Baker |
| 27th | (26) | 20 | Almargo (IRE) 33/1 J Fanning |
3 | 9-2 | M Johnston |
| NR | (18) | Heaven's Guest (IRE) P Hanagan |
4 | 9-5 | R A Fahey |
Maverick Wave and Empire Storm, second and third in the closing Balmoral Handicap sponsored by QIPCO and from very different backgrounds, could renew rivalry at the Dubai Carnival early next year.
Lightly-raced Maverick Wave, trained by John Gosden, is already in the Maktoum fold; the three-year-old carries the colours of Princess Haya. “He may well be off to Dubai now,” said Newmarket-based Gosden. “He did his job fantastically well today and was just beaten by a better horse.”
Maverick Wave has raced only six times. Empire Storm, pride of Michael Attwater’s 30-horse yard in Epsom, had his 43rd outing today and is already familiar with Meydan, having finished second in a Group 2 contest there in January this year.
The six-year-old was a 38,000gns auction purchase at Tattersalls a year ago and has since earned nearly £120,000 for his connections. “He was second here in a tough handicap two weeks ago and has run an even better race today,” said Attwater. “His owners chose him themselves at the sales and took a bit of a chance on him as an older horse, but he’s been an absolute star for us, even though he hasn’t actually got his head in front. It’s just been great being here today with a runner, let alone one who got placed.”
