Kingdom Of Bahrain Princess of Wales's Stakes |
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| Group 2, Newmarket 15:35 £125,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 1m 4f, Class 1  |
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There’ll be no repeat bid from last year’s winner Giavellotto in Thursday’s Princess of Wales’s Stakes at Newmarket, with just six horses now set to go to post following his late withdrawal on Friday morning.
Marco Botti’s five-year-old had lit up the July Festival last season with a decisive victory in the Group Two contest before capping his year with international glory in the Hong Kong Vase. A solid third in the Coronation Cup at Epsom last month looked the perfect springboard for a title defence—but it wasn’t to be.
“He had a few coughs this morning and we weren’t happy with the scope,” Botti explained. “He was due to do a piece of work on Saturday but we didn’t feel he’d be 100 per cent.”
It’s a blow for connections and racegoers alike, especially with the race cutting up to such a small field, but Botti was clear-eyed about the decision. “The horse’s welfare has to come first. It’s just bad timing—these things often clear up in a few days, but it’s too close to the race to take a chance.”
With Giavellotto out, a compact but intriguing field remains. Charlie Appleby relies on the improving pair Arabian Crown and El Cordobes, while the Gosden team are double-handed with Military Academy and Palladium.
James Owen sends out Wimbledon Hawkeye, and Ghostwriter—third to Rebel’s Romance in the Hardwicke—completes the line-up for Clive Cox.
It may be short on numbers, but the stage is set for a tactical affair—and with no standout, it’s all to play for on the July Course.
Princess Of Wales's Stakes (Group 2)
£125,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 1m 4f, Class 1
6 remaining entries
Going: Good to Firm
NO. FORM HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY
1 1/1-46 Arabian Crown 4 9-8 Charlie Appleby
2 -22133 El Cordobes 4 9-8 Charlie Appleby
3 35-463 Ghostwriter 4 9-8 Clive Cox
4 21-272 Military Academy 4 9-8 John & Thady Gosden
5 416-34 Palladium 4 9-8 John & Thady Gosden Ryan Moore
6 3-2534 Wimbledon Hawkeye 3 8-10 James Owen
