racing_news/

Afsare Takes Sovereign Stakes Honours
15/08/13

1 Afsare 9/4F
2 Boom And Bust 8/1
3 Professor 3/1
6 ran Distances: 6l, shd, 6l
TIME 1m 39.28s (fast by 0.22s)

The Luca Cumani-trained Afsare brushed aside his rivals as he posted a most dominant performance when running away with the feature race of Salisbury's season.

Afsare
© Racehorse Photos

The six-year-old posted a career-best effort when finishing second in the Grade One Arlington Million last year but two starts this term had yielded an unplaced run in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot and a second in Listed company at Sandown.

Switched back to a mile, the result never looked in doubt as Andrea Atzeni was sitting motionless in second place aboard the 9-4 favourite with two furlongs to run.

He drew his whip with around a furlong to go and quickly accounted for the front-running Boom And Bust, with Afsare pulling six lengths clear at the line.

Atzeni said: "He quickened really well. He probably just needed his first couple of runs and he won pretty well today.

"He's a very straightforward horse. I didn't want to get there too early. Mr Cumani told me to wait with him."

Afsare had given trouble at the stalls before his Arlington run and refused to be loaded at Goodwood earlier this year.

He had expert stalls handler Gary Witheford on hand to help today and Sara Cumani, wife of the trainer, revealed his problems at the start had precluded any repeat bid at Arlington this year.

She said: "Luca has been longing to run him over a mile for a long time because he's got so much speed. He should have been at the Arlington Million this weekend but you can't take your own handler for the stalls so we had to find something else.

"He's the most frustrating horse we've ever had because he's got tremendous ability. I don't know what's left for him but we wouldn't be afraid to run him anywhere over a mile or a mile and a quarter."

totepool.com Sovereign Stakes (Group 3)
£75,000 added, 3yo plus, 1m, Class 1
6 ran
Going: Good (Good to Firm in places)