Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes |
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| Group 1, York 15:35 £500,000 guaranteed, 2yo plus, 5f, Class 1  |
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Epsom-trainer Adam West's Live In The Dream springs a surprise at 28/1 under @sb_kirrane in the G1 @coolmorestud Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes @yorkracecourse pic.twitter.com/J80uvqTkvB https://t.co/8qlPYGYpgk via @RacingBetter
— RacingBetter (@RacingBetter) August 25, 2023
Adam West remains focused on defending the Nunthorpe title with Live In The Dream, despite a recent defeat in the Coral Charge due to a change in tactics.
Last season, the chestnut sprinter made impressive strides, finishing well in the Palace House and Temple Stakes before stepping up to Group One level at York. His victory in the Nunthorpe, where he led from the front, secured his spot in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Santa Anita.
However, in the United States, he finished fourth after being overtaken in the closing stages. This prompted his connections to adopt a less aggressive approach this season, allowing him to bide his time during races. Although he placed second in the Temple Stakes on his debut, a near-trip at the start of the Achilles Stakes resulted in a fifth-place finish.
During his recent outing at Sandown, Live In The Dream exited the gate more smoothly but faced soft ground and a headwind. Despite finishing fourth, trainer Adam West remains optimistic. He views the race as an educational experience and plans to continue on the same path, aiming for a successful Nunthorpe return. The ultimate goal is another shot at the Breeders’ Cup.
“We’ve trotted him up this morning and he’s been out in the paddock, he’s very well,” the trainer said.
“We weren’t in a position to dominate with the headwind, the ground and the draw.
“Since the Breeders’ Cup we’ve been a little bit conservative, he did a little bit too much going into the bend.
“He’d come to hand and we were seeing if his maturity would allow him to run his races another way but to be at his best he does need to be ridden aggressively with conditions right.
“It’s setting us up for that later in the year now. He can’t run like that in a headwind and on soft ground, had we tried to do that at Sandown he would have been going forward and getting beaten.
“That isn’t good for his head, he’s better being held up and running on late like he did, it gives us a little hope for the stiffer tracks next year and it’s also better for him mentally.”
Live In The Dream is entered in the King George Stakes at Goodwood and also has the option to head out to Deauville for the Prix du Cercle, where he was fourth last year, but the Nunthorpe remains the ultimate target and could pave the way to the Breeders’ Cup again.
“He’s got an entry there (at Goodwood), it’s only three weeks before the Nunthorpe so we’ll get closer to the race and see,” West said.
“There is also the Deauville Listed race he was fourth in last year on the same weekend, it just depends on the ground and the conditions.
“I do want to try and help his confidence a little bit because we haven’t had the same success going into the race as last year, but those are probably our emotions rather than his, the Nunthorpe is our big goal this year to try and get out to the Breeders’ Cup.”
Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes
(Group 1) (British Champions Series)
£500,000 guaranteed, 2yo plus, 5f, Class
1
30 entries
Going:
NO. FORM HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY
1 330-71 Aesop's Fables 4 9-13 A P O'Brien
2 1-0540 Art Power 7 9-13 Tim Easterby
3 33137- Bradsell 4 9-13 Archie Watson
4 434101 Clarendon House 6 9-13 Robert Cowell
5 9-6113 Desperate Hero 4 9-13 Jack Channon
6 05-053 Equilateral 9 9-13 Charles Hills
7 8-8515 Kerdos 4 9-13 Clive Cox
8 575-01 Khaadem 8 9-13 Charles Hills
9 44-254 Live In The Dream 5 9-13 Adam West
10 1-4717 Mitbaahy 5 9-13 Charles Hills
11 540111 Ponntos 6 9-13 Miroslav Nieslanik
12 151-22 Regional 6 9-13 Edward Bethell
13 115-60 Rogue Lightning 4 9-13 Tom Clover
14 40-465 Twilight Calls 6 9-13 Henry Candy
15 41-140 Washington Heights 4 9-13 Kevin Ryan
16 011-13 Big Evs 3 9-11 Michael Appleby
17 3113-1 Bucanero Fuerte 3 9-11 Adrian Murray
18 114 Kind Of Blue 3 9-11 James Fanshawe
19 133-38 River Tiber 3 9-11 A P O'Brien
20 -23618 Starlust 3 9-11 Ralph Beckett
21 52-240 Valiant Force 3 9-11 Adrian Murray
22 -20441 Asfoora 6 9-10 Henry Dwyer
23 16-751 Azure Blue 5 9-10 Michael Dods
24 0-9144 Believing 4 9-10 George Boughey
25 6-7271 Makarova 5 9-10 Ed Walker
26 554383 So Majestic 4 9-10 Miss Kate McGivern
27 -32805 Vadream 6 9-10 Charlie Fellowes
28 116-10 Crimson Advocate 3 9-8 2 John & Thady Gosden
29 824-92 Flora Of Bermuda 3 9-8 Andrew Balding
30 -73210 Frost At Dawn 3 9-8 William Knight
