Ooh Ah, York runn-ah!
An interesting development which can only have happened in the last 24 hours or so is that owner Willie McKay - who already has LES ARCS and ADMIRAL at Brancepeth - has moved his 2yo filly OOH AH CAMARA at very short notice from his main flat trainer, Vicky Haigh in Bawtry, to the care of Richard Guest. The horse's first run for Guest? Oh, just in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot At York this afternoon!
She comes into the race with a lively enough chance - she's trading at around 7/1 - although she's had a very busy season so far, with seven runs inlcuding one in Capannelle, Italy, last time out. One big thing in her favour, though, is that her two wins to date have been on ground at least as bad as good to soft, and if it's tanking it down in York anything like it is here in Birmingham just now, this is going to aid her cause no end. John Egan, who was on board when she won a £12k+ conditions stakes at Chester, again takes the ride.
You may remember an odd 2yo race at Doncaster in March, wherein Guest's horse GARLOGS - whom he'd only claimed from Mick Channon a couple of days earlier - won a seller in McKay's colours. That horse was won at auction, but Guest then claimed the third home, PARIS ST GERMAIN, who was another McKay-owned animal in training with Haigh! Musical stables, but with cash involved. Guest has yet to run this horse.
Away from the top hats and tails, DAN DE LION is turned out again quickly in the selling handicap hurdle at Worcester, as I suspected he might. The rain in the Midlands will have aided his cause, but this is a very good event of its kind, with several of the 20 runners entering the race in winning or decent form, so I can't imagine he's going to step up on Saturday's tame effort at Hexham.
Also at Worcester today, my absolute favourite horse in the yard, XAIPETE, turns out for the 2m 4.5f handicap chase; and if nothing would give Guest more pleasure than to see NOSAM win again, then another victory for Xaipete would run it pretty close. He's still after that elusive 18th career victory (a 17th for the Mason / Guest franchise), but after a couple of below-par efforts around Easter, he's reverted to his usual honest, consistent, banker for a place finish, and the handicapper has also started to relent a little more (the horse hasn't run over fences off 101 for a while). He gets in off bottom weight here, with good reason, as it's a fair little handicap, and I wish him the very best in his quest for a first victory in 21 months (and his first over fences for 28).
She comes into the race with a lively enough chance - she's trading at around 7/1 - although she's had a very busy season so far, with seven runs inlcuding one in Capannelle, Italy, last time out. One big thing in her favour, though, is that her two wins to date have been on ground at least as bad as good to soft, and if it's tanking it down in York anything like it is here in Birmingham just now, this is going to aid her cause no end. John Egan, who was on board when she won a £12k+ conditions stakes at Chester, again takes the ride.
You may remember an odd 2yo race at Doncaster in March, wherein Guest's horse GARLOGS - whom he'd only claimed from Mick Channon a couple of days earlier - won a seller in McKay's colours. That horse was won at auction, but Guest then claimed the third home, PARIS ST GERMAIN, who was another McKay-owned animal in training with Haigh! Musical stables, but with cash involved. Guest has yet to run this horse.
Away from the top hats and tails, DAN DE LION is turned out again quickly in the selling handicap hurdle at Worcester, as I suspected he might. The rain in the Midlands will have aided his cause, but this is a very good event of its kind, with several of the 20 runners entering the race in winning or decent form, so I can't imagine he's going to step up on Saturday's tame effort at Hexham.
Also at Worcester today, my absolute favourite horse in the yard, XAIPETE, turns out for the 2m 4.5f handicap chase; and if nothing would give Guest more pleasure than to see NOSAM win again, then another victory for Xaipete would run it pretty close. He's still after that elusive 18th career victory (a 17th for the Mason / Guest franchise), but after a couple of below-par efforts around Easter, he's reverted to his usual honest, consistent, banker for a place finish, and the handicapper has also started to relent a little more (the horse hasn't run over fences off 101 for a while). He gets in off bottom weight here, with good reason, as it's a fair little handicap, and I wish him the very best in his quest for a first victory in 21 months (and his first over fences for 28).
posted by Jeremy Grayson @ 12:29 PM
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