A Notable Victory & A Special Item

Last week was a busy one for racing fans, with the open meeting at York and then the first Group One for the four-year-olds and older at Newbury, with Epsom Trials and more on offer.

Starting on the Knavesmire, the newly-named Minster Stakes was won by course and distance specialist Elmonjed for local lad, now Newmarket resident, William Haggas, and set up a tilt at a possible run in a Royal Ascot sprint.

The first of the Epsom Trials was the hugely notable Musidora Stakes, with eight winners of the race doubling up in the Oaks next time out.

This time it was Legacy Link who booked her ticket to Epsom, managing to hold off a game Felicitas in a thrilling finish.

With that victory, John Gosden, as both a sole trainer and joint trainer with son Thady, equalled the record set by Sir Henry Cecil with nine wins each.

The main day was on Thursday, with the most recognised Derby trial, the Dante Stakes, and also the Middleton Stakes for the fillies and mares, both Group Two races.

Starting with the Middleton Stakes, See The Fire retained her title in the race and saw her record at York extend to three wins out of four starts, managing to hold off Red Letter.

It was a Trials double for Juddmonte and retained jockey Colin Keane as Item was dominant in landing a career hat-trick in as many career starts, winning by two-and-three-quarters of a length and now becomes the chief threat to the O’Brien battalion.

Then on Friday, we saw the first stayers’ Group race of the season, and a new name was introduced onto the scene as Rahiebb was dominant in the Yorkshire Cup setting up a Gold Cup tilt in the process.

Saturday, we headed down South to Newbury for the first Group One in the UK for the older horses as ten took each other on in the Group One Lockinge Stakes.

Notable Speech, Zeus Olympios, The Lion In Winter and Damysus all faced up against each other in a competitive renewal, with added European interest as Francis-Henri Graffard’s Sahlan also appealed.

Charlie Appleby has not been experiencing good form of late, with no Trial or Classic winners to his name yet, but stars aligned for Notable Speech as he spearheaded Godolphin’s first big success of the season, beating More Thunder by two lengths, and now heads the field for the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Kalpana got her season off to the best start possible with an easy win in the Aston Park Stakes on the first race of the day in Berkshire.

And finally, the biggest weekend in French National Hunt racing took place at Auteuil with Losange Blue winning the Grande Course de Haies on Saturday, with our own Apple Away finishing the best of the UK and Irish representatives in sixth.

Willie Mullins picked up a win in Paris as Selma De Vary won the French Triumph Hurdle, the Prix Alain du Breil, and Sel Gem picked up the biggest race of the season, the Grand Steeple Chase de Paris.