Antara flying high for Saeed bin Surror
These have been quiet times for Saeed bin Surror. He saddled just two winners from 40 runners in Britain last month but he has more than doubled that figure already for June.
Shakespearean gave him a winner on the first day of Epsom’s Derby meeting and German import Anatra looked money well spent when she won the Group Three Princess Elizabeth Stakes.
Frankie Dettori gave a flying dismount in the winner’s enclosure and seemed at his most confident as he simply pushed Antara out in the final furlong, despite Reggane closing to just a neck at the finish but he admitted: “She was very unbalanced. I thought ‘just get her to the line’ because every time I hit her, she was swerving.”
Bin Suroor was happy with the performance and considering a run at Royal Ascot in the Windsor Forest Stakes. “She always showed class when she worked in the morning,” he said.
“She’s a big, tough filly and she seems to have handled the racetrack very well and she had a very good turn of foot. This filly ran today like ninety per cent fit, she will improve for this race. We will keep the option open and may be take her to Royal Ascot.”
“I want to see how she comes back. If she’s sound and healthy she could go.”
There are not many trainers who can claim to have 12,000 happy clients but, sadly, for James Given they all own the same horse.
Happily for the Epsom racecourse executive they did not all descend on the postage stamp winner’s enclosure after Dandino won the Investec Vincent O'Brien Handicap. Dandino is owned by the Elite Racing Club, whose colours were carried with such distinction by the star filly Soviet Song in recent years.
Dandino is not be in quite that league as yet but he was rattling up his third successive win of the season when he took up the lead for Paul Mulrennan inside the final furlong to beat Life And Soul by two lengths but it had been slow going for Given in recent weeks.
“We were thirty-odd per cent runners to placed horses without having a winner,” he said. “In the last seven days I think we’ve had six seconds from about 14 runners – and beaten in two photos. They’ve been running well but just not winning. So to get off the cold list in that way was quite a relief.”
“Paul said it wasn’t a particularly strong early pace and may be the learned from yesterday. I thought that some of the races yesterday were run at a very strong pace. But Paul just rode him with tons of confidence, he’s got a lot of confidence in the horse and he’s done it really well.”
Dandino will also be heading for the royal meeting, with the King George V Handicap the target.
Snow Fairy is reported to be in fine form after her victory in the Oaks on Friday.
Trainer Ed Dunlop, who was celebrating his second victory in the Classic following the 2004 win of the Ouija Board, said: “Snow Fairy’s really well. She got back home in good time last night and ate all her food.
“She seems to have taken the race well but we’ll give her a little holiday now and have a think about going for the Irish Oaks.”
http://www.senore.com/Ryan-Moore-and-Workforce-win-Derby-a12133
http://www.senore.com/Johnny-Murtagh-takes-High-Award-in-Woodcote-Stakes-a12131
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