Bryan Smart hoping Tangerine Trees to show improvement at Royal Ascot
Trainer Bryan Smart is expecting Tangerine Trees to improve his work significantly after he displayed a below par performance at Haydock last weekend. The 7-year-old made his seasonal debut after staying out of action for more than seven months.
He was expected to resume his journey on a winning note, but failed terribly in the Betfred.com Temple Stakes. The Group 2 event saw the veteran runner falling seventh behind his stable mate, Bated Breath.
Despite getting an early lead, the Tangerine Trees Partnership-owned was unable to make an impression. He got weakened after a few initial furlongs and as a result, collected a lot of embarrassment.
Smart would have been happy and disappointed at the same time. While Bated Breath earned him another big victory, stable star, Tangerine Trees, failed terribly on his seasonal comeback.
Nonetheless, Smart is hopeful that the 7-year-old will be in better shape before his Group One appearance at Royal Ascot next month. Tangerine Trees is due to run in the five-furlong King's Stand Stakes.
"We knew he'd need the run as he is such a lazy horse at home and that's how it turned out," said Smart.
He added: "He's come out of the race well. We had to start him off somewhere and Haydock was the obvious place to go. He had to give weight away and he was up there for a long way before getting tired. He has thickened out a bit this year so he probably
needed the run even more than he has in the past, but it should put him right for the King's Stand."
Tangerine Trees went on a long lay-off following a tremendous Group One success last season. In the Qatar Prix De L'Abbaye De Longchamp at Longchamp, he did a fantastic job to seal the victory by a short neck’s distance.
Under Tom Eaves, the maverick runner was dominant right through the event. Secret Asset and Sole Power tried their best to spoil his party, but the Smart's charge did not let anyone take the glory away from him. The bay gelding has registered a dozen triumphs
so far in his career.
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