Richard Hannon happy with juvenile behaviour
Five winners at this week’s July meeting at Newmarket, which included a clean sweep of the major juvenile contests, underlined the sparkling form of Richard Hannon’s yard this season.
It also kept him right in the contest for this year’s trainers’ championship, which Hannon won in 1992, but it was an otherwise ordinary maiden at Newbury’s Friday night card which claimed much of the trainer’s attention.
Date With Destiny, the only runner for 2000 Guineas winner George Washington, began to justify the 320,000gns that her owner, Julie Wood, paid for the filly when she won on her debut.
Speaking on his website, Hannon said: “There was a lot of pressure on us, not from Julie, who has been a star, but with such a high-profile filly you just don’t want to mess things up. She was naturally a bit green but could not have done the job better, and we can now build on this and look to move up the ladder."
Hannon has not named a next race for Date With Destiny, although she could well run next in either the Prestige Stakes at Goodwood or Sweet Solera Stakes at Newmarket, but he has begun formulating some plans for those juveniles who won at Newmarket. Memory became the market leader for the 1000 Guineas when she won the Cherry Hinton Stakes on the first day of the meeting and Hannon strengthened his hand in the colts’ division with the victories of Libranno in the July Stakes and King Torus in the Superlative Stakes.
Those victories in the meeting’s Group races were also supplemented by an impressive maiden victory for Casual Glimpse, for Sir Robert Ogden who is a high-profile addition to the stable’s owners, who could run next in the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood.
“We thought Memory would win and gave the others each-way chances, so it was nice to sweep the board,” Hannon said. “Things did not go right for King Torus in the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot, so we ran him in a chifney bridle at Newmarket and it worked a treat. He could be in the team for Deauville, and the Dewhurst and the Gran Criterium in Milan could come into the equation later on, but I am just so pleased for Sir Robert, who puts a lot of money into this game under both codes and deserves all the success he gets."
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