Liberty Lane sparks Festival celebration
After blowing away the cobwebs in the Doncaster Mile, Karl Burke's five-year-old gelding was a staying-on third behind The Foxes in the Group Two Huxley Stakes at Chester and was sent off at 3-1 for this 10-furlong contest.
Market leader Silver Knott was prominent at the two-furlong pole but the writing was on the wall for his supporters when Liberty Lane loomed up alongside him.
Clifford Lee kicked for home and that proved a decisive move, as he got first run on Meydaan and was always doing just enough to hold on by a neck.
Lee told Racing TV: 'He did everything right today, he jumped nicely, I was always in a lovely position, going a nice gallop.
'He can be quite keen, so because he was nice and relaxed, I thought we were going to have a nice run.
'Going through the three to the two, once I switched out and made headway a little bit, he's travelled really well and seen the trip out nicely.
'He obviously won the Cambridgeshire off top weight and this is a step up to Listed class, so this will probably be his best career effort so far, he's improved and I think he'll probably even stay further.'
Liberty Lane's best form has come with a bit of cut underfoot and Lee felt the watered good ground at the Sussex track suited his mount well enough.
He added: 'I felt like it was just riding on the easy side, it was kicking up a little bit, but maybe if I was on a different horse, it would feel a bit quicker.
'For my lad, I knew cantering to the start he would enjoy this ground today.
'He travels so well and that soft ground probably just slows them down a little bit and it also stops the other horses as well.
'But he's a lovely, big horse and we're looking forward to the rest of the season with him.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Rhyl Journal
a day ago
- Rhyl Journal
Prestatyn Running Club members take on Welsh Castles Relay
For 17 of the 20-strong squad, it was a new experience, and though the standard of competition was higher than ever, they did the club proud. The team finished a creditable 48th overall. The team finished a creditable 48th overall. (Image: Submitted) Less than 24 hours after completing mountain stages in the relay, Ben Thomas and Oliver Birch-Jones were in action again in different triathlons. Ben took on the tough Slateman Tri in Llanberis, a tough enough challenge on its own, and finished in 4-18.42. Oliver opted for the Boundary Breeze Sprint Tri in Manchester, coming a brilliant 19th out of 120. In the Slateman Sprint Tri in Llanberis, second-claim member Chris Bennett finished 31st in 1-45.44. Four of the club's ladies also hit the trails again on Saturday (June 7), competing in the 27.1-mile Pilgrim Marathon on the Lleyn Peninsula, with Sue Hughes winning her age group in 6-31. Ally Reid kept her company throughout. Helen Alefounder and Cara Jones finished in 9-15, with Ann Claire Jones four minutes behind them. 10 of the relay squad had warmed up two days earlier by turning out in the first fixture of Deestriders' Off-Road Grand Prix series in Shotton. In fact, 24 club members took part, representing more than 25 per cent of the total field, and 12 of them gained podium places. Marc Jones, the club's road runner of the year, was its only representative in the Llanrug 5k, which incorporated the North Wales championships. True to form, he won the M60 class in both the open race and championship, clocking 20.36. The previous weekend, the club's mountain specialists and joint captains Lee Bailey and Gareth Jones took on one of the region's toughest challenges in the Welsh 1,000s, regarded as a classic event. The 32k race starts on the coast at Abergwyngregyn and finishes on the summit of Yr Wyddfa, and this year it was more testing than usual, with 50kph winds on the peaks. The event incorporated the Welsh Fell Running Championship long race, and Lee, who finished 24th overall, won the M40 class in about five hours and 30 minutes. Gareth also had a superb run, coming 54th out of 142, finishing about half an hour behind Lee. Elsewhere, Zack Webster has been on his travels, clocking 53.08 in the Geneva 10k. Nova parkrun: 1 Tom Carter 17.00 (pb), 20 Jamie Betts 22.32, 36 Reg Jonas 24.19, 38 Neil Davidson 24.24 (pb), 41 Will Lines 24.35, 42 Lisa Lines 24.36, 56 Philip Howarth 25.40, 104 Andy Scott: 29.00, 196 Steve Hatfield 38.18, 221 Suzanne Evans 60.23, 222 Nicki Triggs 60.24, 229 Julie Evans 53.24. Other parkruns: Greenfield Valley: 18 Steve Weedman 24.58. Holkham (Norfolk): 86 Debbie Jones 28.22. Black Ropcks (Matlock): 56 Martin Cortvriend 23.34.
Leader Live
2 days ago
- Leader Live
O'Brien looking to Curragh for Derby hero Lambourn
A son of dual Derby winner Australia, the three-year-old made virtually every yard of the running in the premier Classic under Wayne Lordan, providing O'Brien with his 11th Betfred Derby success. Speaking on Racing TV's Luck on Sunday programme, the Ballydoyle handler reported his three Derby runners to have returned home none the worse, with Lambourn's stablemates Delacroix and The Lion In Winter set to drop back in trip after finishing ninth and 14th respectively. 'The horses have been out for a walk and a pick of grass (this morning) and everybody seems very happy with them,' said O'Brien. "Lambourn's ran them RAGGED in the #EpsomDerby" 😮💨 A reminder of the CRACKER that Lambourn ran to win the 246th #BetfredDerby — ITV Racing (@itvracing) June 8, 2025 'We were expecting Wayne was probably going to go forward to make the running on Lambourn – unless there was someone going very fast he was going to end up in front and that's what happened. Wayne gave him a great ride, he had to be aggressive from the gates and he is a horse that stays very well.' O'Brien felt there were excuses for Delacroix, the chosen mount of Ryan Moore, and the Colin Keane-ridden The Lion In Winter. He added: 'It got a little bit rough up the hill, I think Ryan got chopped up at the top of the hill and Colin ended up a little bit more forward than he thought he was going to be and out a little bit. 'To have one horse in any race and it go right is very difficult, so if you have three in a race it's usually not going to go right for them all. 'We learnt that Wayne's horse stays very well and is a very straightforward, uncomplicated horse, we learnt Colin's horse could be a miler, so he was probably a mile out of his ground, and it's very possible that Ryan's horse is a mile-and-a-quarter horse, even though their races didn't go as well as they would have wanted. 'In the Derby every year you get fairly straightened out and sort out what you are or you aren't. The Derby and the Oaks are the races that expose the whole three-year-old generation, their flaws and their weaknesses and their strengths. You usually know where you're going after it.' On future plans for the winner, he said: 'The lads (owners) will make that decision and we'll see how he is when he gets back cantering in 10 days, but it looks like he's an Irish Derby horse and it looks like the Curragh would really suit him.' The trainer also praised the winning rider, who was winning his first Derby. 'Wayne is an unbelievable horseman and the most genuine, uncomplicated person you'll ever meet in your life,' O'Brien added. 'He's grateful for everything and expects nothing – that's Wayne totally. He' an unbelievable person to work with and an unbelievable rider, horseman and jockey all rolled into one.'
Powys County Times
2 days ago
- Powys County Times
Hamish shows plenty of heart for Tapster triumph
Popular veteran Hamish proved the fire still burns bright by coming out on top in a thrilling three-way tussle for the BetGoodwin Tapster Stakes at Goodwood. The William Haggas-trained gelding had won 12 of his 24 previous starts, with eight of those victories coming at Group Three level. Making his first appearance as a nine-year-old, having been off the track since landing a Listed prize at the Curragh in November, Hamish was an even-money favourite in the hands of Tom Marquand and while he proved difficult to handle before the off, he was as his usual professional self during the race itself. German Derby winner Palladium, making his first appearance for John and Thady Gosden after winning his only start over hurdles for Nicky Henderson, put up a bold show from the front, while his stablemate Military Academy was also right in there pitching in the closing stages of the mile-and-a-half Listed contest. "What a superstar!" @HuntyCaller 🤩 9-year-old Hamish gets his head in front once again for the Somerville Lodge team! 🙌 @WilliamHaggas | @TomMarquand — Goodwood Racecourse (@Goodwood_Races) June 8, 2025 There was little to choose between the Gosden pair and Hamish racing inside the last half-furlong, but it was the latter who found most for pressure in the rain-softened ground to prevail by a neck from Military Academy, with Palladium just a head further behind in third. On his pre-race antics, Maureen Haggas, assistant to her husband, told Racing TV: 'He sat on a car the other day, apparently! I was away for a day, 'Tinks' (Andrew Tinkler) rode him and he was very apologetic the next day that he'd wrapped him around a car and a gate post! 'We introduced a pony after he ran at Goodwood two years ago and he's been pretty good everywhere until today, where he was absolutely appalling again! The tack fell off about four times, eventually we managed to get it on and keep it on and once he was moving he was fine. 'He was pretty naughty at the start, but he has been crying out for a race for a long time and he needs soft ground. He's been ready to go since the John Porter which was the middle of April, so he's just pretty bored now and needed a day out.' She added: 'He's not the easiest at home in that he can only go certain places, so you can't even vary his exercise because there's only two canters that he will ever go on. He likes routine, but he has got a little bit bored and he's not the sort you can take for a day out either as that blows his brains. 'He still feels great. I ride him every day and he doesn't feel like a nine-year-old, just the last two weeks you can see him looking at me saying 'what on earth are we doing this for'. It's good he's had a day out to remind him what it's all about.' The Owen Burrows-trained Waardah (7-1) powered clear to claim top honours in the other Listed race on the card – the Weatherbys/British EBF Agnes Keyser Fillies' Stakes. The three-year-old won on her Sandown debut in September and while she had since finished out of the places at Newmarket and Southwell, she looked to relish this step up to a mile and a quarter, finishing strongly under Callum Rodriguez to seal a two-and-three-quarter-length verdict. Burrows said: 'She's always been a filly we liked and hoped she could do something like that. 'I'll be honest, I half pencilled her in for Sandown next week in a handicap, but I saw the forecast and thought it would be worth giving her an entry in this and luckily the rain came. 'I think soft ground is probably important to her. She won first time up last year on soft ground and didn't run bad over a mile next time when she didn't really handle Newmarket's undulations. 'Coming to somewhere like here, that is always in the back of your mind, but she relaxed well and got into a nice rhythm and I thought the further she was going the better and if anything Callum said he struggled to pull her up, so I wouldn't be surprised if we go a bit further again at some stage. 'We'll just have to see what our summer weather does, but she's certainly one that going into the autumn we should have a bit of fun with.'
