
Hughes eyeing York return for thriving Sayidah Dariyan
'I thought her run at Ascot was huge and to be honest I'd have been really disappointed had she got beat at York,' Hughes told Racing TV's Luck on Sunday programme.
'I had a good chat with Billy (Loughnane) about how to get the best out of the filly, which was to ride her the way he did, and it was a very brave ride, I was very proud of him.
'I told him about riding in these big races, don't worry if you get beat and I'd rather you come too late than too soon, but she really showed how good she was and she's a very high-class filly.
'She could win the July Cup next year. We'll have a chat with Jaber (Abdullah, owner) and see what he wants to do as he's a big breeder as well.
'We might think about the Nunthorpe as the way she travelled the other day I don't think five furlongs will make much difference to her.
'If I have to wait until September and the ground goes on me there isn't much left because Ascot will be soft. If I need a shot at a Group One I probably need fast ground.'
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North Wales Chronicle
23 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Merchant looking to bank another big race for Highclere
Always held in high-regard by trainer William Haggas, the Highclere Thoroughbreds-owned three-year-old excelled when landing the King George V Stakes and after connections resisted the temptation of an Ascot return and a daring King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes tilt, now climbs the ladder into Group Three company on the Sussex Downs. 'The Gordon was always the plan and the next logical step for him and a horse of his profile,' said Highclere's Harry Herbert. MERCHANT takes the King George V Stakes for @TomMarquand and trainer @WilliamHaggas. Congratulations to connections. — Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) June 19, 2025 'He comes into it – according to William – in really good form and he's been working well at home. 'It's one step at a time with him and we will see how he gets on but we would be very hopeful of a big show as he's a fast-improving horse and one we think the world of.' The last four winners of this have gone on to contest the St Leger and although his team are refusing to rule out a Classic tilt, it could be an audacious trip to Paris that comes calling in the autumn if Merchant continues his rapid progression through the ranks. Herbert added: 'The St Leger is certainly possible it's just whether we want to go the mile and six route or whether we stick to a mile and a half. 'It will all depend on how he progresses and if he happens to win the Gordon Stakes we would then all being well head to the Great Voltigeur (at York, August 20) and if he happened to win that then the conversation would be do you go for the St Leger or have a crack at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. 'I think it's wide open at this stage and of course there is a lot of water to flow under the bridge still. But William and I have been discussing it for a while and I'm not certain the St Leger would be the right move for this horse, although I hate to say that now when we're nowhere near that point. 'Hopefully all goes well at Goodwood and once that is out of the way we can go from there.' Eve Johnson Houghton has already made her mark in the juvenile Group races this week and will bid for Super Sprint compensation with Havana Hurricane in the Markel Richmond Stakes. The Royal Ascot winner narrowly missed out on a huge bounty when beaten a short head at Newbury but now returns to six furlongs, the distance over which he went down fighting to Charlie Appleby's reopposing Maximized in the Woodcote Stakes at Epsom. 'It would be exciting to make it a Group Two double for the week,' said Johnson Houghton. 'He's in great form, he's done nothing wrong and I think six furlongs will really suit him now we know to hold on to him for a bit longer. 'We obviously kicked too soon at Epsom, but we learned from it.' Clive Cox has bided his time since with Coppull since finishing third in the Coventry Stakes at the Royal meeting but with the form looking smart, is hopeful he can show the required progress in a race the Lambourn handler has won with Golden Horde (2019) and Supremacy (2020). 'I was really pleased with his effort in the Coventry and I just wanted to give him a little bit of time as he's still developing,' said Cox. 'He's done nothing but please so far and this is another big step, but we really like him. 'It's nice to be heading to these races with horses in form.' Disappointing in the Coventry was Archie Watson's Underwriter, but after being returned to Ayr for a confidence-boosting win since, attempts to go one better than owners Wathnan Racing's The Strikin Viking who was touched off in this race 12 months ago. 'We took him back up to Ayr and he was impressive there on debut and again the other day, he just had a complete blip for whatever reason at Royal Ascot,' said Wathnan's Richard Brown. 'We couldn't find any reason for the poor performance at Ascot so we went back up to Ayr with a penalty and he showed us what he could do. 'It's a step up in class, but we'll find out where we're at.'


North Wales Chronicle
24 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Gosdens lament Field Of Gold's lacklustre Sussex run
The Juddmonte-owned grey was the 1-3 favourite as he came into the race having won both Irish 2,000 Guineas and St James's Palace Stakes this season, so was bidding for a Group One hat-trick with a new rider in the saddle as William Buick replaced the suspended Colin Keane. Juddmonte's second-string, the Ralph Beckett-trained Qirat, was the mount of Richard Kingscote and employed as a pacemaker, albeit a useful one, as was Aidan O'Brien's Serengeti, who looked set to lead stablemate Henri Matisse into the race. Those two did indeed settle into the lead, but as the race developed it became apparent that the favourite could not close the gap and he finished an eventual fourth when three and three-quarter lengths behind 150-1 winner Qirat. John Gosden told ITV Racing: 'He's done nothing wrong and actually the other pacemaker (Serengeti) got left (at the start), he comes round and finally they are going a pace. We are sitting a long way behind, that's life and the pacemaker goes and wins it. 'If you let them have those fractions they will do it, he ran on but he didn't seem to be balanced on the track, it's a different type of track to what he has ever run on and he just got a little unbalanced coming out of the dip into the bend. I'm not making any excuses, you ignore the pacemaker and pay the price. 'He ran a huge race in the Guineas (when runner-up at Newmarket) and was flying at the finish, but he was not flying at the finish so there's a very big difference. He wasn't at his best so we will have to see why. He is having a normal blow so we will have a good look. 'William said as soon as he asked him the engine wasn't there, simple as that. He would have run on to be up there with Rosallion, but he didn't fire today.' Thady Gosden added: 'Congratulations to Ralph and Juddmonte of course for winning, but obviously it was a messy race and I think we can put a line through it. 'We saw he quickened up well but it was too late on, Rosallion was in a good position in front of us and he didn't quite get there as they'd got a bit of rope in front. 'Hopefully he comes out of it OK, we know how talented he is and today wasn't a true reflection of his ability. We'll move on. 'We could see what was unfolding for us a mile out, but obviously it is great for Juddmonte to have a home bred winner.' Richard Hannon's 11-2 shot Rosallion was the runner-up under Sean Levey, beaten a neck after giving chase to the runaway Qirat. Hannon said: 'It's pride, not frustration, but what does he have to do to win? 'Sean did the right thing and moved closer to the pacemakers, and he's run a super race but didn't win. It's life, isn't it? 'He's a great horse, his day has already come and there are other days to come. He's certainly not done with. 'He's beaten the best three-year-old we've seen for years and also the French Guineas winner (Henri Matisse). 'It's not a great day when you are second in these races but we are very lucky to be part of it. We have an extremely good horse and he went down fighting.' Henri Matisse, also an 11-2 chance, was third under Ryan Moore when beaten two and a half lengths, with stablemate Serengeti eventually last of the seven runners. O'Brien said: 'Obviously (Serengeti) was there to make sure it was an even gallop and he missed the break, so Wayne (Lordan) had to let him relax and give him a chance. 'He came round the field wide and then when he joined up with the other pacemaker, the winner, he pulled back off and so Wayne was left making the running, but well done to everyone. 'We are very happy with Henri Matisse. We think we haven't got him really right yet, but we think we are getting there. Every time he runs we are learning more, and we were happy with him here other than he didn't win, obviously. 'Sean's (Levey) horse (Rosallion) just came down the outside of him and took a couple of lengths out of him quickly, Ryan just said that coming down the hill at Goodwood it just took him a little time to get organised as he's a baby three-year-old. He felt he wasn't finished with and there's more to come. 'We think he's a miler, but Ryan thinks he'll stay further. We'll see how he is but he could go back to France for the mile races and could end up in America for their mile races, or he could go up in trip, although we've never thought he was short of pace.'


North Wales Chronicle
24 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Pacemaker Qirat stuns Sussex Stakes big guns
John and Thady Gosden's Field Of Gold was a 1-3 shot to follow in the hoofprints of his sire Kingman by adding this prestigious Group One contest to his previous top-level victories in the Irish 2,000 Guineas and the St James's Palace Stakes. The Ralph Beckett-trained Qirat, who was last seen finishing 27th of 30 runners in the Royal Hunt Cup, was supplemented for the race last week at a cost of £70,000 in a bid to ensure the red-hot favourite had a strong gallop to aim at. But the race did not go to script, with Qirat keeping up the gallop to emerge triumphant under Richard Kingscote, despite the best efforts of Rosallion, who was a neck adrift at the line. Field Of Gold, meanwhile, had to settle for a laboured fourth, with Henri Matisse third. Beckett said: 'Richard has always been a very good judge of the clock. The last thing I said to him was keep going with this fellow, he could run really well. 'He loves this place and I wanted to enter him because his work was really good. It's a horse race and anything can happen.' Qirat's dam, Emulous, also produced last year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner for Beckett in Bluestocking. He went on: 'I thought he looked a million beforehand and that in the race he would set the pace from the front, and the longer he lasted the better for those concerned with the favourite. Who saw this coming? Field Of Gold's supposed pacemaker Qirat, trained by @RalphBeckett, wins the Sussex Stakes at 150-1! — PA Racing (@PAracing) July 30, 2025 'He's always threatened to be a good horse and today he showed it. 'What about the mare? To come up with Bluestocking and him. She's been like a hole in the wall, like a cash machine.' Kingscote, who recently announced he is taking up a licence in Hong Kong, said: 'I feel like a villain but when I saw it wasn't a grey nose (Field Of Gold) coming towards me I just kept going.' Although clearly not the result owner-breeders Juddmonte were expecting, the team's European racing manager Barry Mahon was keen to take the positives out of it. Of Qirat, he told Racing TV: 'Ralph said in the parade ring beforehand 'this horse is going to run big' and said to Richard 'there's a big run in this horse'. Whilst he was obviously there to make the pace, Ralph thought he could finish in the three and he was dead right. 'He's a horse we always felt had a lot of potential. Ralph actually wanted to enter him for this race earlier in the year and in my wisdom I said 'don't be ridiculous'. We ended up having to supplement him, but he's got the result. 'At the end of the day Juddmonte and the owners want to compete at the top level and want to win Group One races. Whilst it's not with the horse we thought it would be, we've still won the race, which is the most important thing.' When asked about future plans for the winner, Mahon added: 'I've had people from America and Hong Kong and every sort of racing jurisdiction coming up to me inviting him to run, so hopefully the owners might want to travel him. 'Ralph knows a thing or two about winning a Breeders' Cup race, so maybe that's where he'll end up.' What the rest of the season holds for Field Of Gold remains to be seen, with Mahon saying: 'The rest of the field seemed to get detached from the two pacemakers, but I think ultimately William (Buick) felt he didn't handle the track and felt he was a bit flat today. We don't know why, but we all have off days – human and equines and all manner of beasts. 'Whether there's an issue there or something we're not sure, we'll have to investigate, but he's definitely not the Field Of Gold that we've all seen and know. I'm sure he'll be back and there'll be another day. 'He's had a good enough break since Ascot, John and Thady have freshened him up and they've been happy with how he's trained. He looked good today and William said going to the start he felt very fresh, so maybe he was a little bit too fresh. 'We did give him a good break after Ascot and maybe we were a little bit kind on him. We'll get him home and check him out first and I think we'll have to make a plan after that.'