Bethell hoping Regional outlook is favourable in Hackwood Stakes
This year he has appeared to be as good as ever, going down by less than a length when third in the Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan in April and then coming home third again in the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot.
'He's grand, he's in really good nick,' said Bethell.
'We're really looking forward to it, I just hope the rain doesn't materialise.
'I've been very pleased with him since Ascot, he worked really well on Tuesday.
'Hopefully he goes there with a big chance, but it's not an easy Group race at all and there are some good horses in there.
'He's ultra consistent for a sprinter, he always turns up and he's a legend for us.
'I'm very fortunate to be able to train a horse like him so early on in my career, it's an absolute pleasure.'
Karl Burke's Elite Status won the contest last term as Regional finished fourth, and the trainer is hoping cheekpieces can bring about a return to the same level of form.
He said: 'We're hoping for a big run, we put the sheepskins on him a couple of weeks ago and he worked very well in them – he seems in good form.
'He has been a little bit disappointing so we've lowered our sights a little bit to try to get him going again.
'The ground was a bit against him at York and he probably got tired, but Ascot was a little bit a non-event for him really.
'I wouldn't want too much rain for him, as long as it's good ground that'll be fine.'
Saffie Osborne takes the ride on the Chipchase Stakes winner Diligent Harry, who carries a penalty for that Group Three triumph and is aiming for a first success on turf.
'It's a really good race and he's obviously got to carry the penalty,' Osborne told Sky Sports Racing.
'He's been absolutely flying at home, he feels great and we're slightly on weather watch – hopefully there's not too much rain.
'He's a seriously classy horse and he's shown what he can do at Group One level with some really good runs in defeat. Hopefully he can go on to bigger and better things this year.'
As Diligent Harry won the Chipchase, James Fanshawe's Kind Of Blue could only come home in ninth place, another below-par effort after his luckless run in the Prix du Gros-Chene.
On the latter occasion he had a run-in with the stalls, and connections are hoping he can get back on track after finishing third in this last year and going on to strike at Group One level on Champions Day at Ascot.
Richard Brown, racing manager to owner Wathnan Racing, said: 'His first start this year was a non-event, he reared as the stalls opened and missed the break by six or eight lengths.
'We then took him to Newcastle on the all-weather and we were all very disappointed and left scratching our heads.
'His work has been good since and everyone seems happy with him, hopefully getting him back on turf will see him get back to somewhere near his best.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Rhyl Journal
4 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
Jan Brueghel spearheads stellar list of King George contenders
Aidan O'Brien said at the weekend it was probable that Coronation Cup winner Jan Brueghel would be his number one hope, with Lambourn likely to be aimed at the St Leger, possibly via the Great Voltigeur at York. O'Brien's Epsom Oaks runner-up Whirl, who has been mentioned in terms of the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, has stood her ground, while the Ballydoyle handler is also responsible for Continuous. Like last year's winner Goliath, Calandagan is trained by Francis-Henri Graffard and pushed Jan Brueghel all the way at Epsom. The Aga Khan Studs-owned gelding has since bagged an elusive Group One victory in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. The Charlie Appleby-trained Rebel's Romance, meanwhile, showed he is as good as ever in recording a popular triumph in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot. Andrew Balding's Group One winner Kalpana is another representative for the fillies, with Jessica Harrington's Green Impact bolstering the Irish challenge. Kalpana will be stepping up to a mile and a half for the first time this season, at the scene of her biggest success to date, the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes back in October. Her two outings this season have been in Ireland, finishing third in the Tattersalls Gold Cup and second in the Pretty Polly Stakes, both at the Curragh. Juddmonte's European racing manager Barry Mahon said: 'Kalpana is all systems go for the King George. This has been her intended target since her last run in Ireland and she is in good shape. 'I think her two runs this year have been very solid. We know she is proven over a mile and a half on soft ground, so for her to produce those performances over 10 furlongs on quicker ground is very promising. 'We would be hopeful of a strong showing on Saturday back over 12 furlongs, for all it looks a competitive race. Calandagan is a top-class horse and we all saw what Jan Brueghel did at Epsom. I don't know if Lambourn will line up as well, but a Derby winner always commands respect.'
Rhyl Journal
4 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
See The Fire primed to go one better than last year at Goodwood
The four-year-old was beaten a neck by Opera Singer when second in the Group One last season, and proved she had gone from strength to strength over the winter when winning the Middleton Stakes at York by 12 lengths in May. Her most recent run was a fine third in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot, and another bid for the Nassau now looks her next step as Balding seeks to pave the way to the Breeders' Cup. He said: 'She's a beautifully-bred filly, by Sea The Stars, who won a Juddmonte International, out of Arabian Queen, who also won a Juddmonte International. 'She's always looked a very smart filly. As a three-year-old, we didn't really see the best of her until we got to the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, where she was narrowly beaten.' Of her last run Balding, added: 'We thought she ran a super race at Ascot, against the boys, in the Prince of Wales's. She's had a little break since then with the view to preparing her for the Nassau again, and hopefully going one better than we did last year. 'The Prince of Wales's this year was run at a ferocious gallop and it suited the closers. In hindsight, we rode her to sit in behind Los Angeles, and focus on beating him, which left us vulnerable at the end of the race. Having said that, they're top-class horses and we might not have beaten them whatever we'd done. 'It was still a career-best performance, and she'll have an easier time, you'd have thought, against her own sex, in the Nassau. It's never easy at Group One level, but she's going there in great shape.' The Nassau Stakes serves as a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, granting the winner an automatic fees-paid berth into the $2million contest at Del Mar in November. 'The win and you're in incentive is very important for any owner, it certainly pushes the Breeders' Cup to the forefront of your priorities,' Balding said of the prospect of heading to California. 'The Breeders' Cup is a hugely important meeting worldwide, but it does come at the end of a long season so it really depends on how she is training at the end of the season, and what happens between now and then, but it's very much on the shortlist for our autumn campaign. 'It would be lovely to think one day we would have a horse good enough to be competitive in a Breeders' Cup race, we've had a couple of runners so far but no joy, so it's something very much that we are striving to achieve.'
South Wales Guardian
4 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
See The Fire primed to go one better than last year at Goodwood
The four-year-old was beaten a neck by Opera Singer when second in the Group One last season, and proved she had gone from strength to strength over the winter when winning the Middleton Stakes at York by 12 lengths in May. Her most recent run was a fine third in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot, and another bid for the Nassau now looks her next step as Balding seeks to pave the way to the Breeders' Cup. He said: 'She's a beautifully-bred filly, by Sea The Stars, who won a Juddmonte International, out of Arabian Queen, who also won a Juddmonte International. 'She's always looked a very smart filly. As a three-year-old, we didn't really see the best of her until we got to the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, where she was narrowly beaten.' Of her last run Balding, added: 'We thought she ran a super race at Ascot, against the boys, in the Prince of Wales's. She's had a little break since then with the view to preparing her for the Nassau again, and hopefully going one better than we did last year. 'The Prince of Wales's this year was run at a ferocious gallop and it suited the closers. In hindsight, we rode her to sit in behind Los Angeles, and focus on beating him, which left us vulnerable at the end of the race. Having said that, they're top-class horses and we might not have beaten them whatever we'd done. 'It was still a career-best performance, and she'll have an easier time, you'd have thought, against her own sex, in the Nassau. It's never easy at Group One level, but she's going there in great shape.' The Nassau Stakes serves as a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, granting the winner an automatic fees-paid berth into the $2million contest at Del Mar in November. 'The win and you're in incentive is very important for any owner, it certainly pushes the Breeders' Cup to the forefront of your priorities,' Balding said of the prospect of heading to California. 'The Breeders' Cup is a hugely important meeting worldwide, but it does come at the end of a long season so it really depends on how she is training at the end of the season, and what happens between now and then, but it's very much on the shortlist for our autumn campaign. 'It would be lovely to think one day we would have a horse good enough to be competitive in a Breeders' Cup race, we've had a couple of runners so far but no joy, so it's something very much that we are striving to achieve.'
