
Bucanero Fuerte shows he still has the power
A winner on the same card last year in the Lacken Stakes, he was on a retrieval mission here after finishing unplaced on his final three outings of the season, having been forced to miss Royal Ascot with a problem.
Those three defeats did come at the highest level, though, and back down in Group Three company, he was able to dominate.
With Ger Lyons' Breeders' Cup winner Magnum Force in the field and looking to give his trainer a four-timer on the card, Bucanero Fuerte looked to face stiff opposition.
However, Magnum Force was a rare Lyons runner who never looked like winning and he finished last of the seven runners.
On the other hand, Bucanero Fuerte, who was a Group One winner at two, was always going well in the hands of David Egan and when he asked him to put the race to bed a furlong out, he did just that, beating Powerful Nation by a length and three-quarters.
He had been retired to Tally-Ho Stud at the end of last season but failed to get any of his mares in foal.
'It was great for us to see him coming back but I suppose from a breeding point of view, it was disappointing,' said Murray.
'He's really showed up today, we were on a fact-finding mission to see whether he was going to train on and for sure, he was brilliant.
'He's only back six or eight weeks with us and you'd never think he was away at stud. He's so cool and calm, we even said to David going out 'just wake him up a little bit' because he's so relaxed.
'He finished out the race well, he galloped right to the line. They kind of caught him up a little bit a furlong out and then he kicked on again. He put plenty of daylight between them.
'Today was just to see how things would go. There is a race in Cork in three weeks' time and he'll be entered for the Nunthorpe. He's not in Ascot.
'We'll see after a couple of days how he comes out of the race and then make a plan from there.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Rhyl Journal
29 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Johnson Houghton targets Ascot with Woodcote second
The Havana Gold colt won on his debut at Goodwood in May and despite missing the break at Epsom, ran on to be beaten just a length and a half by Godolphin's £720,000 breeze-up buy Maximized. Royal Ascot now beckons, with the Windsor Castle and Norfolk Stakes possible targets for the shrewdly-bought 9,000 guineas purchase. 'He's great, he's been very well and is such a laid-back horse,' said Johnson Houghton. 'Horses don't know how much they cost, they haven't got a clue. Once we get them in the yard we don't really care what they cost either, we treat them all the same. 'He could go for the Windsor Castle or the Norfolk, he'll be entered in both. 'He's got bags of pace, clearly, even when he does give the rest of them a head start! A stiff five at Ascot has got to really suit him.' Havana Hurricane holds an entry for the Weatherbys Super Sprint Stakes at Newbury in mid-July, for which he would carry a relative feather weight as allocations are based on purchase price. Johnson Houghton added: 'He's in the Super Sprint, we'll see how Ascot goes of course, but it's very tasty prize-money for us to look at and I think he's pretty useful.'


North Wales Chronicle
42 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Johnson Houghton targets Ascot with Woodcote second
The Havana Gold colt won on his debut at Goodwood in May and despite missing the break at Epsom, ran on to be beaten just a length and a half by Godolphin's £720,000 breeze-up buy Maximized. Royal Ascot now beckons, with the Windsor Castle and Norfolk Stakes possible targets for the shrewdly-bought 9,000 guineas purchase. 'He's great, he's been very well and is such a laid-back horse,' said Johnson Houghton. 'Horses don't know how much they cost, they haven't got a clue. Once we get them in the yard we don't really care what they cost either, we treat them all the same. 'He could go for the Windsor Castle or the Norfolk, he'll be entered in both. 'He's got bags of pace, clearly, even when he does give the rest of them a head start! A stiff five at Ascot has got to really suit him.' Havana Hurricane holds an entry for the Weatherbys Super Sprint Stakes at Newbury in mid-July, for which he would carry a relative feather weight as allocations are based on purchase price. Johnson Houghton added: 'He's in the Super Sprint, we'll see how Ascot goes of course, but it's very tasty prize-money for us to look at and I think he's pretty useful.'


South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Bookmakers shorten Los Angeles with Economics to miss Ascot
The William Haggas-trained Economics had been seen as one of the main dangers to Aidan O'Brien's star, following a three-year-old campaign that saw him win the Dante Stakes and Irish Champion Stakes. He was due to make his reappearance on day two of the Royal fixture, but Haggas told the Racing Post he would not be running and was 'out in the short term, but it's no big deal and hopefully he can be back in action soon'. In his absence Los Angeles is the 3-1 favourite from 7-2 with William Hill, with Owen Burrows' Champion Stakes winner Anmaat next best at 4-1. William Hill spokesman Lee Phelps said: 'News that William Haggas' Economics has been ruled out of Royal Ascot has shaken up the Prince of Wales's Stakes market. 'With one of his key competitors out, we have clipped Los Angeles from 7-2 to 3-1 at the head of the market. 'One horse we're now fearing could be a popular pick is Anmaat after a strong reappearance behind Los Angeles at the Curragh and the Champion Stakes winner could be the punters' pick at 4-1. 'Economics had been third in the betting, but that place now belongs to Wathnan Racing's French raider Map Of Stars (5-1).' Paddy Power make Los Angeles a 5-2 chance, with Map Of Stars 4-1 and Anmaat 9-2.