The Foxes swoops for Huxley glory
From his position in stall one, Oisin Murphy got the perfect run round aboard the son of Churchill, always travelling smoothly and in the ideal spot to pounce at the business end of the Group Two event.
The champion jockey angled out the 13-8 favourite rounding the home turn and he had plenty of horse underneath him to gallop on to score by a length and three-quarters from Alice Haynes' 40-1 outsider Cairo.
It was the perfect way for the Andrew Balding-trained five-year-old to build on an opening run of the year in Qatar in February, with a host of big-race options now available.
Class is permanent ✨
The Foxes surges away in the Ire-Incentive, It Pays To Buy Irish Huxley Stakes 🥇#ITVRacing | @ChesterRaces | @oismurphy | @AndrewBalding2 pic.twitter.com/12LmOYyBEy
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) May 9, 2025
Balding, speaking away from the course said: 'We're delighted with him and he's a very good horse on his day.
'He had a few niggles mid-season last year but he's come back strong with a couple of good runs abroad and he looked there like he was somewhere near his best, which is encouraging for the season ahead.
'This horse is effective at a mile and a quarter and a mile and a half really, but we will probably explore mile-and-a-quarter options and possibly look at Royal Ascot.'
Murphy told Sky Sports Racing: 'He was superbly prepared by everyone at home as it wasn't completely smooth sailing from Doha to here and Andrew is going to be delighted with that.
'He was push button and one of the easiest rides you will have round here. It's all down to the work at home and he wasn't always that easy to ride or have that gate speed, but it has come together over the last few starts and that was a joy to be a part of.
'Andrew was happy for me to do whatever and it is important to have big winners for owners King Power Racing, they invest a lot into the sport and it's great to ride for them and have winners for them.
'Andrew will have a think about what he could run in at Royal Ascot and we also had a Group Two winner the other day in Bellum Justum and they kind of fit in the same category. They are both 10-or 12 furlong horses and one is four and one is five, so Andrew will have a think.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Guardian
38 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Wathnan snap up James McDonald for Royal Ascot rides
The Emir of Qatar's racing operation enjoyed a four-timer at the Royal meeting 12 months ago and with a swelling team once again this year and multiple entries in many races, the New Zealand-born pilot will prove a more than able deputy to James Doyle for the leading owners. Wathnan's racing adviser Richard Brown said: 'We're going to have a good-sized team with multiple entries in certain races. 'William Buick helps us when he can but obviously his availability is limited and when talking to the team, we decided we needed to have somebody in position who might be able to help us. 'A lot of the top guys here have got their own commitments and we heard with interest that James McDonald is coming over to ride Carl Spackler, so we reached out to him and he's going to be here Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before flying home for a wedding at the weekend.' A good friend of Wathnan number one Doyle, 'J-Mac' has enjoyed notable recent success on the world stage aboard Hong Kong star Romantic Warrior, while he has a stellar record at Royal Ascot enjoying a treble in 2022 which included Group One glory aboard Australian ace Nature Strip. 'I would imagine James will ride five or six for us over the first three days,' continued Brown. 'He has a great record at Ascot and he's great mates with James Doyle, which is an important dynamic to it. They will be able to run through the horses together that James Doyle knows so well and 'Doyler' has got a few hard decisions to make. 'But James is such a team player and is very pro the idea and I'm sure he'll be helping the other James with the form of the races and the horses he'll be on. 'We didn't want to leave anything to chance and it's very hard to get the top guys booked with them having their own commitments, so to have James McDonald riding for us where we have multiple entries and William Buick can't (ride) makes an awful lot of sense.'
Rhyl Journal
43 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Wathnan snap up James McDonald for Royal Ascot rides
The Emir of Qatar's racing operation enjoyed a four-timer at the Royal meeting 12 months ago and with a swelling team once again this year and multiple entries in many races, the New Zealand-born pilot will prove a more than able deputy to James Doyle for the leading owners. Wathnan's racing adviser Richard Brown said: 'We're going to have a good-sized team with multiple entries in certain races. 'William Buick helps us when he can but obviously his availability is limited and when talking to the team, we decided we needed to have somebody in position who might be able to help us. 'A lot of the top guys here have got their own commitments and we heard with interest that James McDonald is coming over to ride Carl Spackler, so we reached out to him and he's going to be here Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before flying home for a wedding at the weekend.' A good friend of Wathnan number one Doyle, 'J-Mac' has enjoyed notable recent success on the world stage aboard Hong Kong star Romantic Warrior, while he has a stellar record at Royal Ascot enjoying a treble in 2022 which included Group One glory aboard Australian ace Nature Strip. 'I would imagine James will ride five or six for us over the first three days,' continued Brown. 'He has a great record at Ascot and he's great mates with James Doyle, which is an important dynamic to it. They will be able to run through the horses together that James Doyle knows so well and 'Doyler' has got a few hard decisions to make. 'But James is such a team player and is very pro the idea and I'm sure he'll be helping the other James with the form of the races and the horses he'll be on. 'We didn't want to leave anything to chance and it's very hard to get the top guys booked with them having their own commitments, so to have James McDonald riding for us where we have multiple entries and William Buick can't (ride) makes an awful lot of sense.'
Leader Live
44 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Wathnan snap up James McDonald for Royal Ascot rides
The Emir of Qatar's racing operation enjoyed a four-timer at the Royal meeting 12 months ago and with a swelling team once again this year and multiple entries in many races, the New Zealand-born pilot will prove a more than able deputy to James Doyle for the leading owners. Wathnan's racing adviser Richard Brown said: 'We're going to have a good-sized team with multiple entries in certain races. 'William Buick helps us when he can but obviously his availability is limited and when talking to the team, we decided we needed to have somebody in position who might be able to help us. 'A lot of the top guys here have got their own commitments and we heard with interest that James McDonald is coming over to ride Carl Spackler, so we reached out to him and he's going to be here Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before flying home for a wedding at the weekend.' A good friend of Wathnan number one Doyle, 'J-Mac' has enjoyed notable recent success on the world stage aboard Hong Kong star Romantic Warrior, while he has a stellar record at Royal Ascot enjoying a treble in 2022 which included Group One glory aboard Australian ace Nature Strip. 'I would imagine James will ride five or six for us over the first three days,' continued Brown. 'He has a great record at Ascot and he's great mates with James Doyle, which is an important dynamic to it. They will be able to run through the horses together that James Doyle knows so well and 'Doyler' has got a few hard decisions to make. 'But James is such a team player and is very pro the idea and I'm sure he'll be helping the other James with the form of the races and the horses he'll be on. 'We didn't want to leave anything to chance and it's very hard to get the top guys booked with them having their own commitments, so to have James McDonald riding for us where we have multiple entries and William Buick can't (ride) makes an awful lot of sense.'
