Trainer Henry Dwyer cautiously optimistic about Asfoora's King Charles III Stakes defence at Royal Ascot
Trainer Henry Dwyer has conceded Royal Ascot-winning Group 1 mare Asfoora could be vulnerable in her King Charles III Stakes title defence next month.
Asfoora will be floated to Sydney this week ahead of her long haul flight to Europe on Thursday.
Dwyer ideally wanted Asfoora in England already but could not get a suitable flight for the $2.5m prizemoney earner and short-course specialist which stunned Royal Ascot last year.
'Last year we saw a huge improvement from Haydock (4th in a Group 2) to Ascot … we're not really going to get that opportunity this year (racing two weeks after arrival) so we're going in as we are and she probably keeps improving after that,' Dwyer said.
'Last year we went over and thought the Nunthorpe at York in late August was going to be her race and I think we cooked her a bit by that stage, she had a big preparation.
'This year with the later start for her … maybe that will be her peak this time and I think that's the right race for her, the right track for her, and acclimatization wise it would make sense she's better by then.
'I'm looking at that, we used Goodwood as a lead-up to York last year, she probably should've won at Goodwood, she was a bit unlucky not to, so that's on the radar again, and then off to York.
'Whatever happens after that is a bonus.'
The astute Ballarat horseman has prepared Asfoora primarily for another European odyssey and said the experience last year helped on and off the track now 12 months on.
'It was a weird feeling last year because we were the Australian but we weren't a hyped Australian and I probably did my best to dull it down a bit because I didn't want to spruik her and then go no good, which was a real possibility,' Dwyer said.
'Whereas this year we know she measures up so it's a lot easier, we know the lay of the land … this year we know exactly what track we want to work on every morning and last year we were finding our feet, those first few weeks.
'She'll be in the same stable as she was last year, she's been to each of the race tracks, she'll be more settled because of that, I think it's a good scenario for us.
'My worry last year with Ascot was a stiff five furlongs (1000m) up the hill there, the worries were unfounded, she coped with it no dramas, it's more like an 1100m which I think is her pet distance and she handled it last year so she can probably do the same this year.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
34 minutes ago
- ABC News
Why Lachlan Galvin's Canterbury debut is the first gaGalvin's Bulldogs debut is the first game of the rest of his NRL lifeme of the rest of his NRL life
Lachlan Galvin has never, in his life, played in a game like Monday and from the looks of things there will be many more of them to come. It wasn't just the monster crowd of 59,878 that came to see Canterbury take on Parramatta — plenty of players go their whole careers without an audience like that outside of State of Origin or a grand final. The cold and the wet were never going to keep the blue and white army away, not when their team entered the round top of the league and are now into the second half of a season that has premiership aspirations. The Eels fought hard and made the Bulldogs work for it after a strong first half. But Canterbury turned the screws expertly in the final quarter of the match to grind out another win, as expected — and that's the difference between this game and all the others Galvin has played at the top level. In signing with Canterbury, Galvin has linked with one of the best teams in the competition and the expectations are radically different to anything he experienced in his 18 months with Wests Tigers. At the joint venture, Galvin was in a relatively low-pressure environment. The wins and the losses still mattered, because in first grade they all matter, but the stakes were nowhere near as high, and in choosing Canterbury and moving there mid-season, Galvin has upped the ante on himself. Given the way they've started the season, every match the Bulldogs play from here on out will likely prove crucial in the premiership race. They are heavyweights and the intensity and attention paid to them reflect that status. Going from a rebuilding club to a true premiership contender halfway through a season is an enormous jump in responsibility for any player, let alone a 20-year-old with exactly a season and a half under his belt. But confidence has rarely been an issue for Galvin. It never felt likely he would be overawed, even accounting for the media circus surrounding his move and his first showing for the Bulldogs was a good one. He came on at halfback with 25 minutes to go, with Canterbury up by two and both sides ripping in and showed a cool head by getting involved without chasing after the game madly. Galvin had some nice moments and they all came within the rhythm of the Bulldogs process. He did not overplay his hand, but straightened the attack nicely for Viliame Kikau's key try and got one of his own to finish things off by pushing up in support on the back of an offload. His teammates swamped him and the crowd erupted as though he'd been a Bulldog his whole life. It was a fine debut, one which tantalised with its possibility. The challenge now for Galvin is doing it again and again and again as the games get bigger and the stakes get higher. At the Tigers, if he went off the boil for a few weeks like all young players and especially young halves can from time to time, it was easier to excuse. They were in a process of regeneration and he was barely getting started in his career. He was still finding his way and ups and downs are all part of that process. Making mistakes and learning from them or hitting flat spots and fighting through them are part of growing up, as a footballer and a person. But things are different now. Galvin is still young but this move has accelerated his own timeline. These days of coming off the bench will not last long and the time draws near when he will start at halfback for Canterbury and the weight of the challenge of greatness will be upon his broad shoulders because that's exactly what this team was aspiring to even before he arrived. He won't have to carry it alone. The Bulldogs are a team who find strength in their numbers and every week a new player seems to step up when needed to make the difference. Against Parramatta, it was young prop Harry Hayes who backed up Kurt Mann to score a key try and ran for 218 metres off the bench. It's that depth across the park that makes Canterbury so dangerous and why great things feel possible for them in 2025. Their win over Parramatta had all the hallmarks of some of their best wins this year — there was the utter devotion to their process, ball control that starved the opposition of any opportunity and an ability to invariably come home stronger. As a team, the Bulldogs are good at these things because they've done them before. The success it has delivered them over the past 18 months was likely a big factor in attracting Galvin in the first place, but now he must do the same in order to justify his presence there. Through this whole saga, Galvin has shown an ability to leave the drama behind when he hits the field. Blessed with the certainty of youth, the pressure of his situation has not gotten to him yet despite the constant talk and a spotlight that grows harsher all the time. Now it will be a different kind of pressure, less hyperbolic but certainly more concentrated. He is no longer the best thing about one of the worst teams in the league, he is a finishing touch, the final piece of a puzzle that was already looking close to completed. If he plays like he did in the 25 minutes on Monday, Galvin can take the Bulldogs even higher — but that's not what the blue and white faithful will hope for, it's what they will expect. He is no longer a player of the future on a team dreaming of the days when success may come, but a player of the present on a team who feel close to glory. Canterbury can aspire to be the best, so the best is what will be expected. Such is his talent, Galvin was always going to cross this bridge eventually but now he has done there's no way back to how it was before. He's moved into a new world and must learn to master it and at the top end of the ladder patience is hard to come by.
News.com.au
40 minutes ago
- News.com.au
On The Punt: Seymour best bets for Tuesday, June 10, 2025
News Corp form analyst Chris Vernuccio takes a look at Tuesday's Seymour meeting with his best bet in the last race.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Mat Ryan thought his Socceroos career was over. Now he is a key Socceroo
Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan was sitting on the bench last November, thinking his international career was finished. Ryan had started life under coach Tony Popovic as an unused substitute for three straight games as Joe Gauci took the lead in their World Cup qualifiers. Ryan could not convince Popovic after struggling for game time at his former club AS Roma, before a hip injury to Gauci reopened the door. Six months on, the 33-year-old nears his 100-cap milestone as Australia attempts to confirm their path to the 2026 tournament in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday (AEST). Australia will earn automatic qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup provided they are not beaten by five goals or more by Saudi Arabia in Jeddah. Ryan is the third-most capped Socceroo, behind fellow keeper Mark Schwarzer (109) and Tim Cahill (108). "There were definitely thoughts that I had there that I could well have played my last game for the national team," Ryan said on Monday. "If you look at perhaps every footballer's career — look at Cristiano Ronaldo and his time at Man United with (Erik) ten Hag there. He wasn't playing there either. "I don't think life or football discriminates against anyone in that regard. "No one is ever entitled to playing for a team. You've got to go out there and earn that right. "'I'm pretty proud of the fact that I've managed to find my way back in." Ryan was on the bench last time the Socceroos suffered a defeat of five or more goals, watching a side coached by Holger Osieck in a 6-0 horror friendly defeat to France in 2013. While Ryan would not be drawn when asked about the memory, he stuck close to the team's week-long "no complacency" message. "At the end of the day, action speaks louder than words," Ryan said. "In life, anything is possible, so you can't take anything for granted. "And by no means is the job finished." Ryan will notch the 100-game milestone after 13 years with the national team, earning his first call-up for the 2014 World Cup qualifier against the Saudis in 2012. "I'm always trying to make the next achievement the best one," Ryan said. "To be in the position we are right now, being a strong one, to go and have it right on our fingertips right now — it gives meaning to us footballers as to why we want to play. "It's the most fulfilling and purposeful thing when you've got that success at your fingertips, and you obviously want to take that final last step to go and achieve it." AAP
