Bobsleigh speeds to impressive Woodcote success

Bobsleigh flew to an impressive success in the British EBF 40th Anniversary Woodcote Stakes at Epsom, as the 2023 Derby Festival got under way.

Eve Johnson Houghton’s two-year-old came into the race with quite a taking Brighton maiden win to his name and was a 5-1 chance in this 12-runner affair.

He did not feature prominently in the early stages and was patiently ridden by an ice-cool Charlie Bishop until the final bend, when he was manoeuvred around the field to challenge.

Having taken a wide line he battled past each of his rivals, including the 9-4 favourite Haatem, who missed the break completely and did extremely well to finish third, and long-time leader and eventual runner-up Balon d’Or.

Johnson Houghton said: “I think we’ve got a Royal Ascot candidate on our hands - it’s very exciting, isn’t it?

“He did exactly what we’d planned. We knew they’d go really fast; you just get him balanced and wait until he comes to you. I knew he had a good turn of foot - whether he could make up that much ground, I wasn’t sure, but he was pretty impressive, I think.

“He’s got plenty of boot, so we could drop back to five furlongs. Obviously the Coventry is going to be the hottest race [for two-year-olds at Royal Ascot] so I don’t know, but for this group of 20 people in this syndicate, it’s a fantastic day out for them. They don’t pay much money, and Anthony Bromley and I do a pretty good job in buying them for not much money, and they are having the time of their lives.

“The whole idea is that they [the horses in the Woodway syndicate] are sold at the end of their two-year-old career, so we are here to have fun with them.

“When I bought him, he was really small. I remember saying to Ant, ‘He’s a bit small, are we sure about that?’ He’s just grown and grown and thrived, since gelding him, which was the best thing I ever did for him. He’s really done well.”

Bishop added: “I knew there was a lot of pace on and I wanted to ride him with lots of confidence. Eve puts her faith in me which enables me to ride nice races like this and it has paid off. He came home really nicely and won quite comfortably.

"I don’t think he is slow either and going to Royal Ascot we are going to have to think what we go for. The Windsor Castle is back at five and it is probably a more winnable race than the Coventry Stakes. We will see how he comes out of this and if he improves again and we think it is worth a go at the Coventry then maybe we might go for that but I would say that the Windsor Castle might be more up his street.

“Obviously these connections have had luck in the Windsor Castle before with Chipotle. It would be great to get him to Royal Ascot in one piece and whatever race Eve decides to run him in I’m sure she won’t be wrong.

“He has done nothing wrong on the track and he has won there despite still being quite green. I think the improvement could be massive. Going forward this horse could have a bit of scope as he is not that small.

“I was confident today. The yard and all the staff were very bullish and they aren’t often as strong (in their confidence) as they were today. They put faith in him and they were right.”

James Doyle, jockey of the runner-up Balon D'Or, said: “He’s fast. It’s a good run, I was just outstayed at the end.”

Pat Dobbs, rider of slow-starting favourite 9-4 Haatem, who finished third, said: “He was just up in the air when the gates opened and he landed flat-footed. He must have lost four or five lengths but he would still have won if he had handled the track in the last two furlongs and not been hanging.”

Richard Hannon, trainer of Haatem, added: “He was the moral winner and I’ll look to take him now to the Coventry or the Superlative, maybe both.

“He just reared up when the gates opened, but that’s two-year-olds for you. He was full of running all the way through the race and made up a lot of ground. Still, getting beat because you’re not good enough would have been a lot worse.”

Trainer Charlie Johnston, who is doubly represented in the Betfred Derby, had the perfect warm up when saddling the first two horses home in the Racehorse Lotto Handicap (1m ½f) on Ladies Day at The Derby Festival,

It was Austrian Theory (7-1) who took the honours, making all to hold off the challenge of his stablemate Dutch Decoy (7-1) and win by half a length.

Johnston said: “Four winners would have been the perfect day for us but to do that we’d have needed a dead heat in one race, so that was a fantastic result. This is a horse who we’ve always thought a lot of, he was a very talented two year old and he won the Almada Mile at Hamilton last year in the style of a really good horse.

“It was that moment where I thought he’d go on and be a real Golden Mile type of horse at Goodwood, but he can just be a bit in and out. Chester at the weekend was a sign that he’s just coming back to the boil and Joe (Fanning) was sublime at the front end. He controlled the race and I would have sworn at two down that Dutch Decoy had him covered, but Joe had a bit more up his sleeve.

“The one thing we do feel is that straight track big handicaps don’t really suit him. He’s run in a Cambridgeshire and Ascot races and what have you and I think because he likes to be on the front end and try and save a bit and that’s harder to do on straight course races. The plan didn’t come off last year, but I think we’ll be working back from the Golden Mile once again.

“It was a fantastic result for me personally but I feel a bit sorry for Dutch Decoy, because he’s been banging his head against a brick wall all spring. He ran a great race in a really tough handicap at the Guineas meeting and as I just said to his owners (The Owners Group), his turn is coming.”

Successful jockey Joe Fanning, who was partnering his fourth winner from his last six rides, added: “He jumped and travelled good and two out I was still going quite well. Although it looked as if our other horse (runner-up Dutch Decoy) might go by me, I had a little bit left, so it worked out.

“He’s been disappointing, because we thought quite a bit of him as a two year old ,then he went off the boil a little bit. When he won at Hamilton last year we thought he was back, but then he started disappointing again. But his last run at Chester last week was quite promising, so we were quite hopeful.”

George Boughey, trainer of third-placed All The King’s Men, said: “It was another solid effort and he really is a model of consistency. He stayed the extended mile well but I’m not totally sure he loved the track. Once they levelled off in the final furlong he stayed on strongly.

“William (Buick) said he was generous enough in the first time blinkers though they might have cost him a little bit late on. He is a horse that is progressive. The plan has always been to run him in the Buckingham Palace at Royal Ascot as I think a strongly run seven furlongs with a stiff finish will suit him but I think he might just fall short of getting in. However, he will be entered in it and we might try and find somewhere to run him before that to try to ensure he gets in as it has been the target since he came over from France.”