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Thursday at HQ: key trainer quotes

By Racing TV

Last Updated: Wed 23 Sep 2026

Richard Spencer believes his Great Balls O’Fire is the “unknown” quantity going into the Tattersalls Stakes at Newmarket on Thursday.

Spencer, along with his main backer Phil Cunningham and jockey Saffie Osborne, has enjoyed a profitable season with Zigazig Ah winning the Super Sprint and Speed Of Sound chasing Rockfel glory on Friday.

The once-raced Great Balls O’Fire impressed when winning on the July course and now switches to the Rowley Mile for Group Three action.

Spencer said: “He won well on debut. He’s going to have to step up on what he did first time to run well in a Group Three, but he’s in good form and hopefully goes there with a little chance, all being well.

“There’s a few runners that are hardened and have had plenty of racing. He’s the unknown horse going into the race, but hopefully he can take the step up in class and run well.”

Richard Spencer is having his best season to date.

Tom Clover’s Fuel The Jet is one of those with more experience and will be having his fifth outing, having already won twice.

“He’s come out of the Doncaster race really nicely and looks a picture. It is a bit of a quick turnaround, but he looks in good form, it’s just up the road and the programme comes thick and fast,” said Clover.

“He seems to really appreciate better ground at this stage, so it made sense to give it a go as we’re coming towards the end of the season.

“Good or good to soft ground is fine, as he showed at Doncaster, but we are coming to that time of year when you can get really slow ground, so I think it makes sense to again while the weather is set fair. If it did work out well there’s a lot to gain.”

Eve Johnson Houghton’s Jimtrott has yet to finish outside of the front two in three races, winning the most recent of them at Leicester from a subsequent winner.

“Jimtrott is a lovely horse and we are really really pleased with him,” said Johnson Houghton.

“I was thrilled with his win at Leicester. Obviously it is a big step up, but it’s a big step up for all of them and then you are hoping he can make the big step up and then on you go.”

Other of note include the William Haggas-trained Mezzo Forte, Hugo Palmer’s Sontsivka and Karl Burke’s Varzi.

The Jockey Club Rose Bowl Stakes looks at the mercy of John and Thady Gosden’s Wathnan Racing-owned Gregory.

A first Royal Ascot winner for the owners in 2023 in the Queen’s Vase, he was winless the year after but ran well in races like the Goodwood Cup and Lonsdale Cup. He only ran once last year and has seen the same amount of racing so far in this campaign, but he did win at York in June.

Wathnan’s Richard Brown said: “He came back and won at York off a long lay off which is all credit to our rehab team. Everyone got a big kick out of it and all the guys had worked really hard to get him back.

“He just kept getting a niggle or two and every time we wanted to run him something tiny happened, but I think he is better with his racing spread out anyway so it’ll be good to get him back out on track.”

He went on: “He was our third runner, I think it was, in the Wathnan colours and obviously our first winner at Royal Ascot, so he’s been a very important part of our very earliest days and it’s great to still get to enjoy him on track.”

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