Gregory back with a bang in Grand Cup at York

Gregory served a reminder of his class when defying a long lay-off to gamely claim the Sky Bet Race To The Ebor Grand Cup Stakes at York.

Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the six-year-old was Wathnan Racing’s first ever winner at Royal Ascot when landing the Queen’s Vase in 2023, so it is somewhat fitting he scooped this Listed prize in the hands of the owners’ retained rider James Doyle just a few days before this year’s Royal meeting.

Sent off 13-2 after being off the track for 476 days, Doyle allowed Gregory to track Karl Burke’s pacesetting defending champion Al Qareem.

The order remained pretty much the same as the race entered York’s long home straight and while the eye was drawn to Tabletalk and Mount Atlas as they both moved ominously into contention as Al Qareem began to come under pressure, Gregory was still travelling with real zest and pulled out the required extra late on.

He returned a winning margin of a neck over Tom Clover’s Tabletalk, with 6-4 favourite Mount Atlas a further neck behind in third.

The victory served as the perfect appetiser for Doyle ahead of a big week in the Wathnan silks, and he said: “That was an expert job by John and Thady and as we know John and Thady are masters.

“He obviously had a hell of a long time off the track. Everyone’s played a part in this and Holly Campbell who looks after a lot of our recuperating horses, she has taken her time and done a marvellous job.”

He went on: “They made him work and they’re good horses aren’t they? I always felt there was another big day in this horse and I think there’s better things to come from him.

“He’s ran in those top races before and he’s a different horse now. He travelled really good and usually he’s off the bridle like four or five furlongs out and makes you work hard, but today I was down inside the three-furlong marker on the bridle and I knew he would hit the line hard.

“He wandered around a little bit. I kind of went to the inside of Clifford (Lee, on Al Qareem) and they were a bit away from him so I was happy to let them drift out a touch just to get competitive.

“I think the staying division is pretty decent and he does need to improve a bit more now.”