Lennox Stakes: James Tate expecting another big run from Hey Gaman

James Tate has no qualms about running Hey Gaman again quickly in Tuesday’s Qatar Lennox Stakes at Goodwood.

After returning to his best when winning his first two starts of the season, Hey Gaman was reeled in by Romanised in the Minstrel Stakes at the Curragh.

That run came just 10 days ago, but Tate always intended to contest both races and believes there were valid excuses for his Irish defeat.

“It didn’t quite go to plan in the Minstrel, he lost a front shoe coming out of the stalls, the pacemaker was up with us the whole way and possibly softened us up for when Romanised came at the end,” said Tate.

“We’re not cribbing him too much, he’s been in great form all year and we’re expecting another big run.

“We’ve done little with him, obviously, but he’s a big, strong horse and has put all his weight back on. We’ve given him a light campaign to aim for these races, with the Hungerford and the Foret also in the mix.

“We gave him a break after his first two runs so that he was fresh for these races rather than run in something just for the sake of it.

“This has been on his agenda for a long time, it’s a big money Group Two and we’re raring to go.”

Sir Michael Stoute’s Zaaki has an identical record to Hey Gaman this season having won his first two before coming off narrowly second best to the ill-fated Beat The Bank at Ascot in the Summer Mile.

“He is in good shape and I think he is a well-balanced horse that will go round Goodwood and he is a strong-travelling horse which you need there,” said Stoute’s assistant James Horton.

“He is back at seven furlongs so we are going into the unknown a bit, but he seems in very good shape. His last run was very strong and he was beaten by a warrior.

“Fingers crossed for a good run, although he could have been drawn better (10), but he is a horse that needs to ridden patiently.

“He was very consistent last year, although his last two runs were a bit below average – though he may have been over the top then. He has come of age this season and strengthened up.”

One of the biggest surprise winners at Royal Ascot was Richard Fahey’s Space Traveller in the Jersey Stakes.

A 25-1 scorer there, he is just a fraction of those odds to follow up and Fahey is keen to see him produce a similar display given consistency has not been his strong suit.

“We didn’t really pick this race out, (it was) more that there was nowhere else to go really given he’s a Group Three winner over seven furlongs already,” said Fahey.

“We’re very happy with him and everything has been grand with him.

“I would just like to see him back up what he did at Ascot to give us a bit of confidence in him. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t and we’ve no worries about the ground.”

It has been a frustrating first half of the season for Dean Ivory where Flaming Spear is concerned.

The seven-year-old needs a bit of cut in the ground and has had to watch from the sidelines as several possible targets were run on good going.

Winner of a valuable handicap at Goodwood last season, he was last seen when winning a Listed event on the all-weather last November.

“It’s been a long time, but hopefully we’ve got the right conditions. It will be nice to see him back in action,” said Ivory.

“Because he’s rated so high, there aren’t races on the all-weather for him. But thankfully I’m a patient trainer and my owner (Tony Bloom) is as well, so we’ve just had to bide our time and wait for the right race.

“We had him in at Ascot on Saturday, but they weren’t supposed to get as much rain as they did. The 48-hour declaration makes it hard.

“Hopefully we’ve got the ground and we’re expecting a big run, but there’s nothing like giving a horse a race before a big one – it’s just been difficult to find one.”

Irish hopes rest on Joseph O’Brien’s Speak In Colours. He got back to winning ways last time out in a Listed race at the Curragh and steps up to seven furlongs for the first time in his career.

The previous two winners of the race, Breton Rock and Sir Dancealot, are back again with Donjuan Triumphant, Suedois and Pretty Baby completing the field.

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