Equinties - where for Hewick

Gm Equinauts

With all the the rain the UK has had, Warwick and Fontwell are both still declaring the ground as good.

Amazing if true, but as we saw at Sedgefield yesterday when the bottomless ground was declared quick (!) - it’s clear the tracks like telling porkies so their fields don’t get decimated early by trainers not showing up.

Terrible if you’re a punter who bets according to the going - like us!

Lets wait and see, let’s dive in.

HEADLINE ROUNDUP

MIDDLE PARK REDEMPTION?

We did a piece in last week's newsletter about how DEFENSE MINISTER was supplemented for the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes after a win at Haydock at the start of the month.

He’s well-worth the step up to Group company, but he didn’t get the chance to try his hand at Newbury on Saturday as he was a non-runner due to the heavy ground.

Well, connections are not giving up as they have supplemented their two-year-old by TOO DARN HOT for the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday, costing Wathnan Racing £20,000 to add to last week’s £5,000 fee.

Still, this doesn’t mean that he is guaranteed going to run! The ground is good at Newmarket, but rain is expected tomorrow and Thursday, so the ground could edge onto the softer side which wouldn’t suit him… but will definitely suit this newsletter!

Wathnan Racing’s adviser Richard Brown said: "With all the rain and a very changeable forecast we want to have a range of possible targets for Defence Minister.

“He’s a very promising colt but we know he wants decent ground, so we are keeping all our options open at this stage.”

We wish we had £25,000 to lose on supplementation fees!

If he does take up the engagement on Saturday, he could run into a couple of Aidan O’Brien runners, headed by WHISTLEJACKET as he is being targeted to the race.

He already has Newmarket form having won the July Stakes, but that was on the July course and they are now returning to the Rowley Mile for the remainder of the season.

IDES OF MARCH, who was third to the impressive Group 3 Acomb Stakes winner THE LION OF WINTER in a Curragh maiden, is set to join his Group 1-winning stablemate at HQ.

Add the likes of SHADOW OF LIGHT, ANDESITE, and BLACK FORZA to the contest and we could be set for an interesting juvenile Group 1.

THE AUSSIE DREAM

It almost feels like every week we have an update about horses going to Australia to try their luck in some of their big races.

VAUBAN has been a big talking point over the last few weeks, but we are steering away from him and towards two Harry Eustace-trained horses instead.

The first is a horse we backed to win the Queen Anne at massive odds back in June, and that’s DOCKLANDS, the 2023 Britannia Stakes winner.

He has been performing at a good level for a while and he even stepped up two furlongs to the ultra-competitive Juddmonte International where he was a respectable seventh.

He is set to stick at that 1m2f trip when he heads down under for the Group 1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley on October 26th, and he will be joined in the Southern Hemisphere by his stablemate SEA KING, formerly trained by Sir Mark Prescott.

That’s because he will either take on the Geelong Cup or Werribee Cup before a potential tilt at the Melbourne Cup.

Eustace said: “Moonee Valley is a tough course, but Docklands has always been a strong-travelling horse and usually if you travel around tracks like that then you can handle it. We're hopeful it won't be a problem.

“Sea King will travel over to Australia with Docklands. He's a horse that is relatively new to us having come from Sir Mark Prescott's.

“It was an encouraging run from him in the Ebor last time and he shaped there as though he'd stay further–he was keeping on all the time and I think he galloped out well to the line. Being a good, strong stayer will make him competitive down under.”

More: https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/harry-eustace-dreaming-of-success-in-australia-with-docklands-and-sea-king/ 

SHARK DROWNING

It’s been nearly three weeks since the news broke about Shark Hanlon’s license being suspended, but yesterday we got a bit of an update from the man himself.

Having trained LION CITY to win yesterday’s Sedgefield bumper, Hanlon was interviewed on Sky Sports Racing by Andrew Thornton.

Hanlon revealed that there will be a dispersal sale of 30-odd horses under his care due to the recent decision made by the IHRB, stating that “it’s all over” in reference to his training career.

This interview naturally raises a few questions.

Firstly, what happens to the most famous horse ever sold for 800 quid, HEWICK? Is he part of the dispersal sale too? We can only assume that this is the case as nothing has been said about whether someone will take over his license while he is suspended (a bit like Denise Foster with Gordon Elliott a few years ago).

Secondly, does this action mean that the case is all but sealed despite saying he was going to appeal the decision? Hanlon still maintains that tarp came off the trailer when transporting the dead horse away from his yard, and this was going to be part of the basis behind his appeal.

For a fairly normal Monday afternoon at Sedgefield, a fairly big follow-up story has been produced. The next few weeks will be interesting with many racing fans taking sides - either for or against Shark.

RISK ON

Before betting any horses, we need to know what the ground is going to be so will wait and watch the first races. Apologies but this happens a lot this time of year!

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