Windlord edges Gala glory in tight Sandown finish
Andrew Balding's charge was a 6-4 favourite dropping down to Listed class and while the front-running Caviar Heights proved a tough nut to crack on his first start since joining William Haggas, Windlord got the better of a final furlong tussle by a nose in the hands of Colin Keane.
Another thriller @Sandownpark 🤯
Caviar Heights was a worthy nemesis, but 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝 edges to Listed glory in the Gala Stakes @Sandownpark
A quickfire double for @JuddmonteFarms, @ctkjockey and @AndrewBalding2 💥 pic.twitter.com/cNvJh0CsIG
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 4, 2025
Balding said: 'I know Caviar Heights very well because I bought him as a yearling and trained him as a two-year-old and he's very tough so I wasn't convinced we were going to get past him.
'He showed real desire and he's previously been asked to do something (pace-making) that wasn't ideal for him so it's nice for him to win a race in his own right.'
Balding, Keane and Juddmonte were completing a double on the card following Kassaya's comeback victory in the preceding Battaash Handicap
A 5-2 market leader on her first appearance since finishing down the field as favourite for the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot last summer, the half-sister to 2000 Guineas hero Chaldean was good value for the winning margin of three-quarters of a length.
'We thought the world of her last year, she was favourite for the Queen Mary and got no run and then picked up an injury after that and it's just taken an age to get her back to the sort of form where we were happy to run her,' Balding added.
'I think she'll come on a bundle for that, it was really encouraging and exciting for the future.'
Balding then teamed up with William Buick to make it three winners on the day via Coltrane (5-2) in the Coral Marathon.
The eight-year-old won the Listed contest back in 2022 and had to dig deep for a repeat, fending off the late challenge of Al Nayyir by a short head, with just half a length back to Real Dream in third.
Balding said: 'That was thoroughly well deserved. He's been a bit of a star and that has taken his earnings over £1 million.
'He has been the horse of a lifetime really. He loves it here and has loved his racing this year. He was a little but inconsistent last season but has been in great form this year.
'He's not in at Goodwood and I think we will probably wait and look at Doncaster with him now and then his swansong will either be at Ascot or in the Cadran.'
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Glasgow Times
4 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Windlord edges Gala glory in tight Sandown finish
A close second in the Sandown Classic Trial in the spring, the Dubawi colt subsequently gave his fellow Juddmonte-owned colt something to aim at in the Irish 2,000 Guineas and the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, ultimately finishing well beaten on both occasions. Andrew Balding's charge was a 6-4 favourite dropping down to Listed class and while the front-running Caviar Heights proved a tough nut to crack on his first start since joining William Haggas, Windlord got the better of a final furlong tussle by a nose in the hands of Colin Keane. Another thriller @Sandownpark 🤯 Caviar Heights was a worthy nemesis, but 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝 edges to Listed glory in the Gala Stakes @Sandownpark A quickfire double for @JuddmonteFarms, @ctkjockey and @AndrewBalding2 💥 — Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 4, 2025 Balding said: 'I know Caviar Heights very well because I bought him as a yearling and trained him as a two-year-old and he's very tough so I wasn't convinced we were going to get past him. 'He showed real desire and he's previously been asked to do something (pace-making) that wasn't ideal for him so it's nice for him to win a race in his own right.' Balding, Keane and Juddmonte were completing a double on the card following Kassaya's comeback victory in the preceding Battaash Handicap Kassaya (centre) was an impressive winner on her return at Sandown (Nigel French/PA) A 5-2 market leader on her first appearance since finishing down the field as favourite for the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot last summer, the half-sister to 2000 Guineas hero Chaldean was good value for the winning margin of three-quarters of a length. 'We thought the world of her last year, she was favourite for the Queen Mary and got no run and then picked up an injury after that and it's just taken an age to get her back to the sort of form where we were happy to run her,' Balding added. 'I think she'll come on a bundle for that, it was really encouraging and exciting for the future.' Balding then teamed up with William Buick to make it three winners on the day via Coltrane (5-2) in the Coral Marathon. The eight-year-old won the Listed contest back in 2022 and had to dig deep for a repeat, fending off the late challenge of Al Nayyir by a short head, with just half a length back to Real Dream in third. Coltrane took the Coral Marathon (Nigel French/PA) Balding said: 'That was thoroughly well deserved. He's been a bit of a star and that has taken his earnings over £1 million. 'He has been the horse of a lifetime really. He loves it here and has loved his racing this year. He was a little but inconsistent last season but has been in great form this year. 'He's not in at Goodwood and I think we will probably wait and look at Doncaster with him now and then his swansong will either be at Ascot or in the Cadran.'
The National
7 hours ago
- The National
Rodgers in Celtic admission ahead of Cork friendly
The Parkhead side will face the Irish club in a warm-up match on Tuesday but it is unlikely players returning to training tomorrow will take part in the match. Kieran Tierney will be among the group of Celtic first-team players reporting for pre-season on Saturday the morning after the 1-0 win over Queen's Park. Celtic did have Auston Trusty, Ross Doohan, Callum McGregor, Arne Engels, Luke McCowan and Johnny Kenny as first-team players involved in the win at the City Ground on Friday. However, a number of first-team players will only begin their pre-season training on Saturday and into the new week ahead of the trip to Ireland. Rodgers has confirmed a training session will be held on Saturday before travelling to Ireland on Monday for the Cork friendly. Read more: And he confessed it's expected a number of first-team players will sit out of the Cork match. "We are back in tomorrow morning," said Rodgers. "We will have a good session tomorrow. "We will train and travel on Monday. The guys who have just come back probably won't be involved in the Tuesday game, it's just too soon. "But they will be involved next Saturday when we play in Portugal but they will all be there and ready for the game." On taking Celtic to Ireland for the friendly, he added: "It's always a privilege to take Celtic anywhere. "To go to Ireland with Celtic is always really special. "We look forward to seeing our friends over there and having a really good game."
Daily Record
8 hours ago
- Daily Record
Brendan Rodgers hears out Celtic transfer case as Queen's Park spark new Trusty question
It was a narrow 1-0 win over the Championship side as Johnny Kenny proved the difference maker Johnny Kenny took a first opportunity to further impress Brendan Rodgers as Celtic made a winning start to their pre-season schedule. The Irish striker made top-team strides in the second-half of last term having returned from a loan spell at Shamrock Rovers and netted before the end of term at Aberdeen. Rodgers is on the lookout for an established hitman with Kyogo Furuhashi yet to be replaced after leaving in January. Daizen Maeda, Adam Idah and new signing Callum Osmand are in the mix, but Kenny took his opening chance to shine with a sharp finish which defeated Queen's Park. The 22-year-old's strike was enough to see off Sean Crighton's Championship hosts on a drab night at Lesser Hampden. Despite a multitude of recognised stalwarts missing, Celtic 's starting line-up included familiar faces with a near first-pick midfield trio as Arne Engels and Luke McCowan lined up alongside skipper Callum McGregor in the engine room. A minute's applause for Lisbon Lion John Clark was held just prior to kick-off and Kenny, who led the line at the outset, made his mark for Rodgers after 20 minutes with an instant finish into the top corner from kid Mitchel Frame's cutback. Celtic's senior stars had a grip of the game during that opening period, but the lead was just the one at the interval as Queen's, without managing to test Ross Doohan in the visitors' goal, managed to limit the chances created by Rodgers' men. With their work for opening night, the experienced boys got the second-half off as Rodgers changed an entire outfield line-up at half-time and kids took over. 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With a season of Celtic experience under his belt and turning 27 next month, the door is open for Trusty to step through and he has the tools to do it with height and pace key parts of his make up. He's also a goal threat at set-plays and had a goal bound header cleared away the line here. Hayato Inamura signed a four-year deal just prior to the game kicking off, but the USA star can make the position his own alongside compatriot Cameron Carter-Vickers. Go Johnny go Johnny Kenny returned from his loan spell at Shamrock Rovers in the middle of last season and caught the eye with some of his efforts. The 22-year-old got off the top-team mark at Aberdeen and could have also an Old Firm winner on his CV had Daizen Maeda spotted him free with the last kick of the game at Ibrox 10 days prior to that. Kenny started as the central striker in this opening game and he looked sharp with good physique. 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Sean Crighton's Championship side didn't give them any hand-outs. Ross Doohan will have to wait with Kasper Schmiechel and Viljami Sinisalo ahead of him in the goalkeeping ranks, but he will have enjoyed his return to the Celtic goal before Josh Clarke took over in the second-half. More such as Sean McArdle had their chance after the break and, although it is tough going breaking into the side when the competitive stuff starts, the grounding they are getting is invaluable.
