Fox Legacy too smart in John Smith's Cup

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2 days ago

The four-year-old, who is owned by King Power Racing and trained by Andrew Balding, was not far from the action when last seen in the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot and was a 10-1 chance under PJ McDonald.
Always prominent when racing from stall 19, the bay progressed nicely through the race and was comfortably able to pull clear when asked in the final furlong to prevail by a length.
'It's a testament to the horse that from that draw I was able to get a position and then take him back and relax where I was,' McDonald told ITV Racing.
'The only thing I had to do was to make sure not to go too soon, he travelled around beautifully for me and he gave me a great spin.
'I was still going nicely into the two (furlong pole). I thought if I let him stretch out and take it (the lead) they'd have to come and get me. Andrew's horses are absolutely flying.'
Al Qareem showed there a few more reliable horses in training when seeing off all challengers to claim the John Smith's Silver Cup Stakes.
Karl Burke and Nick Bradley Racing's seasoned six-year-old won a Listed contest over the same course and distance last time out and was well backed as the 4-7 favourite under Clifford Lee.
He took up the lead at an early stage and was never passed, shrugging off every horse that attempted to challenge him in the home straight to claim victory by a dominant two and a half lengths.
'He always seems to look as though they're going to get him but he just grinds it out, he's so honest and a superstar of a horse to train,' said Burke.
'I'd say the weight will rule him out of the Ebor, presumably he'd get a penalty as well.
'It's always been the target, the Irish St Leger, I think it'd be a nice race for him to roll the dice in.'
Washington Heights claimed a well-deserved success in the John Smith's City Walls Stakes at York, justifying his status as the 9-4 favourite.
Trained by Kevin Ryan and ridden by Shane Gray, the five-year-old has run with real credit in a range of Group sprints and was most recently seen finishing a close-up seventh in the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot.
On the Knavesmire he tackled the same five-furlong trip but was dropped down to Listed level, taking on seven rivals and proving the best of them with a smart three-quarter-length victory.
'He's a great horse for a syndicate like this, he takes them to all the right meetings and as you can see today, they support him well,' said Adam Ryan, assistant to his father.
'It's great for him to get his head in front. The thing with him is he's as tough as bell metal, I thought they were going to get to him a furlong down but it was going to take a brave horse to get past him.
'Thankfully he dug deep, which he always does.'