O'Brien looks to Illinois in search for perfect 10 in Gold Cup
Kyprios looked well placed to make it a hat-trick after winning Ireland's two key trials in the spring, but his subsequent retirement led to a shuffling of the pack and it was last month's Ormonde Stakes winner Illinois who got the call-up.
Inevitable from Illinois! Ryan Moore and Aidan O'Brien do it AGAIN at @ChesterRaces in the Ormonde Stakes… pic.twitter.com/h251sBdiTu
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) May 8, 2025
O'Brien said: 'Everything has gone well so far and we always thought he was a horse who could step into the role of a Gold Cup horse.
'We thought he could do that next year and he was standing in line behind Kyprios, but he's had his run and it went well.
'We have always thought he would stay the trip, but it's not until you go past the quarter (mile) pole in the Gold Cup that you find out.'
Trawlerman and Sweet William finished second and third respectively behind Kyprios 12 months ago and the John and Thady Gosden-trained duo are back for another tilt at Gold Cup glory.
Reflecting on Sweet William's comeback third in last month's Yorkshire Cup, Gosden senior said: 'It was a great run at York as a mile and six (furlongs) would be on the sharp side for him.
'He enjoys the climb at Ascot and he's solid at two and a quarter miles and as always two and a half takes him into no man's land, but we've been very pleased with his preparation.
'He's in great order and he's a wonderful character. He does everything in his own time and hopefully his work (last week) will have sharpened him up nicely.'
Of Trawlerman, he added: 'He won the Henry II well and is training nicely. He's a different type of horse to Sweet William as Trawlerman likes to bowl along, whereas the other comes with a strong late run and to that extent they suit each other rather well as they are not trying to do the same job.
'There's no Kyprios this year, but it will still be a smart field and it will be a good race with Illinois in there.'
Candelari wins a first Group One in the Prix Vicomtesse Vigier! 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/uyGWhr0mCj
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) May 25, 2025
French hopes are carried by Francis-Henri Graffard's Candelari, who has come a long way since making a winning debut on the all-weather at Chantilly in early December, most recently impressing with a Group One triumph in the Prix Vicomtesse Vigier at ParisLongchamp.
Nemone Routh, racing manager for the late Aga Khan's French Studs, said: 'We're very happy with the horse, he worked well last week and it looks like he's taken his last run very well.
'The question marks are over whether he will stay the distance, we believe he will be because he finishes his races strongly but obviously that is an unknown, and he probably lacks the experience of the rest of the field.
'He only made his debut in December, so he's only really been racing for six months, but then he's not got as many miles on the clock as some of the others and I think he's a natural stayer and a very genuine horse.'
It would be quite a story if Candelari were to win what is arguably the biggest race of the entire week at Royal Ascot given he was very nearly moved on seven months ago.
'He is a horse who has taken us massively by surprise,' Routh added.
'We nearly sold him unraced in November but took him out during the week of the sale because he is so well-bred and he hadn't had any major setbacks. He's just a big horse who was quite immature and after we castrated him it took us a while to get him fit again.
'He's obviously not a flashy worker as he's a staying horse, but we just felt we'd give him a chance and then Francis found that first race for him on the Fibresand at Chantilly when he was incredibly green, he reared up in the stalls and lost 10 lengths at the start. If you watch the race it's hilarious and he still won by eight lengths!
'He really did show us something that day and he's never looked back. It shows that sometimes these horses just need time. They're not fast, they're not two-year-olds and he wasn't really even a three-year-old, but if you give them time they can repay you and he has repaid us in spades.
'It's been an amazing story already, we think he's an improving horse and the good thing is he will have his ground as he needs good, fast ground to be at his best.
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Glasgow Times
9 hours ago
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Illinois part of strong-looking cast for Goodwood Cup
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Leader Live
10 hours ago
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Illinois part of strong-looking cast for Goodwood Cup
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11 hours ago
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Stan Hayhurst's glittering achievement as a jockey was winning the Gold Cup at Cheltenham in 1958. He is best remembered, however, for his involvement in the Grand National nine years later, when his horse, Castle Falls, finished a mere 14th. He was alongside his friend Johnny Leech at the head of the field on the second circuit of Aintree, having jumped Becher's Brook, and now running towards the less challenging 23rd fence. What ensued was the most spectacular pile-up ever seen in a Grand National. 'My fella got stuck on top of the fence,' said Hayhurst. 'Then, with the horses coming behind, he got pushed over. I made off like a sprinter 'cos I thought, Christ, 40 horses are coming and I've got to get out of here. I ran off to the side, turned round and wondered what was going on.' Nearly all the field was involved in the incident. Jockeys were forced to dismount and other horses refused to take the fence or crashed into one another. Not, however, a 100-1 outsider, Foinavon, which, through being in last place, survived the mêlée and had a straightforward triumph. Hayhurst managed to remount Castle Falls and finish the race. 'Terry Biddlecombe came over on Greek Scholar and shouted: 'Come on, lads, there's only one gone on.' So everyone remounted and eventually I got round.' He was fortunate not to add to his tally of breakages, for in his 23-year riding career he suffered six broken collar bones as well as fractures to his ribs, his jaw and a wrist and had his Adam's apple displaced, affecting his swallowing for several days. His sole protection when young was a cork helmet without a chin strap. It did not concern him, for his National Service had been spent with the Veterinary Corps of the British Army as a dog-handler in Kenya, trying to quell the Mau Mau uprising. Risk-taking was an everyday occurrence and did not deter his family, either: one of his two daughters became a stuntwoman on film and television sets and was knocked down by a car in an episode of Coronation Street. Hayhurst, always based in the north of England, rode 301 winners and retired when he was 40. At Cheltenham in 1958, he rode Kerstin, 'a little bit cranky and touchy but a very good jumper. I won by half a length and didn't hear the horse behind me that finished in second place as there was such a noise from the crowd. There were no presentations as happens now, no reporters asking questions and no overnight celebrations. We all went off to the next meeting.' The following year, Hayhurst won the Hennessy Gold Cup on Kerstin, having been unfortunate not to fare better in the Grand National seven months beforehand, when they were hit by Mainstown in a mid-air collision at Becher's Brook on the second circuit. They were then six lengths behind the eventual winner. 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Hayhurst's first triumph was for Bewicke at Hexham in 1950. He wanted to remain in England during his National Service but could not claim the exemption of being tied to animals on the land. 'Going to Africa took two years out of my career,' he said. 'So I was always second jockey.' He had one ride in Kenya and, back in England, returned to Bewicke, for whom he was to ride 120 winners. Before long he encountered Arkle, the best horse he saw. 'I was riding Border Ring in a novice chase at Cheltenham, Arkle's first start over fences,' he said. 'Going down the backside, Bill Rees was constantly jumping right on one of Peter Cazalet's. Going to the fence after water, Pat Taaffe on Arkle and I were upsides, and he said: 'Jaysus, I'm going to get out of this.' He kicked him in the belly and in five strides was ten lengths in front. Afterwards I said 'What won that?', but I needn't have asked.' In 1963, Hayhurst married Patricia Nisbet, whom he met in a pub in Northumberland. She and their two daughters survive him: Justine worked as a nanny and then for Henrietta Knight, the trainer, and Claire is a yoga teacher as well as a stuntwoman. After retiring as a jockey in 1973, Hayhurst was briefly a judge at horse races before becoming a steward. He owned two newsagents and a livery yard in Ebchester, Co Durham. He rarely went on holiday and, although he followed cricket, the only other time he took off was Christmas Day. His ashes will be scattered in September at the winning post at Hexham, the scene of his first winner. Ian Watkinson, who competed with Hayhurst, said: 'Stan was a great bloke and a fine example of how jockeys should dress and behave.' Stan Hayhurst, jockey, was born on September 4, 1933. He died of natural causes on July 2, 2025, aged 91
