Montaly tried to kick his trainer’s wife before the Chester Cup here on Wednesday, and though he missed his target the phone in Anna Lisa Balding’s handbag was not so lucky. Montaly redeemed himself a few minutes later, however, as a strong run got him home by a neck in the feature race and took the £74,000 first prize in this unique track’s most historic event.
As so often, the draw seemed to play a part in the outcome despite the extended trip, as Montaly was in stall two and got up to beat Yorkidding, who set off from three. Both were within striking distance of the lead from the start while several of the market leaders from wider stalls struggled to land a blow, and it was Oisin Murphy’s late drive for the line on the 16-1 chance which proved decisive.
Andrew Balding, Montaly’s trainer, was on the road to Chelmsford as his horse took the May Festival’s most valuable prize, and he may have struggled to get hold of his wife for a debrief as a result of his horse’s aggression. “He’s got a few issues, and he very nearly kicked me before the race,” Anna Lisa said, “[but] because he’s not straightforward this means even more.
“It’s a quirky family but very few good racehorses aren’t quirky. He kicks, and he’s OK if you’re in front of him but as soon as he doesn’t see you, that’s what happens and I was very, very lucky. He kicked with his near hind, and I missed it and then missed it again. He hit my handbag with my very smart iPhone in, which is not so smart now but it means the trainer will not be able to get hold of me to give me any grief.”
It is 10 years since Sir Henry Cecil saddled Light Shift to win both the Cheshire Oaks and the Oaks itself at Epsom, but Enable emerged as a credible contender to complete the same double as she beat off Alluringly, the favourite, with the remainder of the field at least nine lengths adrift.
Enable’s success owed much to a shrewd ride close to the pace by Frankie Dettori, who was a couple of lengths in front of Alluringly with three furlongs to run and then struck for home on the final turn, opening a gap which the favourite never looked likely to bridge. Enable was a length and three quarters in front at the line, as she denied Aidan O’Brien a third successive win in the race.
This was a significant step up in form by Enable, who was almost three lengths behind the winner when third in a conditions event at Newbury last month. And since the winner there was Shutter Speed, another filly from the John Gosden stable who runs in Prince Khalid’s colours, the initial reaction from some bookmakers after Enable’s success was to shorten Shutter Speed in the Oaks betting.
That may prove to have been the wrong conclusion to draw, however. Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to the winner’s owner Prince Khalid Abdullah, immediately nominated the Oaks as the next assignment for Enable, a daughter of the King George winner Nathaniel who is out of a mare by Sadler’s Wells. Shutter Speed, though, has more speed in her pedigree and will need to come through a trial in the Musidora Stakes at York next Wednesday before a final decision on her Classic target is made.
“She travelled particularly well,” Grimthorpe said. “Frankie said he never thought they were going a great pace and he was always very comfortable. She quickened and then quickened up again, so it was a smart performance.
“Distance is going to be an issue with Shutter Speed. We’re pretty confident that Enable would stay a mile-and-a-half, but the other filly, there is a question mark, which is why she’s going to York. She will have the option of the Prix de Diane [over 10 furlongs at Chantilly] as well.”
Enable was briefly offered at 12-1 for the Oaks after her win here. Once the implications of Grimthorpe’s comments filtered through, however, she was cut to a top price of 10-1, while Shutter Speed’s odds extended to 7-1.
“This was the plan to come here and get her educated on the track,” Grimthorpe said. “She cornered well, and she’s quite a lengthy filly, but that’s the beauty of coming to these sorts of races, they are educational both for the horse and the connections.
“The other filly [Alluringly] won her maiden by four or five lengths so hopefully they think a bit of her as well. She [Enable] has the profile to stay and the way she is and the way she travels, you’d be pretty confident that she would find a mile-and-a-half to her liking.”
Thursday’s tips, by Greg Wood
Chester
1.50 Brorocco 2.25 Royal Artillery (nb) 3.00 Mutawatheb (nap) 3.35 Tamleek 4.05 Dahik 4.35 Poet’s Society 5.05 Caponova
Catterick
2.05 Capla Dancer 2.35 Retrieve 3.10 Armandihan 3.45 Coronation Day 4.15 Cavalieri 4.45 Vallarta 5.15 Silvanus
Worcester
2.15 Shady Glen 2.45 Deise Vu 3.20 Saffron Prince 3.55 Big Penny 4.25 Lakeshore Lady 4.55 Charlie Cook 5.25 Cobra De Mai
Carlisle
5.55 Monsieur Arkadin 6.25 Heaven Scent 6.55 Trafalgar Rock 7.25 The Doorman 7.55 Breaking Bits 8.25 Rockabilly Riot 8.55 Rockalzaro
