Oxted is to miss Haydock’s Sprint Cup on Saturday, for which he had been 4-1 joint-favourite. One of the most popular winners of the Flat season when he landed the July Cup for his low-profile trainer, Roger Teal, Oxted was disappointing in a gallop on Tuesday morning and will be saved until Champions Day next month.
“He was just a bit below par,” said Harry Teal, assistant to his father at their Lambourn stable. “With it being softer ground than we’d ideally like at Haydock, we feel it wouldn’t be fair on him to go there not at his peak. It’s going to be a competitive enough field, like any Group One, and there’s no point going there on that ground and pulling the guts out of him.”
Oxted’s blood is to be tested in case his performance on Tuesday should be an indication of ill health. But the Teals are hopeful he can revive in time for the Champions Sprint at Ascot in seven weeks.
“It’ll be straight to Champions Day. It can often be soft then, so Saturday was going to be our trial for that, if you like. But we’d rather save him for that than run on Saturday and perhaps not have a horse for next month. We’ll give him a little freshen-up for a week or two and go from there.”
But Teal Jr had better news of one of the yard’s other stars, Kenzai Warrior, unbeaten as a juvenile but disappointing this year in the Guineas and at Royal Ascot. “Kenzai Warrior is bouncing back to form. He goes to Sandown on 16 September and hopefully he runs a revival race.
“He’s had his problems this year, he had a splint before the Guineas and we thought it was right but when he got to racing speed, he was obviously just feeling it a bit in his two runs. We think it flared back up a little bit at Ascot, hence why he ran below par. He’s in great form, he looks amazing, he’s working well.” Chris Cook
Moore in quarantine for Irish Champions Weekend
Most jockeys would do anything to avoid a two-week holiday at the start of the busy autumn schedule, but Ryan Moore is not most jockeys and Aidan O’Brien’s No 1 could be out until Saturday week after deciding to travel to Ireland (and have a fortnight of isolation) before Champions Weekend at Leopardstown and the Curragh on 12 and 13 September, writes Greg Wood.
Moore, whose latest rides in Britain were at Goodwood on Saturday, is not certain to be required to serve the full 14 days in isolation currently required by Ireland’s Covid-19 regulations, as Horse Racing Ireland hopes to see jockeys added to the government’s list of “elite” sports competitors who are exempt from the rules. In uncertain times, however, Moore and O’Brien are taking no chances.
Moore will miss out on a decent chance of Group One success this weekend, as he was expected to ride Dream Of Dreams for Sir Michael Stoute in the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock Park.
Tuesday’s best bets, by Greg Wood
Course-and-distance winner Top Breeze (4.15) is worth an interest returning to the all-weather at Kempton Park.
Richard Hughes’s gelding won off 90 at Lingfield in February but has been on turf for his three starts since, including a decent run after attracting support at Windsor four weeks ago when blinkered for the first time. He runs without the blinds this afternoon but Top Breeze, a 10-1 shot, has been dropped a couple of pounds since that effort and has a clear chance from a mark of 88 today.
Ripon 1.00 Winter Power 1.30 Olivers Pursuit 2.00 El Picador 2.30 Challet (nb) 3.00 Dreamseller 3.30 Red Right Sand 4.00 Broken Spear
4.35 Kitty’s Cove
Kempton Park 1.15 Rodrigo Diaz 1.45 Voi 2.15 Local Law 2.45 Tashbeeh 3.15 Phoenix Star 3.45 Delilah Park 4.15 Top Breeze (nap) 4.50 Arabian Warrior
Hamilton Park 4.40 Burning Cash 5.15 Two Cop Bob 5.45 Quanah 6.15 Granite City Doc 6.45 Doubling Dice 7.15 Ayr Poet 7.45 Kayewhykelly
Newton Abbot 3.50 Horse Force One 4.25 Celestial Force 5.00 Dubai Outlaw 5.30 I'm Here 6.00 Aubusson 6.30 Constancio 7.00 Mine’s A Pint 7.30 Sellingallthetime
Voi (1.45) is another with a decent chance on the same card, while Challet (2.30) stepped up considerably when fitted with a hood last time and will go close at around 4-1 at Ripon if the headgear works again.
Pythagoras is an obvious favourite for the nursery at the same track but Red Right Sand (3.30) is much closer to the market leader on ratings than the betting suggests after finishing fifth in the Convivial Maiden Stakes, always one of the strongest maidens all year, at the Ebor meeting last time. His price of around 15-2 look big.
At Hamilton, it’s a case of once more unto the breach with Quanah (5.45), who has not had much luck when tipped up here on his last two starts, while Granite City Doc (6.15), twice a winner over track and trip, should also go well at the same track.
