By Tom Frary
Saturday's G2 Sky Bet York S. had the look of a competitive affair beforehand and there was no fluke in the dominant success of Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani's Aspetar (Fr) (Al Kazeem {GB}) despite his odds of 11-1 suggesting otherwise. Successful in last year's G1 Preis von Europa and G2 Grand Prix de Chantilly, the 5-year-old had put in a highly creditable comeback performance when second in Sandown's Listed Gala S. July 5 and took the requisite step forward to put some smart rivals to the sword here. Anchored in last early by a confident Jason Watson as the ultimately-disappointing Elarqam (GB) (Frankel {GB}) attempts to dictate, the bay tanked into contention moving notably the best in the straight and was in command with 1 1/2 furlongs remaining. Despite the game effort in pursuit of Lord Glitters (Fr) (Whipper) to keep him honest, he was away and gone and at the line had 1 1/2 lengths to spare over the strong closer Fox Chairman (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), with half a length between him and Lord Glitters who was honouring his late owner Geoff Turnbull with a typically tenacious display.
“We've always liked him and he has become more relaxed at home and matured plenty,” Watson said. “He's not always the most straightforward, but he put the race to bed quickly. He's quite versatile, from a mile to a mile and a half and is a well-built small horse with a great turn of foot. That's not always the case with some of these middle-distance horses and it plays into our hands. It was a competitive race today and I didn't think he'd win like he did, but he's obviously improved massively.”
Kept to a slower surface in his formative period, Aspetar who had captured the 11-furlong Listed Cocked Hat S. at Goodwood as a 3-year-old was allowed to tackle faster conditions in the Grand Prix de Chantilly and relished them to register a career-best in that 12-furlong contest on the Prix du Jockey Club undercard. Fourth later that month in the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, he stayed at a mile and a half to land the Preis von Europa at Cologne in September and run 13th in the Dec. 8 G1 Hong Kong Vase. Just denied by Godolphin's potentially top-class Magny Cours (Medaglia d'Oro) in the 10-furlong Gala at Sandown, he had Fox Chairman behind and also the subsequent Listed Steventon S. winner Global Giant (GB) (Shamardal) in a race that is standing up to scrutiny.
Roger Charlton's son and assistant Harry said, “Last time at Sandown taught us that he has got an electric turn of foot. Jason will admit himself that he went a bit early at Sandown and he said he surprised him how quickly he ran past a pretty good field and then got tired and wandered before being beaten by a pretty good horse of Andre Fabre's. I think Jason would say he probably got there too soon again, but he got the job done and he was impressive. It is possible we could go back to the [G1] Juddmonte [International]. We looked at some of the German races he could have run in, but the prize money levels have been decimated. We are kind of pot-hunting, with him being a gelding. I suspect the owners' aim will be to end up in Qatar for the big races at the end of the year, so we will build towards that.”
Aspetar hails from the one of European racing's finer families, being a descendant of Fittocks Stud's matriarch Souk (Ire) (Ahonoora {GB}). Dam of the listed winner and group-placed Puce (GB) (Darshaan {GB}) and second dam of the G2 Lancashire Oaks winner Pongee (GB) (Barathea {Ire}), the G1 Melbourne Cup hero Rekindling (GB) (High Chaparral {Ire}) and G1 Irish Derby runner-up Golden Sword (GB) (High Chaparral {Ire}), her daughter Shouk (GB) (Shirley Heights {GB}) proved a high-quality broodmare by producing some smart performers headed by the G1 Cheveley Park S. heroine Magical Romance (Ire) (Barathea {Ire}) and G1 Epsom, Irish and Yorkshire Oaks heroine Alexandrova (Ire) (Sadler's Wells). In turn a half to the G2 Dahlia S. winner Somehow (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), the G2 Prix Kergolay scorer Alex My Boy (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}) and the G3 Athasi S. winner Happen (War Front), Alexandrova is a half to Aspetar's dam Bella Qatara (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), who is also a relative of the G1 Irish Oaks heroine Chicquita (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) and the similarly high-class Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Her unraced 3-year-old filly by Footstepsinthesand (GB) is named Jamila (Ire), while she also has a yearling colt by Lope de Vega (Ire) and a filly foal by Sea the Stars (Ire).
Saturday, York, Britain
SKY BET YORK S.-G2, £55,000, York, 7-25, 3yo/up, 10f 56yT, 2:07.51, gd.
1–ASPETAR (FR), 132, g, 5, by Al Kazeem (GB)
1st Dam: Bella Qatara (Ire), by Dansili (GB)
2nd Dam: Alexandrova (Ire), by Sadler's Wells
3rd Dam: Shouk (GB), by Shirley Heights (GB)
O/B-HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani (FR); T-Roger Charlton; J-Jason Watson. £31,191. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Ger & GSW-Fr, 13-5-2-2, $341,552. *1/2 to Qarasu (Ire) (Le Havre {Ire}), SP-Eng. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Fox Chairman (Ire), 132, c, 4, Kingman%20(GB)#tot">Kingman (GB)–Starfish (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). (450,000gns Ylg '17 TATOCT). O-King Power Racing Co Ltd; B-Manister House Stud (IRE); T-Andrew Balding. £11,825.
3–Lord Glitters (Fr), 132, g, 7, Whipper–Lady Glitters (Fr), by Homme de Loi (Ire). (€25,000 Ylg '14 AR14; €270,000 4yo '17 ARJUN). O-Geoff & Sandra Turnbull; B-SCA Elevage de Tourgeville & Mme Hilary Erculiani (FR); T-David O'Meara. £5,918.
Margins: 1HF, HF, 2 3/4. Odds: 11.00, 8.00, 16.00.
Also Ran: Telecaster (GB), Regal Reality (GB), Elarqam (GB), King of Comedy (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
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