By Emma Berry
With Royal Ascot looming large on the horizon, and racing about to switch from Newmarket's Rowley Mile to the July Course, John and Thady Gosden and Charlie Appleby took advantage of the latter for racecourse gallops for some of their Ascot runners on Tuesday morning.
Cheveley Park Stud's homebred Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) was out first under Frankie Dettori ahead of what will be her first start since QIPCO British Champions Day last October. The treble Group 1 winner is heading to the G1 Queen Anne S. on the opening day of the royal meeting, having missed her initial intended resumption in the G1 Lockinge S.
“We have been very happy with her recently and she enjoyed her work there,” said John Gosden. “A racecourse gallop was part of the plan and it is a big help heading into Royal Ascot without having had a run.”
Inspiral also made her seasonal reappearance at Royal Ascot last year, when winning the G1 Coronation S.
Gosden added, “It does give us confidence going there, knowing that we have done this before. It is like all these fillies though, they will tell you when they are ready to run, you don't tell them.”
The trainer also issued an update on Inspiral's stable-mate and fellow four-year-old Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), the winner of the G1 Coronation Cup on her sole start this year. She will now drop back in trip for the G1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown on July 8.
“For a big girl she has a tremendous turn of foot which is a potent weapon,” Gosden said. “She had quite a time off from October before her run at Epsom and she didn't run a lot last year after it all went a bit strange in the King George but she seems in great order now.
“Coming back in trip will be alright for her, and 10 furlongs at Sandown should suit her fine. We will then hopefully look towards going back over a mile and a half again.”
One of Emily Upjohn's potential rivals in the Eclipse, Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), appeared on the July Course as Inspiral was warming down after her piece of work, and the Godolphin star was joined by Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and Yibir (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) among a team of six horses from Moulton Paddocks.
Speaking after they exercised in three pairs, with William Buick aboard Adayar, James Doyle on Native Trail, and Shane Featherstonhaugh on Yibir, Charlie Appleby said, “We are only a week out so I wasn't going to be asking them to put in a thunderous piece of work. I was happy with the way they all behaved.
“As we know, this is a testing week going into [Royal Ascot] but if they all stay fit and well from here on in they should be a nice competitive team. It is one of those meetings you can't go there with your chest out. We will go there and take it day by day. As we stand here now we are going into the start of the meeting with Modern Games and Native Trail in the Queen Anne and hopefully that will start the ball rolling early doors for us.”
Of Native Trail, who was runner-up in the G2 Bet365 Mile at the Guineas meeting, he added, “He has definitely come forward for his run at Newmarket. He had wind surgery during the winter but I was very pleased with that this morning. He moved well today but he has always got that raspiness, but that is him, however it doesn't stop him. I was pleased with the way he hit the line there. He will head to the Queen Anne now along with Modern Games, who is back at home as he doesn't need to do any more himself.
“I'm a strong believer that Native Trail won't be too far behind him in getting his Group 1 this year.”
Last year's Derby winner Adayar, who won the G3 Gordon Richards S. on his return to action in May, is also pleasing Appleby.
“You could see his enthusiasm in dragging William to his lead horse, and he went through the line well and he had his ears pricked. I think it is a great experience for these horses and we are lucky to be able to do it. A week out we just want them to come up and enjoy themselves.
“He goes into the Prince Of Wales's as near-on favourite or joint-favourite and deservedly so on what we saw at the Guineas meeting. We all want decent ground but the one thing he has up his sleeve is that he can handle soft ground.”
The Breeders' Cup Turf winner Yibir is taking a big step up in trip for the Gold Cup a week on Thursday.
“We know it is an extra mile on top of his normal trip but on the back of what we have seen with the likes of Broome and those good older mile-and-a-half horses they can do that,” said the trainer.
“I would be a bit bold to say he is going to get the two and a half miles but he has got the right run style and if it is quick ground we know he enjoys that sounder surface.These older mile-and-a-half horses don't get any quicker and the division he is in is a tough division now. We thought going this way might just open up some doors for him.”
Several big treats all in one morning: back on the July Course for a racecourse gallop with Adayar, Native Trail, Yibir at al, and call me old-fashioned, but I'll never tire of seeing Kieren Fallon in action (on Kemari). pic.twitter.com/QTrrCTeaxu
— Emma Berry (@CollingsBerry) June 13, 2023
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