The Lir Jet

Sunday's G2 Prix Robert Papin was set to be a showdown between Royal Ascot winners Nando Parrado (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince Of Lir {Ire}), but that clash will have to wait with Nando Parrado having turned up lame on Friday morning. "I'm afraid Nando pulled out a bit sore this morning," trainer Clive Cox said of the 150-1 G2 Coventry S. winner. "It's a huge disappointment, but we know we've got a serious horse on our hands and we just can't take the risk. It's...

Back in April, when major sporting events across the world were being cancelled left, right and centre, the management team at the Queen's racecourse took the decision that, if racing had resumed in time, Royal Ascot would go ahead behind closed doors. The announcement was met with incredulity in some quarters, particularly by those keen to blame the spread of coronavirus on the Cheltenham Festival, but thank goodness Ascot stuck to its resolve to go ahead, even in extraordinary circumstances. Of course the meeting lost some of its lustre, just...

Having broken the all-aged track record on debut at Yarmouth June 3, The Lir Jet (GB) was a temptation that Qatar Racing couldn't resist and the operation's acquisition proved on the money as he emulated the 2009 G2 Norfolk S. success of his first-season sire Prince of Lir (Ire) on Friday. Registering the breakthrough first win for that freshman on fast ground at the East Anglian venue, the 9-2 shot had easier conditions to deal with here and also a trailblazing Wesley Ward runner as Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) powered...

The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince of Lir {Ire}) will carry Sheikh Fahad's Qatar Racing silks in next week's G2 Norfolk S. after a private deal was done for the track record-setting maiden winner, Racing Post reports. The Lir Jet was a €9,500 foal turned £8,000 Doncaster yearling before being purchased privately by Nick Bell. He was set to go through the ring at the Tattersalls Ascot Breeze-Up Sale in late April before that date was scuppered by COVID-19, and instead he went into training with Nick Bell's father Michael Bell....