Newbury Saturday review and free video replays

Classic generation dominate Hackwood

Elite Status thrived once again at Newbury as he claimed the Fidelity Energy Hackwood Stakes in taking fashion.

Always held in high-regard as a two-year-old, Karl Burke’s colt made a winning return over track and trip in the Carnarvon Stakes earlier in the season. He missed the chance to scoop Royal Ascot honours in the Commonwealth Cup due to a late setback, but gained compensation in this Group Three event.

Able to track the pace set by Quinault and Regional, Clifford Lee was always travelling powerfully aboard the 5/2 favourite and once making his move for home, he had more than enough in hand to hold off the fast-finishing Ascot runner-up Lake Forest.

Burke told ITV racing: “It was very frustrating (to miss Ascot) and we were gutted we couldn’t take on (owner) Sheikh Mohammed Obaid’s other horse Inisherin in the Commonwealth.

“It’s not a serious injury, it’s just an annoying one, like having a cut on a foot and you keep touching it. He’s wrapped up all the time and has stable bandages on and as long as he doesn’t touch it in exercise – which he hasn’t since Ascot – and it gets chance to heal and harden off and the longer he goes without touching it and opening up the wound, the better he will be.

“(Stablemate) Korker was doing the same and through the winter we got it right and he hasn’t touched it since, so they can grow out of it. I think it is a little bit of a weakness physically where they are not quite tracking up properly and their hind leg is just coming through and just touching their front leg.

“I think Elite Status is really talented and he has a huge stride on him. I made a mistake, and Sheikh Obaid keeps reminding me, that I ran him in the Norfolk after what was a scintillating win that he had in the Sandown Listed race before Royal Ascot last year.

“He looked all speed to me then but Sheikh Mohammed Obaid said ‘no, he’s got a big, long stride and let him use it over six furlongs’. I went against that advice and ran him in the Norfolk rather than the Coventry and regretted it.

“I would say he is a six-furlong specialist and I don’t think we would want to stretch him any further than that. Having said that, I don’t think he was 100 per cent fit again today because when he won the Listed race here in the spring, he had a real heave and we thought ‘great. that will put him right for Ascot’ but then after that we were stop-start and he’s having a nice healthy blow again now.”

On future plans, Burke added: “Haydock will be the plan.”

More Saturday success for Shepherd

Jockey Callum Shepherd enjoyed more Saturday success as Phantom Flight went one better than last year to claim the Get Best Odds Guaranteed At BetVictor Steventon Stakes.

Second to William Haggas’ Al Aasy 12 months ago, the five-year-old was making his seasonal return in the Listed race, which was also his first outing since being gelded and for new trainer George Scott.

Having made the running when vanquished last year, Shepherd was happy to let 6-5 favourite Alyanaabi go forward before asking the 16-1 outsider of five to move to the lead approaching the final furlong. Al Aasy gave chase late in the day, but there was no denying Phantom Flight as he kept on resolutely for a one-length success.

The winner sports the same red silks of Victorious Racing that Isle Of Jura carried to success at Royal Ascot and he is likely to try to follow in the footsteps of Scott’s stable star by venturing to Bahrain later in the year via the Coral Glorious Stakes at Goodwood on August 3.

Scott said: “We’ve been really pleased with him since he came to us, he arrived in great condition and we decided to geld him and his work is pleasing. He’s a horse who doesn’t take much training, he just has an amazing stride and a great way of going. It might sound crazy as the outsider of the field, but I wasn’t surprised to see him win. He’s got a lot of quality and back form, he was bought for the Bahrain International and that looks the perfect race for him down the line. He will try to emulate Isle Of Jura I guess, but he will run a couple of times more before going (to Bahrain).

“There’s a Group Three at Goodwood on the Saturday which is for four-year-olds and up which looks a really good spot for him and he will fit in a race like that nicely. I think he will like the track and if he comes out of this nicely, I think he will go for that.”

Beasley shines on Temporize

Temporize pulled out all the stops in the Metal UK Handicap, as Haggas and owners Shadwell had to settle for second once again with Naqeeb.

Given a fine ride by Connor Beasley, Syd Hosie’s five-year-old was always towards the fore and showed real toughness when challenged late inside the final furlong. The 10/1 winner will now head to Goodwood to try to win the Coral Goodwood Handicap two years running before taking another shot at the Cesarewitch in the autumn.

Hosie said: “It was great and we ran him from the front today. I was worried he might have got caught but I said to Connor ‘turn him loose three out’ and it was a cracking run from the horse.

“Connor gave him a great ride and he won the Northumberland Plate recently, so he’s clearly good at these staying races isn’t he. His timing was impeccable there on the front-end today.

“He’ll go back to the Goodwood two-mile-four race which he won last year and then we will probably got and have another crack at the Cesarewitch and ride him a bit differently. His shoes came off in the race last year and he has better feet this year as well, so it would be nice to have a proper crack at it this year.”

Rest of the action

The Waco Kid (16/5) was a taking winner of the Take A Lucky Dip At BetVictor EBF Novice Stakes for Hugo Palmer and jockey Oisin Murphy, while Rossa Ryan got the chance to don the Godolphin silks and steer Charlie Appleby’s Dubai Melody (11/2) to victory in the Darley EBF Fillies’ Novice Stakes.

The concluding British Stallion Studs EBF Premier Fillies’ Handicap went the way of Richard Hannon’s Circe, who stuck on gamely at the end of the one-mile event in the hands of Hollie Doyle at odds of 11/2.

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