A review of the rest of the action from Haydock on Saturday as Royal Ascot winner Get Shirty went in again.
Shirty shines in Old Newton Cup
David O’Meara revealed that he was keen on a tilt at next month’s Ebor Handicap at York with the in-form Get Shirty (10/1), who continued his fine season with a stellar victory in the £150,000 bet365 Old Newton Cup Handicap at Haydock Park on Saturday afternoon.
The six year old has been a revelation for his yard so far this term and last month’s victory in the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot meant that he arrived here having won three of his four starts so far this term.
Jockey Danny Tudhope rode him with plenty of confidence and the pair soon put matters to bed and they never looked like being reeled in after striking the front a furlong and a half out, bursting clear for a length and a half success.
O’Meara hinted that it could be the Ebor Handicap next for his charge. The said: north Yorkshire-based handler said: “He’s a tough horse and he’s had a wonderful season - he’s only been beaten once at Ripon when it turned into a bit of a sprint over two miles. The horse that beat him ran well in the Chester Cup so there was no shame in being beaten there and apart from that my God, all he’s done is turn up and keep doing it.
“He’s been brilliant. He was there a long time and if you spoke to Danny he’d probably say he was there too long but he’s just so tough. He had very good form in France and just lost his way a bit. I gave him a few runs last year and it just didn’t kick in at all.
“He trains well and is out in the field a lot and sometimes it’s nothing in particular that you do, horses just come back into themselves because they do and there’s no real science to it. The Ebor would be a great race for him and then we’ll see where we end up after that. It would be an amazing race to win!”
Meanwhile, Odhran Akela was representing his father and owner Mark Akela and he added: “It’s amazing, especially off the back of Ascot, I cannot put it into words. I was nearly reduced to tears in the stands, it’s very special.
“My dad will be gutted not to be here, I’ve not spoken to him yet but he’s over in Ireland. I didn’t get to go to Ascot so that gets one up on him anyways! My dad’s very into it and it’s for moments like this that he does it.”
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Rest of Haydock
Richard Hughes is keen to head to Glorious Goodwood at the end of the month with the highly-progressive Zero Carbon (9/1), who notched up a third victory in just 40 days when toughing things out with a pillar-to-post performance in the closing Best Odds Guaranteed At bet365.com Handicap at Haydock Park today.
The son of Acclamation was quick to set the pace after bagging the rail under Pat Dobbs and proceeded to make every inch thereafter in the seven-furlong contest, though he was forced to work late on, digging in deep to deny the fast-closing 5/2 Favourite Spirit Of Nguru by a head in a pulsating finish.
Zero Carbon has victories over both six and seven furlongs to his name and while his trainer admitted he wasn’t yet sure of his best trip, he was keen to nominate Glorious Goodwood as his next port of call.
Hughes said: “He’s a decent horse and has done nothing wrong so far. We had a few injuries at two and then in the spring he got shins which is unusual for a three year old. He’s got over all of that and now he is a happy horse.
“We still don’t know what his best trip is, he is a horse with a lot of pace and it would be good if he gets a mile but I don’t know. I had him in that £100,000 three year old race at Newmarket but I opted for a bit of cut in the ground. I’d say we’re more than likely to go to Goodwood, the owners are keen to go there and so am I!”
The closing races of Old Newton Cup Day were all about the younger generation and the card offered a welcome return to the winners’ enclosure for the Richard Hannon-trained Tacarib Bay (11/2), who left it late to snatch victory in the Price Promise At bet365 Handicap and record a first victory since May 2021.
The three year old has contested some tough races since that success here last year, finishing down the field in the QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot the last twice, and winning jockey Rossa Ryan was hopeful that this victory would give him a much-needed confidence boost.
He said: “He’s a nice horse and he’s been at the top table so he’s hardened from that. I think the soft ground as a Night Of Thunder played into his hands and hopefully that will be a nice boost to his confidence.”
Meanwhile, there was plenty to like about the performance of the Richard Fahey-trained Ramazan (13/2), who tore clear for a two and a half lengths success in the bet365 Nursery Handicap over six furlongs.
The son of Kodiac was down the field in the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes at last month’s Royal meeting but was right back on track here and winning jockey Oisin Orr feels he’s certainly worth keeping an eye on after this performance.
Orr said: “It was a great run. When he ran at Ascot he had a set of blinkers and I think he just did a shade too much but without those today off that kind of mark he’s done it well. His work at home is very good so I can’t see why he won’t progress from that.”