Newmarket Friday review and replays including wins for Dance Sequence and Inquisitively

Picture perfect for Picotte

Kieran Cotter described Matilda Picotte as a ‘Group One winner in waiting’ after providing the triumphant trainer with the most notable success of his career in the Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards Challenge Stakes.

Having tasted Listed glory in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF “Bosra Sham” Fillies’ Stakes at the track last October and finishing third in the QIPCO 1000 Guineas back at the course earlier this year, the daughter of Sioux Nation continued her love affair with the Rowley Mile in today’s Group Two prize.

Arriving on the back of a Group Three success at Doncaster last time out the 2/1 chance was swiftly sent into a lead she would not relinquish by Oisin Murphy when spearheading both Chindit (7/4 favourite) and Lord Massusus down the centre of the track.

Despite her three rivals all trying their best to mount a challenge during the closing stages, each and everyone of them fell short as Matilda Picotte continued to make the best of her way home out in front before scoring by two and three-quarter lengths.

Cotter said: “I was little bit concerned in the last 100 yards or so that something might come and get her, but I’m absolutely delighted. She is a Group One winner in waiting and her last couple of runs have been outstanding.

“People have been telling us all year she should be sprinting, but she can maintain that pace over seven furlongs and you have two choices. You either go with her, and she will burn you off, or you try and keep tabs on her as best you can. She does the damage early on in the race.

“I said to lads you won’t see the best of her until the back end of three and she is just coming to fruition now. She never looked like a two-year-old as she was too rangy, but she still managed to win a Bosra Sham here and a maiden.

“She has just got better and better, and maybe we’ve got a handle on her style of running better. Oisin said she was aggressive early, but you can’t fight her, and you have to let her roll. She is incredibly tough.

“She absolutely loves it here. Fair play to Declan McDonogh, and I will always thank him for this, as he won the Bosra Sham on her and he got off her and he said this racecourse was designed for her with the downhill run into the bushes and the way she can quicken up out of it (the dip).

“We wouldn’t have 20 horses, but we are showing if we have the right one we can turn up on the day. It is fantastic today that we have come to a racecourse like this and competed. We are privileged to have her.

“She is a horse of a lifetime. Without a doubt this is my biggest winner, but it is hard to get horses when you have a small yard. Hopefully we can some attract some better class horses.

“I picked her out. There were two horses in a field, and I wanted the other one, who was her half-sister and she turned out to be a Group Three winner called Ocean Quest for Jessica Harrington.”

While a trip to the Breeders’ Cup has not been ruled out by Cotter he is excited about what next season holds for Matilda Picotte, provided her connections decide to keep her.

He concluded: “There is the Breeders’ Cup, but who knows we will go home and have a think about it. There are a lot of races for her next year, if we have her, but the lads said if she won well today we might keep her (as opposed to selling her)."

Sequence lays down Classic claims

Charlie Appleby might have endured a somewhat frustrating season but he had his spirits lifted after Dance Sequence enhanced her Classic credentials when maintaining her unbeaten record in the Godolphin Lifetime Care Oh So Sharp Stakes.

Entering the race as the least experienced runner in the field with just her debut victory on the July Course 104 days ago to her name, the daughter of Dubawi demonstrated her clear potential when taking a step up in class in her stride in the Group Three prize.

Buried away at the rear of the field the easy to back 4/1 chance steadily worked her way into contention under William Buick before throwing down her challenge to the leading pair of Star Music and 7-4 favourite Skellet approaching the final furlong.

Knuckling down to the task well Dance Sequence pulled out more than enough when required to defeat Skellet, who was making her first start for new owners Juddmonte, by a neck with Star Music a further three lengths adrift in third. It was a 20/1 double for the winning jockey after the success of Inquistively in the opener.

Appleby said: “She was impressive on her debut and similarly to her debut, William has had confidence going into both races. He said I’m going to drop her in, but I said be careful as there is a tailwind and don’t let them get free on the front end.

“He has got such confidence in this filly that he dropped her in again today and I thought at one stage he might not be happy with the position he was in, but she answers every question. He looked after her through the dip and up the hill, but she picks up well when she does it.

“We purposely gave her a gap as she is a big, scopey filly. After Newmarket people would have been saying you could have been going here there and everywhere, but as you are all well aware we are in the process of rebuilding our team and these sorts of horses are not easy to come by.

“We have purposely given her time to hopefully come here and get this assignment done and put her away for the winter and dream about running her in some Guineas trials next year.

“She has a bit more daylight to go yet before we look at her as a proper serious 1000 Guineas contender, but she is on the right path. She will get further most definitely.

“I said to William if we ran a nice race and wasn’t fortunate enough to win I was only going to look at going to the Montrose and stepping her up in trip, but we don’t need to do that now.”

Reflecting on a campaign which has seen the likes of stable stars Modern Games, Hurricane Lane and Adayar all retired the Newmarket-based Godolphin handler admitted that he is pleased with how the rebuilding process is going back at his Moulton Paddocks base.

He added: “It is not tough as this is the game you are in and if you think you have cracked it you better go find another sport. We knew ourselves that this season was going to be a bit more challenging on the retirement of some of those older horses as they are always the pillar of the yard.

“We are confident we have got some nice two-year-olds coming through. When I say nice two-year-olds, as soon as I say that people say I’ve got a yard full of two-year-olds. You are never going to have a yard full, and you are lucky if you can pick out half a dozen.

“I’m hopeful that we have some nice two-year-olds that will progress through the winter. I don’t see a 2000 Guineas colt in there is the honest answer as you would have seen that back in July as that would have been more our Superlative-type of horse.

“As respects to some of the pedigrees and physicals we have got they were always going to be three-year-olds and hopefully she will be one of the sharper ones in the fillies’ division and we look forward to some colts in the middle-distance division."

Inquisitively has the answers

Kevin Philippart de Foy fulfilled a season long ambition after saddling the first Group race winner of his career when Inquisitively set up a potential tilt at next month’s Breeders’ Cup meeting at Santa Anita with victory in the Newmarket Academy Godolphin Beacon Project Cornwallis Stakes.

After making a winning stable for the Newmarket-based Belgian in the Listed Julia Graves Roses Stakes at York last month following his switch from the yard of Ollie Sangster, the son Ten Sovereigns stepped up on that effort in the Group Three contest at Newmarket today, day one of the Dubai Future Champions Festival.

Bounced straight into the lead by William Buick the 100/30 chance, who finished third in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot on his last start for his previous handler, looked like being swallowed up entering the final quarter of a mile in the five-furlong contest.

However, there was to be no catching Inquisitively, who found an extra gear late on to open up again in front and cross the line a length and a half clear of the fast-finishing Rosario (10/1) to give Philippart de Foy his first winner on the Rowley Mile.

Philippart de Foy said: “I wasn’t that confident beforehand (because of the ground), but he is a very tough horse. He took the lead and grabbed the race from the get go.

“When I saw three horses in line halfway through the race I was a bit worried, but as William says he breathes very well and relaxes. When he asked him to quicken up he put it to bed very nicely.

“I think he is a five-furlong horse, but we will probably have to try the six (furlongs) later down the line. I feel he has got bags of speed, and he jumped so well today as he took out length out of them from the stalls. He travelled very strongly. He relaxes very well in his races. To me, he is a five-furlong horse at the moment.

“For the time being he is (staying here). He was sold to go to Hong Kong, but he worked very well at mine so I asked if I could run him at York. He ran at York and won, and we decided to go for one more today. I would love to keep him, but we will have to speak to the owner (Wee Sean Gan).

“We’ve had a couple of Listed winners, but I wanted a Group winner this year and I was very keen to get a two-year-old Group winner, so it is job done. The next step is a Group Two or Group One.”

Assessing future plans, the triumphant trainer hinted that Inquisitively could now head to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint on November 3 which he was introduced at 8/1 for by Paddy Power.

He added: “You have a question mark on the Breeders’ Cup obviously. It is a long way out and we will have to discuss. It is not out of the question.”

Doyle delivers on Alsakib

Alsakib ensured he will enter the Qatar Derby at the end of the year on a winning note after showing an abundance of stamina to secure his fourth success of the season in the bet365 Old Rowley Cup.

The Andrew Balding-trained three-year-old followed up his last time out Ascot success in the manner of a progressive horse ahead of being sent on his travels for a tilt at the mile and a quarter contest at Al Rayyan in December.

In a race few got into the well supported 100/30 favourite was one of only a couple of runners to emerge from the rear of the field and make a serious bid for glory in the £120,000 mile and a half contest.

Moving on with eventual runner-up, and last time out Haydock Park scorer, Shadow Dance, over a furlong out, the son of Kingman battled on well all the way to the line before prevailing by half a length under James Doyle.

Balding said: “He is a lovely horse and has done nothing but improve and he stays very well which slightly surprised me but at Goodwood it looked obvious that he would stay a bit further and he is now unbeaten over a mile and a half.

“I doubt will go again this season in England. The hope for the owners is that he might run in the Qatar Derby, which is dropping back to a mile and a quarter. That was the aim and intention of having him training in me and we will be looking towards that.

“Quite possibly coming back in trip might be a concern, but he is a classy horse and the reason the owners have got him in training is to run him in that race.

“It all depends on what the owners want to do as regards to if he comes back here. He is a good horse.”

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