I was over the moon with Ribchester’s win in the Queen Anne – it was a fantastic day for the whole team, Sheikh Mohammed and the lads in the yard. It’s a special moment.
I’d been feeling nervous this week but John Murphy who rides him out said ‘don’t worry boss, he’s in great order’ and it's great when you have a team at home who can give you that confidence. I just wanted him to turn up and perform – and he did.
They went a real good gallop. I just wanted to make sure they came down our side of the track and Toscanini did his job and he was part of the victory.
I felt early in the season he was a horse that could go over a mile-and-a-quarter, that’s why we took him to Dubai, but at the moment we have no reason to go beyond a mile.
It’s between the Sussex and the Prix de Jacques Le Marois for his next race. There’s only ten days between them this season so it’s a case of either/or.
At the moment I’m leaning towards Goodwood and I’m looking forward to taking the three-year-olds on there.
Moving onto Wednesday now and we’re double handed in the Queen Mary.
Darkanna was so disappointing on her first two runs and then absolutely trotted up at Haydock. She looked something out of the ordinary that day – and you need to be that in this race – but it’s just at the back of my mind she could be ground dependant.
It was soft the last day and she did seem to cope with it very well.
Maybride is a filly we really like. Do I think she’ll win a Queen Mary? I’m just worried she might not be professional enough at this stage of her career but she’s definitely a Black Type filly somewhere down the line.
We’re claiming seven pounds off Another Touch in the Royal Hunt Cup through Connor Murtagh and that brings him back down to a winning mark. He’s a pretty straightforward horse and his win at Nottingham last time has done him the world of good. He has the ability to run well in a race like this.
I’d imagine Withernsea would be better off on slower ground and while he has to step up to be competitive here his win at Newbury last time might just perk him up. The going is the worry though.
Our final runner is Marie Of Lyon in the Sandringham Handicap. She’s a filly we’ve always liked and I think stepping up a mile is going to really suit her. She has a lovely racing weight and I wouldn’t draw a line through her in this – but there are 15 others you think will run well too.
