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Poweful Saddadd surge claims Gordon Richards

Saddadd ran down King Of Cities to claim his biggest success to date in the Group Three Bet365 Gordon Richards Stakes.

The runner-up had most of his rivals in trouble passing the two furlong pole under Ryan Moore but the 2/1 winner had him in his sights.

Ray Dawson took Roger Varian’s charge to the front inside the distance and his partner ran on well to win by a length-and-three-quarters.

It was a further five-and-a-half back to Almeric in third.

Saddadd was cut to 16s from 50s for the Coolmore Coronation Cup by Paddy Power and Sky Bet and 20s from 66s for the Tattersalls Gold Cup.

Varian said: “He is an absolute darling of a horse. You only had to look at him in the paddock. He is asleep and laid back. He has got the most delightful attitude. He just reminds me of those good horses with a really good brain to go with it.

“He won like a really good horse here in August and although he ran at Goodwood the time after in a strong Listed race he was just not the same horse and I think he needed the winter.

“We sat on him a long time last year when the ground was very firm and although he didn’t run much last year, he had an elongated stretch of training and I think he was maybe just over the top at Goodwood

“I had a quick chat with Ray and he was pretty adamant that you don’t need to be moving the goal posts at this point as he was very comfortable at that trip today, and he quickened very well, so I should think we will stay at ten furlongs now.

“I’m sure that if we asked him he would stay a mile-and-a half as he is a very relaxed horse and he has a very relaxed style of running. When he won here last year off a big weight on soft ground he was doing his best work late on which suggested that a mile-and-a-half wouldn’t be beyond him.

“He has wintered very well and he is a more mature horse this time around. I like how he put the race to bed today so I think we will stay at ten furlongs for now. We have him Group One entered, and he is a horse that we have always loved, so you have to dream that he can be a Group One horse, but his next race will tell us a bit more.

“I’d love to end up in a Champion Stakes as he handles cut in the ground and he will get better all year. We don’t know if he is Group One standard yet. You could safely say at the moment that wasn’t a Group One field. It was a strong select field, but not a Group One field.

“He has run well enough to deserve to be asked the question at some point. He is in the Tattersalls Gold Cup and I could see him enjoying the Curragh as a track, but does he need to tackle that bar just yet. We would love maybe to come back here for the Eclipse as he has won twice over course and distance.

“I’m quite settled at staying a mile-and-a-quarter so we either come back here under a penalty in the Brigadier Gerard or go for the Tattersalls Gold Cup.”

Dawson said: “I can't really fault him. He put in a really good piece of work last week, but it was probably his only piece of work where we have stretched him so we were coming here thinking he would need the run. When I asked him two and a half out he gave me a completely different feel to last year. He feels like he has strengthened and maybe he has got that bit more speed now, but it is very exciting.

“He wasn’t quite himself at Goodwood on his last start. He is the most relaxed horse in the world and you would almost be worried he is too asleep.

“At Goodwood he wasn’t himself as he was sweaty and he didn’t want to go in the stalls. He didn’t run badly, but he wasn’t himself. He has thrived for having the time off and he has enjoyed having a break.

“Roger is steady with his horses and they often need a run, but he has come here in good health and he is only going to take a step forward so he is very exciting for the season.

“If this was a Group One you wouldn’ raise your eyebrows with the horses in the race and he has beaten them quite well so he is aiming in that direction.”

Crown continues Palmer run

Hugo Palmer continued his good start to the new season after Laureate Crown made it two wins from as many starts this year when finishing best of them all in the bet365 Esher Cup.

All eyes before the race were centred on the John and Thady Gosden-trained Organise, who holds an entry in the Group Two All Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante Stakes at York.

However, the 10/11 favourite had to settle to second best behind the Victor Ludorum gelding who backed up his win at Wolverhampton when getting up to score by half a length.

Palmer said of the 9/1 winner: “He is a horse that we loved last year and you can probably see how much we loved him by the way we campaigned him. He is a big horse and he was just a bit too weak to do at race pace what we felt he was capable of doing from what we had seen at home.

“A winter on his back he has done really well physically. I think gelding has helped a lot as well so I’m delighted.”

A trip to Royal Ascot had been talked about early on in the year for Laureate Crown, however while those plans are still up in the air Palmer admitted he is likely to send the Fitri Hay-owned gelding on his travels at some point.

He added: “I think he can win Listed races, or maybe Group Threes, but that is not good enough to need your equipment. The dream was that he would be a Britannia horse, but after he won at Wolverhampton Oisin (Murphy) was adamant he needs to go around a bend.

“We had one eye on the Silver Bowl at Haydock, but he does need to get his toe on and he doesn’t want ground quicker than good. He has got French premiums and it wouldn’t surprise me if we end up in France at some stage.”

Star forces Walker re-think

Ed Walker could deviate from his initial plan with Black Star Boy, who made the most of a drop in class when making a winning return to action in the bet365 Handicap.

Last sighted finishing eighth in the Listed Coral Rockingham Stakes at York the son of Starman, who was making his first start since being gelded, enjoyed a return to calmer waters on his handicap debut in the five furlong dash.

Perfectly pitched in stall one, the 9/1 chance burst through inside the final furlong before holding off the fast charging Calico Blue by three quarters of a length.

Walker said: “He is another good advert for his sire. He is an absolute beast of a horse. He has a great temperament. He is from a very fast female side as well so he was always going to be a sprinter and he looks like a sprinter.

“He had been working well at home, but the lads have done a great job in the stalls with him at home as he can get a bit anxious in them. Sometimes big horses can as they feel a bit claustrophobic in there.

“At York he got really upset in the stalls and he came out with his tail on fire and he pulled like a train. He never got any cover and it was really ugly. Today went perfectly well and Kieran (Shoemark) gave him the perfect ride. He is an exciting sprinter.”

And while Walker had earmarked the Palace Of Holyroodhouse Stakes at Royal Ascot as a possible target he admitted he could look to step the TBT Racing-owned three-year-old back up in class following his latest win.

He added: “The Palace Of Holyroodhouse was always the plan, but we will see what the handicapper does.

"I was quite impressed with him today and I know Roger (Varian) liked his horse in second. It will probably turn out to be a good race. We stuck him in a Listed race last year as we thought he was that class so do we go a bit more ambitious and go for the Sandy Lane. We will see what the handicapper does on Tuesday.”