DRAGON Leader scorched to victory in Redcar’s richest race today and left Derby-winning jockey Richard Kingscote clearly impressed.
The chestnut son of El Kabeir cost £45,000 but has now won more than a quarter of a million for the Kennet Valley Syndicates III after comfortably landing the listed William Hill Two Year Old Trophy.
Kingscote, who won last year’s Epsom Derby on Desert Crown, always looked confident on the Clive Cox-trained 4-7 favourite, and swept clear of The King’s Horse, Works of Art.
"Bang goes the knighthood!" quipped syndicate manager, Sam Hoskins, as Dragon Leader came into the winner’s enclosure.
“I’ve never been so nervous in my life, with the pressure of being odds-on. We’re just very lucky to have him,” added Sam.
That makes it four wins in five starts for Dragon Leader and Kingscote said: “Clive has campaigned him beautifully and he’s a sweet, likable horse.
“Getting weight off a lot of the others was a big help. He’s proved to be really professional, and he feels like he needs seven furlongs now. They were taking me off my feet at halfway, but he showed he’s got good gears.”
The other listed race of the day, the Racing TV EBF Stallions Guisborough Stakes, produced a cracking finish with Vafortino and David Allan getting up in the nick of time beat Richard Fahey’s Ramazan.
Ramazan, ridden by Oisin Orr, looked to have the race in the bag after getting the better of a tussle with favourite Awaal, but was beaten by a nose.
Allan expressed his relief afterwards, saying: “It was a bit of a disaster trying to get out and it would have looked bad if he hadn’t!” said the jockey. “He travelled strongly in the race, but the gaps kept closing. Once he got out, he flew.”
The son of New Bay, trained at Newmarket by Kevin Philippart de Foy, was bouncing back from running down the field in a handicap at Ascot last time out.
Oisin Orr gained compensation for his narrow loss when Painters Palette won the competitive SDDE Smith Group Straight-Mile Series Final Handicap in the style of a progressive horse.
The Lope de Vega gelding is trained at Sedgefield by Rebecca Menzies, and owned by The Horse Watchers 10 syndicate, run by brothers Chris and Martin Dixon.
Chris said: “He’s a really progressive horse and he’s won that easy. He’s tricky before his races and Becky’s done an unbelievable job with him.”
The gelding is entered in the William Hill Autumn Mile Handicap at York on Friday, and is scheduled to go to the Horses In Training Sale.
However, Menzies said: “These are the type of horses we want to keep in the yard because he’s got a lot of class and will improve further.”
The eight-race card began with Respectful showing a good attitude under Sam James to win Division One of the Racing TV EBF Stallions Novice Stakes, toughing it out to beat Kevin Ryan’s Midnite Storm.
That was enough to give the Ryan camp confidence going into Division Two because the stable’s Volterra had been third behind Respectful last time out at Ayr.
And the form worked out well because Volterra stayed on strongly to get up in the final stride in the yellow colours of Sheikh Mohammed Obaid At Maktoum.
“He'll develop into a proper horse next year,” said a clearly impressed Tom Eaves after the Farhh colt had collared Ed Bethell’s Gressington on the line, needing every inch of the seven furlongs.
“He’s still learning and a bit of a baby, but he moves beautifully and he’s progressing with every run,” added the jockey.
Shifter benefited from a cracking ride by three-pound claimer Paula Muir to get up to beat fellow 25-1 shot Lunar Landscape in the Every Race Live On Racing TV Handicap Stakes.
Muir said: “She’s seen out the step up in trip very well. As soon as she passes horses, it lights her up.”
Consett trainer Wilf Storey added: “We thought all the time this was the way she needs to be ridden and Paula gave her a brilliant ride. She was bought to go hurdling but we might persuade the owners to stay a bit longer on the flat after this.”
Award Dancer, trained in North Yorkshire by Grant Tuer, and ridden by Oliver Stammers, was another to get up on the post, winning the Market Cross Jewellers Handicap for the Moment of Madness syndicate.
The significant step up in trip to a mile and six did the trick for the five-year-old, who was bought out of the Joseph O’Brien yard.
Syndicate spokesman George Leggott said: “We’ve tried him over all kinds of distances, and he’s never won over a mile before. He ran through the line at York last time over a bit more than a mile and a quarter, so we thought we’d try this trip. He has to have good ground and it’s all come together.”
The finale came with the Watch Race Replays On racingtv.com Handicap, with the Nigel Tinkler-trained Muker winning by a head from Ray Craggs’ Khabib.
The five-year-old, ridden by 7lbs-claimer Alex Jary, was rated as 103 at the start of his three-year-old career when he was trained by Phil Makin.
Tinkler said: “He's a little star and it was a very good ride by Alex – he’s getting better all the time. It’s all down to his jockey coach – Kim Tinkler!”
