NO RIFT OVER RIFF
EGAN PHILOSOPHICAL ABOUT LOSING BIG CHAMPIONS DAY RIDE TO DETTORI
DAVID EGAN admitted he had been “jocked off by the best in the business” after losing the QIPCO Champion Stakes mount aboard Mishriff to Frankie Dettori.
The 2017 champion apprentice, who is retained by Mishriff’s owner, Prince AA Faisal, was forced to miss the colt’s victory at Deauville in August by suspension.
Dettori deputised for the Group Two Prix Guillaume d’ornano and will stay on board the son of Make Believe, 3- 1 second favourite behind Magical ( 7- 4) for the QIPCO British Champions Day highlight at Ascot on Saturday.
“Prince Faisal has decided to use
Frankie Dettori on this occasion,” Egan said yesterday.
“I’ve been jocked off by the best in the business.
“Obviously, Frankie won on him the last day when I wasn’t able to go due to suspension, but hopefully I’ll have another good day on him sometime. It’s just part of racing.”
Palace Pier is as short as 4- 7 for the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes after 2000 Guineas winner Kameko was ruled out of the one- mile test.
Connections had warned the Andrew Balding- trained colt, as short as 4- 1 for Saturday’s race after returning to winning ways in
Newmarket’s Group Two Joel Stakes last month, would miss Ascot in the event of unsuitably soft ground.
And, confirming Kameko on course for the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Keeneland on November 7, owner Sheikh Fahad Al Thani’s racing manager David Redvers said: “Given the ground at Ascot is going to be testing, Kameko will go straight to the Breeders’ Cup.” DOWN ROYAL will stage its two- day Ladbrokes Champion Chase fixture ( October 30 and 31), due to feature the debut over fences of the Gordon Elliott- trained Envoi Allen, as scheduled after it was announced lockdown measures in Northern Ireland will not affect elite sport.