The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Fanshawe relieved as The Tin Man shows heart
Rarely does a season go by without James Fanshawe saddling a Group One winner and that status was maintained following the victory of The Tin Man in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot on Saturday.
Although only finishing eighth in the race 12 months ago, the five-year-old made it back-to-back top-level wins from his last two visits to the track, adding to his Champions Sprint success in October after surviving a stewards’ inquiry into the six-furlong contest.
Having weaved his way through runners after travelling strongly early on, the 9-2 winner found a smart change of gear under Tom Queally and held the late charge of Tasleet by a neck, with favourite Limato a further threequarters of a length back in third.
The win came at a slight cost for Queally, who picked up a two-day suspension for careless riding.
Fanshawe said: “That was a huge relief, as he shows absolutely nothing at home. The biggest clue he gives you is when he ducks out of the way of a leaf on the way home or something like that, and he has been being doing that a bit more regularly recently.
“He is the best older sprinter and he has proven that twice now. There looks to be a good three-year-old (Caravaggio) about the place so we will see what happens later in the year.
“It is great for the yard and Tom Queally, as he has proved today what a good jockey he is. He (The Tin Man) loves Ascot as that is the third time he has won here. It suits his style as he likes to come from off the pace and his acceleration really comes to the fore here.
“We were a bit thin on runners at the meeting and it helps having a horse like The Tin Man to get you out of jail.
“I will see how he is. He is entered in the July Cup. It is the obvious target, but we will play things by ear.”
Luck has often deserted Idaho (9-2) in the past but on this occasion he found it on his side after finally coming of age when completing a double for Aidan O’Brien in the Hardwicke Stakes.
Having seen his full-brother Highland Reel land the Prince of Wales’s Stakes earlier in the week, the son of Galileo, who unseated winning rider Seamie Heffernan in last year’s St Leger, went one better than his sibling did in the mile-and-a-half contest Group Two 12 months ago.
O’Brien said: “We’ve been very happy with him since Epsom. He only got off the plane an hour and 10 minutes before
the race there, so it was a big call on him. His older brother was able to cope with it because he was more experienced, but it wasn’t really fair to him.
“What happened to him in the Leger last year is difficult to believe. He was coming down the straight hard on the bridle.
“He might come back for the King George, but I’d say he’d do some travelling as well. He gets a mile and a half very well and is a strong traveller.”
The star-studded cast of fillies that grace many of the boxes at Ballydoyle looks to have another new member after September advertised her Classic credentials for next year when initiating O’Brien’s brace in the Chesham Stakes.
O’Brien won the seven-furlong Listed race last year with subsequent English and Irish 2000 Guineas winner Churchill, and his daughter of Deep Impact looked a future star when wearing down her rivals late on before forging clear.
O’Brien said of the 11-8 winner: “She’s out of Peeping Fawn, who was a big filly. She’s got a big personality and thinks she’s very big.
“She could go to the Debutante and then the Moyglare. If she finished the season at a mile we can then see for next year. She’s bred to stay very well.”