The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Wizard is weaving his magic at Ascot
The Wizard Of Eye stormed home to snatch a thrilling Lavazza & Ascot 10 Year Anniversary Victoria Cup victory right on the line.
Joe Leavy looked to have made a decisive move on Richard Fahey’s Ramazan between the final two furlongs and he kept on well to fend off the challenge of outsider Bless Him.
But Tom Marquand conjured up an incredible late surge from The Wizard Of Eye and the Charlie Fellowes-trained five-yearold timed it to perfection, scoring by a head and a short head at 7-1. It was a first triumph since November 2022 for the now-gelded son of Galileo Gold, who was once 11th in the 2000 Guineas in his time with Stan Moore.
Marquand told Sky Sports: “A big shout out to Charlie, he’s got him dead right. I’ve got to say I probably sat on him for half a furlong longer than I thought was right, but I had Charlie’s words ringing in my ears.
“He’s a very useful horse, he’s shown that before, but to get him back in this order, he’s done a very good job.
“As soon as we’d gone 100 yards, the pace came into the race and I was super happy with him, I was taken into the race and he’s picked up great.
“I’d say things could go even more in his favour on a track like this than they have today.”
Hallasan proved a disappointment for odds-on favourite-backers when only third in the Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% Novice Stakes, with 8-1 chance Xanthe edging out 14-1 Reposado by a head for top honours.
Richard Hannon’s Earthlight filly was upholding family honour as a half-sister to three winners, including Listedclass scorer Fort Del Oro.
Kotari completed a quick hat-trick when claiming victory in the Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% Handicap as the 16-5 favourite.
The gelding gave Gary and Josh Moore their first success as joint-licence holders at Salisbury just six days ago and coped with a 5lb penalty to score under Jason Watson.
Sean D Bowen produced Bellarchi (8-1) with a welltimed run to land the Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% British EBF Fillies’ Handicap by three-quarters of a length from Rose Prick.