SA trainer Jell hoping Shea Shea will win in UK
YORK — Steven Jell, assistant trainer to Mike de Kock, is bullish that Shea Shea will finally make it to the No 1 box in a UK Group One race when he contests today’s Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes at the Yorkshire track.
“I’d say he looks even better than before his last start in the July Cup. Frankie Dettori worked him last week and popped in this morning to see how his mount was doing,” said Jell yesterday.
“The track is fast and flat and that will suit Shea Shea. We’re drawn five with a lot of speed around us,” he added.
Once again Shea Shea will have to beat Sole Power, who snared him close home in a breathtaking finish to the King’s Stand Stakes at Ascot in June. As is the case with Mike de Kock’s sprinter, connections feel Sole Power will also appreciate reverting to 1,000m.
Amazingly, Sole Power was a 100-1 chance when he won this event in 2010 and he finished only seventh behind Aussie speed merchant Ortensia in last year’s race. However, trainer Eddie Lynam’s charge is now at the top of his game and will have the best possible help from the saddle in Johnny Murtagh.
Slade Power, stablemate of Sole Power, gives Lynam good back-up as there was plenty to like about the sprinter’s recent defeat of Hanza and Sea Siren.
Another runner who demands plenty of respect is Moviesta, partowned by former Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp. He is sure to be at the track to support his horse, who is an 11-2 chance in the ante-post market.
This afternoon Murtagh fans will be looking for him to bring home Simenon in the Lonsdale Cup. Second behind Estimate in the Ascot Gold Cup, trainer Willie Mullins gave Goodwood a miss with his stayer.
Punters will be hoping the fancied horses come to the fore in the Nunthorpe, as the first day of this popular four-day fixture resulted in bookies returning home with bulging satchels.
The Juddmonte International, won last year by superstar Frankel, was billed as a match between Al Kazeem and Toronado. They were both upstaged by trainer Aidan O’Brien’s runner, Declaration of War.
O’Brien commented: “He’s an incredible horse. He has improved with every run and everybody was so positive. It’s hard to believe he is having such a busy time and still improving.”
Bookmaker Paddy Power quotes Declaration Of War as a 101 chance for the Breeders Cup in October.
Jockey Joseph O’Brien was not surprised his mount came up trumps and said: “I’m not so sure if it was as much a surprise to us as it was to a lot of people.
“In the Eclipse (at Sandown), it was probably my fault. They got first run on me. I was only getting involved in the final 100 yards and it was all over.”
Roger Charlton, trainer of Al Kazeem, blamed the ground for the favourite’s defeat. “You hope you can get away with it, but when you keep running a horse on firm ground when he prefers it softer, this is what happens.”
Race-goers watched in disbelief as Richard Hughes’s mount Toronado — so impressive when winning the Sussex Stakes — trailed in last in the Juddmonte. “He was beaten turning for home. I wouldn’t have won over any distance today,” said Hughes.
Another favourite bit the dust in the Acomb Stakes when The Grey Gatsby went down by a neck to outsider Treaty of Paris.