Alpha Delphini could target Newbury after Beverley Bullet win
BRYAN SMART’S sprinter Alpha Delphini could step up to Group Three company for his next race following his Listed success in the Beverley Bullet.
The Hambleton trainer might consider the Dubai International Airport World Trophy at Newbury on September 17 for the progressive sprinter, who completed a hat-trick with a narrow verdict over Willy the conqueror on the Westwood on Saturday.
The win was another notable success for top Flat jockey Connor Beasley, who continues to make a miraculous comeback after suffering lifethreatening injuries in a fall at Wolverhampton just over a year ago.
“There’s a Group Three at Newbury in three weeks’ time. Whether that will come soon enough, I don’t know,” said Smart.
“He’s been busy, but we’ve not galloped the brains out of him. We’ll just have a look. We’ll just sit back and enjoy this for a while. We’ll reassess and let the horse tell us.”
Smart and Beasley have enjoyed an August to remember. As well as Alpha Delphini, they won the Great St Wilfrid at Ripon with Name it what you like.
Alicante Dawn then took Ripon’s feature two-year-old race on Monday and could also be Newbury-bound later this month for the Mill Reef Stakes.
Meanwhile, Franny Norton has been booked to ride Dancing Star in the 32Red Sprint Cup at Haydock on Saturday, trainer Andrew Balding has announced.
The Kingsclere handler is delighted to have secured the services of the weighingroom veteran for his Stewards’ Cup winner, who was supplemented for the six-furlong Group One at Monday’s five-day confirmation stage.
Norton, who has formed a formidable alliance with Middleham trainer Mark Johnston and has already ridden more than 70 winners this season, replaces the injurysidelined David Probert.
Laura Mongan is set to saddle her first Classic runner when Harbour Law lines up in the Ladbrokes St Leger at Doncaster on Saturday week.
The three-year-old colt was runner-up to Sword Fighter in the two-mile Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot before dropping back in trip and taking a close fourth behind Houses of parliament in the Group Three Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket on July 7.
Epsom-based Mongan, bidding to become the first female trainer to win the world’s oldest Classic, said: “I think we have done the right thing by not running Harbour Law between Newmarket and the St Leger.
“It has freshened him up and he did a nice piece of work around Kempton last week. It does look an open race and, while there is no doubt he will have to put in a real good performance to get involved, we think he is capable of doing so. We are not going there just to make up the numbers.”
Pam Sly is officially the only female British trainer to have saddled a British Classic winner – Speciosa in the 2006 1000 Guineas. Helen Johnson Houghton trained the 1956 2000 Guineas hero Gilles De Retz, although the colt ran in the name of her assistant Charles Jardine due to women being unable to hold a training licence at the time.
The closest a female trainer has come to winning the St Leger was in 2001 when Amanda Perrettt saddled Demophilos to finish runner-up to Milan.
Tony McCoy does not expect to be part of the new ITV racing team.
He has been a regular contributor for Channel 4 Racing since his retirement from the saddle, most recently at York’s Ebor Festival.
However the 20-times champion jump jockey is contracted to work just one more afternoon for the station.
“Claire (Burns), who looks after me, talked with them (ITV) a while ago but I haven’t heard any more,” said McCoy.
“I don’t know what I’m doing with my life at the moment. I definitely haven’t made any plans for the future. I’ve only got one day left on Channel 4, so we’ll see how it goes.”
ITV becomes the exclusive terrestrial broadcaster partner for British racing from 2017.
We’ve not galloped the brains out of him. Bryan Smart on his treatment of sprinter Alpha Delphini.