Title-chasing Marquand bags Salisbury treble

Nick Robson
June 23, 2021 4:15 pm

Championship race boiling up nicely.

Tom Marquand took the riding honours at Salisbury as the title-chasing jockey celebrated a treble.

Marquand currently sits in third place in the championship, behind title holder Oisin Murphy and William Buick.

His first winner came via Michael Bell’s above-average juvenile Dairerin (13-8 joint-favourite) in the Sergei Prokofiev Standing At Whitsbury Manor Auction Stakes

And he then teamed up with his boss William Haggas to win the feature Showcasing Standing At Whitsbury Manor Handicap on Johan and the Adaay Standing At Whitsbury Manor British EBF Maiden Stakes with Kolisi (7-2).

Tom Marquand riding Dairerin to an easy success (Alan Crowhurst/PA)

Of Dairerin, who finished fourth in the Woodcote Stakes last time out, and on whom he made all the running, Marquand said: “It was a nice performance. Realistically I think the sticky ground played to his strengths and it helped being able to get on the speed.

“It was a pretty nice performance because what I liked was that the more I got into him the more he found which is always nice.”

Johan has been a solid performer for a number of seasons now and having dropped down to a mark of 100 he returned to winning ways, seeing off Variyann by half a length.

“He’s a lovely horse, but he just needs that bit of give in the ground to be really be seen at his best,” said Marquand.

“He had that today and being up with the pace really helped – it made him tough to beat.”

When asked if Johann was up to winning in Listed company, which he has been tried in before, the championship-chasing jockey replied: “I suppose on the right ground on the right day the form that he can run up to at his best isn’t a mile off, but he would probably have to find a bit more.”

A son of Derby winner Harzand, Kolisi seems to have made an impression on Marquand, getting off the mark at the third time of asking on the step up to 10 furlongs.

🔥 @TomMarquand
The rider grabs his treble with his final ride on the card as Kolisi (Harzand) wins well at @salisburyraces.
Two runners, two winners on the card too for William Haggas pic.twitter.com/c5KNSLR4TY
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) June 23, 2021

“He’s improved with each run and I was really happy with him, getting that extra couple of furlongs under his belt really played to his strengths,” said Marquand.

“He probably bumped into not a bad horse (Ranchero) at Nottingham (when second) but having the extra trip, he showed a nice bit of toe and wasn’t doing an awful lot in front.

“I think he’s a really nice horse who had progressed. He should be a decent handicapper and one to look forward to.”

No chance of the jockeys at Salisbury forgetting to weigh in (Alan Crowhurst/PA)

Another decent winner on the card was Roger Charlton’s Pleasant Man (7-1) who bounced back from a below-par display in the Chester Vase to win the Whitsbury Manor Stud Bibury Cup Handicap for Jason Watson.

Ralph Beckett’s Seattle King (100-30 favourite) was a well-backed winner on debut in the Due Diligence Standing At Whitsbury Manor British EBF Blagrave Maiden Stakes.