Mojo Star limbering up for reappearance at Royal Ascot

Dual Classic-placed colt under consideration for either Hardwicke or Gold Cup.

Last year’s Derby and St Leger runner-up Mojo Star is reported to be training well ahead of his intended reappearance at Royal Ascot.

The Amo Racing-owned colt was sent off at 50-1 for the premier Classic in 2021, but outran his odds to finish closest to four-and-a-half-length winner Adayar and the son of Sea The Stars picked up another Classic silver medal when upped in trip at Doncaster later in the season.

Having raced six times at three and finished his campaign with a disappointing showing in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Mojo Star has been given plenty of time to get over last year’s exertions, but is now nearing his return to the track.

Newbury Races – Saturday August 14th
Mojo Star, here ridden by David Egan, placed in both the Derby and St. Leger last season (John Walton/PA)

The Richard Hannon-trained four-year-old holds entries for both the mile-and-a-half Hardwicke Stakes and the Gold Cup over an extra mile at Ascot and although a final decision on his likely destination is yet to be made, he is doing nothing but please connections in his preparation for the Royal meeting.

“We’ve got him in the Gold Cup and the Hardwicke, he’s training away at home and looking great,” explained Emily Scott, racing manager for Amo Racing.

“A decision hasn’t been made yet about what trip he’ll run over, but he stayed well in the St Leger last year and I think he has to have both options open to him.

“He had a busy campaign last year and we gave him plenty of time off over the winter. There is a lot of racing for him throughout the year, so we just want to get him right for when he does hit the track again. He’s a massive horse and all he achieved as a three-year-old we hope he can go on and build on that as a four-year-old.

“I think as his fast work picks up, we’ll be able to make more of an informed decision on where he goes, but we’re hopeful he makes Ascot and everything is going well so far with his training.”

Scott also provided an update on David Loughnane’s Go Bears Go, who is still on course for the Commonwealth Cup following his run in Haydock’s Sandy Lane Stakes.

Things did not go to plan for the son of Kodi Bear on Merseyside with the three-year-old stumbling leaving the stalls, but he has a fine track record at Ascot and having already scored over the Commonwealth Cup track and trip earlier this season, heads back to Berkshire a best price of 10-1 for Group One glory at the Royal meeting.

“It was just unfortunate that he sort of fell on his knees as the stalls opened and he lost all that ground,” continued Scott.

“He got himself together and stayed on well to finish fourth, but I think the race was over by then and some of his best performances have been when he’s up on the pace, albeit when racing in America when he finished very strongly to finish second.

“He had been down the field that day off a quick pace, so he can do it both ways but in these sprint races you can’t be giving away vital ground at the start and hopefully you will see a different horse when he turns up in the Commonwealth Cup because that is very much still the plan with him.

Royal Ascot Trials Day – Ascot Racecourse
Go Bears Go ridden here by Rossa Ryan (centre) when winning the Pavilion Stakes at Ascot, is set to return to the Berkshire track for the Commonwealth Cup (John Walton/PA)

“I think the stiff six at Ascot will suit him, he’s won twice there and finished second in a Norfolk, so it’s a great track for him.

“Although he’s a sprinting horse, he does stay very well and it has always been the case the jockey has struggled to pull him up after the line, so I think the Commonwealth Cup will be right up his street and after Haydock I think we will end up going there more an underdog than a favourite. We hold him in really high regard and it is going to be exciting to see him run.”

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