Haggas upbeat on prospect of Ormonde defence from Hamish

PA Sport Reporters
May 10, 2023 3:38 pm

Last year’s victor back for more at Chester.

Hamish has the chance to dazzle at Chester once again when he defends his tote.co.uk Bet GBP 5 Get GBP 20 Ormonde Stakes crown.

William Haggas’ seven-year-old ran out a comfortable winner of the Group Three contest 12 months ago and will bid to enhance his record on his return to the Roodee.

Following his success last year, Hamish went on to get within a length of Kyprios in the Irish St Leger, before winning the Cumberland Lodge at Ascot and a narrow defeat at Newbury brought the curtain down on his campaign.

A great hour for team Haggas!
Hamish follows Sea La Rosa’s victory in Paris by landing the Group 3 Peroni Nastro Azzurro Cumberland Lodge Stakes at @Ascot under Pat Dobbs… pic.twitter.com/9AhhCa9CVi
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) October 1, 2022

Conditions look ideal for the gelded son of Motivator ahead of his return and having been kept on the sidelines for plenty of the season due to the dry summer last term, connections are keen to make the most of the soft ground while they can.

Haggas said: “He’s very well. He carries a penalty but he’s well. He could have done with a better draw, but he’s ready to go and he enjoys a bit of cut in the ground – I believe it is going to be quite soft up there. He should enjoy that.

“He won OK last year and he was good throughout last year. He’s a pretty good horse who doesn’t run very often. Last year it was dry as a bone and his season was curtailed. But he’s ready to go now and we will try to take advantage of the ground while we have it.”

Changingoftheguard was an impressive winner of the Vase at this meeting last year before finishing a respectable fifth to Desert Crown in the Derby.

Changingoftheguard ridden by Ryan Moore on their way to winning the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot (Adam Davy/PA)

He was last seen scoring at Royal Ascot and reappears after 328 days off the track, bidding to give Aidan O’Brien his sixth victory in the race.

“He was very impressive when beating New London in testing ground in the Chester Vase here last season and followed up with a good fifth in the Derby and then with his King Edward VII win,” the colt’s jockey Ryan Moore told Betfair.

“We never saw him after Royal Ascot as he picked up an injury but we are obviously very happy with him now, or else we wouldn’t be here, and hopefully he can get a Group One on his CV this season. It’s a deep and tough race for a Group Three, but this is a good starting point for him.”

Max Vega got the better of Hamish when the pair met in the St Simon Stakes in October and also finished ahead of stablemate Lone Eagle when third and fifth respectively in the John Porter on reappearance. They give Ralph Beckett a solid hand, while John and Thady Gosden’s Israr proved progressive in the handicap ranks and is upped in trip for his seasonal bow.

“He’s in good form,” said Angus Gold, racing manager for owners Shadwell. “He was in the Chester Cup but John had hoped to get a run into him before now – just to give him a first run of the year – and we just felt that it would be too far for him first time out, so we’ve elected to run in the Ormonde instead.

“He handles easy ground, I know there’s a lot of rain forecast so we hope it doesn’t get too bad, but other than that he’s in good form. He’s a progressive horse and we hope he can run a good race.

“He’s up against it, but he’s going in the right direction and I’m sure he will be a better four-year-old, so it will be interesting to get him out.”

Old Harrovian represents Andrew Balding and is upped in class following back-to-back triumphs in novice events, while Enemy enjoyed a fine winter overseas, winning a Meydan handicap and going close in the valuable Red Sea Turf in Saudi Arabia before finishing down the field on Dubai World Cup night most recently.

The field is complete by Andrew Slattery’s Irish raider Sunchart.