The Foxes springs a surprise in Royal Lodge

Nick Robson
September 24, 2022 1:19 pm

Hot favourite Flying Honours only third in Rowley Mile Group Two.

There was a minor shock in the Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket as The Foxes confirmed the promise of his Goodwood maiden victory by scoring at Group-race level for the first time.

The Andrew Balding-trained colt cost 440,000 guineas as a yearling, but took three outings to open his account – beating Classic on his most recent outing on the Sussex Downs in July.

Jockey David Probert was in no rush aboard the son of Churchill stepping up to Group Two company as the four-runner field made their way down the Rowley Mile in diamond formation.

HUGE upset in a muddling renewal of the Group 2 @JuddmonteFarms Royal Lodge Stakes @NewmarketRace 😱
2-7 favourite Flying Honours could only finish third as The Foxes – trained by @AndrewBalding2 and ridden by @davidprobert9 – does the business along the far rail. pic.twitter.com/FbIhJpVFVb
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) September 24, 2022

It was Dubai Mile who took them along in the hands of Daniel Muscutt and the full quartet were all in with a chance as the riders got to work inside the closing stages.

The Foxes picked up best when meeting the rising ground and the 17-2 winner returned a winning margin of half a length over game runner-up Dubai Mile, with 2-7 favourite Flying Honours back in third.

Balding said of the winner: “He showed a good attitude. It turned into a very tactical race and it wasn’t really how we wanted to ride him as we thought they’d go a stronger gallop than that, so he’s done very well to get the job done.

“I loved the way he galloped and put his head down, so we’re very pleased.

Andrew Balding at Newmarket (David Davies/PA)

“We were trying to get King Power (owners) as many chances at Royal Ascot as we could, so we sort of rushed his programme a little bit, but we’ve always thought highly of him.

“We had to regroup after Ascot, but he’s done nothing wrong since then.

“I would have thought that would be it for this season. He’s got the entry in the Futurity at Doncaster, but he’s a horse that will go on next year.”

Appleby said of the beaten favourite: “We’ll just put a line through that – it was a strangely run race. Whether we give him another run I’m not sure, we’ll see how he comes out of it.

“I might just give him one more to tighten him up. He is in at Doncaster, but there’s a handy race here in a couple of weeks, the Autumn Stakes. He knows the track now.”