Crisfords hoping West can be best at Newmarket

Simon Milham
May 4, 2023 3:00 pm

Hurricane Lane among the opposition in Jockey Club Stakes.

The progressive West Wind Blows will take on a quartet of rivals in the Jockey Club Stakes, with Ed Crisford mindful he needs to settle to show his best at Newmarket on Friday.

The four-year-old takes on the might of triple Group One winner Hurricane Lane and Godolphin’s second string, recent Meydan Group Two scorer Global Storm, in the 10-furlong contest.

Yet Crisford, who trains in partnership with his father Simon, is confident this outing will bring on West Wind Blows for what promises to be a “fun” summer campaign for the Abdulla Al Mansoori-owned Teofilo colt.

“This is a pretty good horse I think.”
West Wind Blows went a good gallop in the Listed Glasgow Stakes at @HamiltonParkRC and is getting better and better.
Voltigeur type? #TheVerdict | @AngusMcNae | @gainsboroughHQ pic.twitter.com/slo0epH45l

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 18, 2022

“He ran in the Derby then won a Listed race at Hamilton and won well. It all went wrong a little bit at Goodwood in the Gordon Stakes, but then he did progress,” said Crisford.

Dropped back to 10 furlongs in the Prix du Prince d’Orange at ParisLongchamp in September, he gained the third success in his six-race career before finding a couple of talented rivals too good in the Prix Dollar over the same course and distance in very soft ground a month later.

Crisford added: “He settled a lot better and won well in Paris when he won the Group Three, and then stepped up again on ground that wouldn’t suit him as much as a sounder surface and he got beaten again by two very good horses that day – Owen Burrows’ horse Anmaat and Andre Fabre’s Junko.”

West Wind Blows holds entries that include both the Coronation Cup at Epsom and the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, but he is versatile over 10 furlongs and is not ground dependent.

“We always thought that a mile and a half, if he could settle, would be a good trip for him,” said Crisford.

“He seems to have grown up with racing last year and through the winter this year.

“He has strengthened nicely into his four-year-old year. The Jockey Club is close to home and it is a small field, although very competitive, but it just seems a nice starting point for him.

“I think he is quite versatile in regards to ground, although I do think a sound surface would be better. He is a good-moving horse, but if he can settle, I think he can be a lot of fun for us over the summer.

“I think we will just have to see how he gets on before we make any decisions. It is his first run of the year and we have to take it from there.”

Charlie Appleby has two runners in the blue silks of Godolphin, with both Global Storm and Hurricane Lane lining up.

Hurricane Lane winning the St Leger (Mike Egerton/PA)

The latter horse is a three-time Group One winner with an Irish Derby, Grand Prix de Paris and St Leger under his belt, but he has not been successful since Doncaster in 2021 and was last of seven when last seen in the John Porter.

“Hurricane Lane was disappointing at Newbury. The ground was very testing that day and he was racing on the back of a long layoff,” the trainer told www.godolphin.com

“William (Buick) felt that he got very tired in the last couple of furlongs. From what we have seen at home, he has come out of the race very well.

“We have applied the cheekpieces to hopefully encourage some more enthusiasm.”

Of his other runner he added: “Global Storm is a good, solid horse and has proven in the past that he can be competitive in this calibre of race.”

Archie Watson’s internationally-campaigned Outbox is set to contest the race after finishing third in it last season, with Rae Guest’s Jewel In My Crown completing the field of five.