Eldar Eldarov sets out with hopes of big staying campaign ahead

PA Sport Reporters
May 18, 2023 2:19 pm

Leger hero returns to action in Yorkshire Cup.

Roger Varian will use Friday’s Boodles Yorkshire Cup as a stepping stone for Eldar Eldarov’s Ascot Gold Cup bid.

Last season’s St Leger winner takes on six rivals in the Group Two contest as he bids to bounce back from a sub-par run in his sole start since, when beating just one rival home in Ascot’s Long Distance Cup.

He won the Queen’s Vase and the Doncaster Classic in both starts over a mile and three-quarters, and returns to that trip on the Knavesmire.

Eldar Eldarov wins the Cazoo St Leger at @DoncasterRaces. pic.twitter.com/7sdajSW9RI
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) September 11, 2022

“He’s really doing well of late and has obviously been very good at both tries over this distance,” said Varian.

“We do see him being very effective when he races over Cup distances, but I think a mile and six furlongs is a good distance to start his season off at, and we hope he runs a good, solid race on Friday that means we can then take aim at the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.

“We’ve got to see how he runs, but we would love to see a positive performance, win or lose. It looks a strong race, but he’s a horse we are looking forward to running and hopefully he can come out of the race giving us the collective opinion he can be a Gold Cup horse.”

In an interesting renewal, 2021 Ebor runner-up Quickthorn returns to the scene of last season’s 14-length Lonsdale Cup success for Hughie Morrison.

His trainer is hoping he can start to garner the plaudits he feels the Nathaniel gelding deserves, with Oisin Murphy retaining the ride as regular partner Tom Marquand is unavailable.

“It was a Flightline-type performance, but he didn’t get the Flightline-type recognition,” said Morrison.

“It might have been a once-in-a-lifetime performance, but I do think it was exceptional, and the disappointment was that neither Stradivarius nor Trueshan ran that day, because we’d have got the credit then.

“Coltrane obviously didn’t run to his best, but Quickthorn absolutely dominated him and I think if you look at the sectionals, he went fast all of the way.

“The ground had gone when he went to Longchamp, and it was the same story at Ascot. The year before he’d had enough by October, and I think that was probably a factor again, too.”

Morrison is keen for the habitual front-runner to replicate that form back down in distance after a somewhat disappointing sixth when taken on early in the Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan in March.

“As for Dubai, it wasn’t easy getting him out of a field in December to have him ready for a fast-ground race in Dubai that looked like a Group One three months later,” he added ahead of a race that forms part of the Qipco British Champions Series.

“He ran well, but the Godolphin team knew what they were up to and we weren’t going to get an easy ride. My concern is that I might have left my year behind in Dubai, but I’ve been perfectly happy with him at home.

Broome bids to follow up his Dubai Gold Cup success (Adam Davy/PA)

“Tom Marquand couldn’t commit himself, so I made the decision to go for Oisin at the weekend.

“Oisin knows Quickthorn well and rode him in Dubai, as well as when he won twice two years ago, including at Royal Ascot.”

Broome flashed home to win the Dubai Gold Cup for trainer Aidan O’Brien and jockey Ryan Moore, beating Godolphin’s reopposing Siskany, who was favourite for the principal staying race on World Cup night.

Siskany was successful at the 2022 Dubai Carnival and third in the Group One Grosser Preis von Bayern in Germany at the end of the season.

The Charlie Appleby-trained five-year-old easily won the Group Three Nad Al Sheba Trophy in February before being nabbed close home by Broome last time.

“Siskany put up a couple of decent performances at Meydan over the winter,” Appleby told www.godolphin.com.

“We felt that the two miles of the Dubai Gold Cup was right at his limit and dropping back to a mile and six furlongs will help. He brings a nice profile into the race and conditions look there to suit, so we are expecting a big run.

Giavellotto (right) in action in the St Leger (Tim Goode/PA)

Giavellotto, who was promoted to third in the St Leger after being badly hampered two furlongs out, has a bit to find with Broome and Siskany after subsequently finishing ninth in Meydan.

Trainer Marco Botti said: “I felt he was a bit unlucky in the St Leger. He’s a horse with a big stride and he was checked twice. For me he’d have been much closer otherwise.

“His preparation has gone well since Dubai, where things didn’t really pan out for him from a really wide draw and he ended up a bit too far back. It looks quite a competitive race but he stays well and he’s in good form. He’s in good shape and I’m pleased to see that the ground is drying out as I didn’t want to run him on really soft ground.

“He’s not in the Gold Cup, as that trip might stretch him and we don’t see it as the right race for him, but he has plenty of options.”

Last season’s Yorkshire Cup third Tashkhan is the only runner from a year ago to appear again, while Get Shirty completes the line-up.