Quinault team eyeing Shergar Cup for seven-timer bid

Ashley Iveson
August 7, 2023 1:19 pm

Sprint contest in Stuart Williams’ sights.

Quinault could bid to extend his remarkable winning sequence to seven at the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup on Saturday.

Having begun the season with a basement rating of just 59, the Stuart Williams-trained three-year-old has rattled off six successive victories, seeing his mark rise to a much loftier perch of 97.

Mill Stream, who was beaten a nose by Quinault in a valuable sprint handicap at Newmarket’s July meeting, gave the form a significant boost with a dominant Listed success in France on Sunday.

He’s done it again! 👀
It’s an extraordinary six-timer for win machine Quinault, who edges home in the bet365 Handicap at @NewmarketRace under Connor Planas off a rating of 90, having begun his sequence off a mark of 59!@WilliamsStuart | @bet365 pic.twitter.com/cfH1y7N29S
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 13, 2023

Williams though is looking at another handicap for his fast-improving speedster and views Saturday’s Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Sprint as a suitable target.

“I’ve been very happy with him since the July meeting, he’s been training well,” he said.

“I’ve just entered him for the Shergar Cup on Saturday in the six-furlong race for three-year-olds only. Hopefully that will be his next port of call.”

With jockeys in the Shergar Cup team competition allocated by a series of ballots, Williams will have no say in who rides Quinault in Berkshire.

Stuart Williams with Quinault at Newmarket (Tim Goode/PA)

But with world-class riders like Frankie Dettori, Olivier Peslier, Tom Marquand and Hollie Doyle among those set to be in action, the Newmarket-based trainer is not overly concerned.

He added: “They’ve got some top-class jockeys, so you’d be hopeful that whoever rides him will be able to ride him fine. He’s not a difficult ride on the racecourse.

“He’s obviously surprised us – you wouldn’t have said at the start of the season he’d have a rating pushing 100 at this stage of the year.

“He hasn’t run on anything softer than good ground, but it’s usually fairly good on the straight course at Ascot unless it rains on the day and it’s supposed to be dry towards the end of the week so I can’t see it being a problem.”