Inquisitively has all the answers in Cornwallis

Ashley Iveson
October 13, 2023 1:38 pm

Front-runner bags Group Three glory at Newmarket.

Inquisitively showcased his sprinting potential to claim the Newmarket Academy Godolphin Beacon Project Cornwallis Stakes in impressive fashion.

The youngster caught the eye when trained by Ollie Sangster in the early stages of his career, placing in the Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot, but has taken his form to the next level since switching to Kevin Philippart De Foy in Newmarket.

An impressive winner of a Listed race at York during the Ebor Festival, he took the step up to Group Three company in his stride and the 100-30 second favourite displayed plenty of speed from the start as he made all in good style in the hands of William Buick.

It is the biggest success of Philippart De Foy’s training career so far and his exciting speedster is now a 16-1 chance from 20s with Coral for next year’s Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot.

Kevin Philippart De Foy was saddling his first Group winner (Mike Egerton/PA)

The handler admitted the soft conditions were something of a question mark before the race.

He said: “I wasn’t that confident beforehand (because of the ground), but he’s a very tough horse and very professional. He took the lead and grabbed the race from the get-go.

“I think he’s a five-furlong horse. We’ll probably have to try him over six later down the line, but he’s got bags of speed and jumps so well. He relaxes very well in his races, but to me he is a five-furlong horse.

“We’ve had a couple of Listed winners, but I wanted a Group winner and I was very keen to do it with a two-year-old. It’s job done and the next step is to try to get a Group Two or a Group One winner.”

Inquisitively changed hands before his York win and Philippart De Foy is unsure on future plans.

He added: “For the time being he is staying here. He was sold to go to Hong Kong, but I asked if I could run him at York and we decided to go for one more today. I’ll have to speak to the owner, it’s a question mark, but I would love to keep him.

“We’ve got a question mark on the Breeders’ Cup (Juvenile Turf Sprint), but it’s a long way out and we’ll have to talk about it and see. We’ll discuss it, it’s not off the table.”

Paddy Power offer 8-1 about his chance in America.