Cunningham has Classic aspirations for Yah Mo Be There

The form of his Rose Bowl Stakes win at Newbury has worked out well.

Yah Mo Be There has been touted as a “lively outsider for the Guineas” by owner Phil Cunningham after the two-year-old’s brief but promising juvenile campaign.

The Richard Spencer-trained colt made an impression on debut when he went down by a short head to Karl Burke’s Andesite during the Dante Festival at York in May.

That performance immediately saw him step up to Pattern company at Royal Ascot, but he finished down the field in the Coventry Stakes despite high expectations from connections.

However, he bounced back by becoming the first black-type winner for sire Mohaather when landing the Rose Bowl Stakes at Newbury in July, seeing off subsequent Rockingham Stakes winner Jungle Drums on what proved to be his final start of the year.

As a result, Yah Mo Be There has been set big targets by Cunningham, who famously saw Cockney Rebel carry his colours to English and Irish 2000 Guineas glory in 2007.

Yah Mo Be There en route to victory in the Rose Bowl Stakes at Newbury
Yah Mo Be There en route to victory in the Rose Bowl Stakes at Newbury (David Davies/PA)

“He had a small little issue after he won the Rose Bowl at Newbury, but he looks a lovely horse. He will get the mile and we will start him off in the Guineas trial at Newbury,” said Cunningham.

“I think it will be one of those form lines (the Newbury victory) that will come to the fore as the season starts next year, but he’s a very, very nice horse.

“I was gutted, I thought he was going to win the Coventry Stakes. Obviously, things didn’t pan out for him that day but I think he’s a lively outsider for the Guineas.”

Cunningham and Spencer have an array of juvenile talent this year, with Candy the latest to enter the winner’s enclosure when securing the Two Year Old Trophy at Redcar earlier this month.

After struggling to make a mark at five furlongs on his first four starts, the Ardad colt stepped up in trip and took the runner-up spot at Newbury in August.

He returned to the Berkshire venue to claim his first success in September, which was soon followed by a win at Ayr before completing his treble at Redcar.

“He’s fantastic. Tremendous performance, fantastic by George (Wood) up at Redcar. He’s a lovely horse,” Cunningham added.

“I think the whole thing looks like we’ve been smarter than we are. He’s been a lovely, fun purchase. At the start of the season he had some maturity issues, but maybe putting him away for a little bit has done him good.

“I think he’s probably finished for the year. If you look at what races are available to him, it’s going to be Listed races carrying a penalty and I’d rather keep the dream alive over the winter and what we are going to do is have a proper crack at the All-Weather Championships.

“We will give him a bit of a rest, then we’ll probably bring him back early next season and possibly have a crack at one of those trials and see where we go from there.

“With the versatility ground-wise, it would be nice to get him going earlier so he can hit the start of the turf as well.”

Another on the conveyor belt at Sefton Lodge is Righthere Rightnow, who breezed to a five-length victory on debut at Newmarket in August.

He was a strong contender for the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster on St Leger day, but he was keen during the early stages of that Group Two contest and faded to finish last of five, leaving question marks over his optimum distance heading into his three-year-old campaign.

“He’s great, I was devastated after Doncaster,” Cunningham admitted. “It was all over before it started for him, he’d sort of run away from Rossa (Ryan, jockey) down to the start, was very keen during his race and he wasn’t meant to go off like that.

“He looked magnificent when he won at Newmarket. He’s finished for the year and I think whilst his pedigree suggested he should be looking more along the sprint trips, the way he won at Newmarket suggested otherwise.

“I think we feel that we might start him off over six furlongs next year and see where we go from there.

“Maybe it was the way it was ran at Newmarket, they went very slow at the start and his last sectional was the fastest of the meeting – the last two-furlong sectional – but it was the way he finished out.

“He might turn out to be a miler, but I’m not too sure, so we will start him out at six and see where we go from there.”

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