King George 2007 / Lonsdale Cup - not to be

KING GEORGE

In July 2007 Cecil took his connections to Ascot for the King George. As final declarations neared the field diminished in size but not quality, it was a small, but very select field and many felt that Cecil would be outclassed. His starting price was between 33/1 and 66/1. Ascot had never been one of his favourite tracks, the short straight may not be long enough for him to use both his stamina and his finishing speed, but Cecil deserved to take his place in the line up. With prize money down several places and a horse of this calibre you have to go racing and enjoy the moment.

Scorpion appeared to be used as a pacemaker for Dylan Thomas, maybe odd use of a Grp 1 winner, but it proved a brilliant tactic. Noen of them could keep up. Cecil, too far back to catch them was given a sympathetic coast home. He may not have run up to his best, later in the summer it was found he had a minor lung infection. But it was always going to be near impossible to keep pace with the likes of Classic winner Dylan Thomas.

Press Reports prior to and following the race.

Horse Racing: Millman mulling over Cecil tilt at Ascot's King George

Published: 16/07/2007 (Sport) Andrew Scutts

SERGEANT CECIL could bid to put a disappointing run in the Ascot Gold Cup behind him in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at the same course on Saturday week, writes Andrew Scutts.
Though stressing that "no decision has been made yet", trainer R Millman said yesterday that the eight-year-old would be left in at the five-day stage for Europe's midsummer highlight.

"He's very well and is a good horse at whatever trip he tackles, it's just that he's capable of running the odd stinker," said the trainer. "His homework has been good since Ascot, ' where there was no particular reason for his performance. Things didn't work out, that's all. He'd run a couple of races like it before."
Sergeant Cecil finished last of 14, beaten 60 lengths, behind Yeats in the Gold Cup, but he had won the Yorkshire Cup over 1m6f.

The 2005 ROA/Racing Post Horse of the Year has started his last two campaigns over 1m4f in the John Porter Stakes at New-bury, and has won over the King George trip at Ascot.

The key factor in whether Mill-man and owner Terry Cooper opt to run in the King George, for which Sergeant Cecil is a general 66-1 chance, could be the likely number of runners.

With prize-money in the Ascot showpiece down to sixth, last year all the runners in the King George went home with a share of the £750,000 pot.

Horse Racing: It's jockey change No. 11 as Murtagh gets call for Dylan Thomas
Another switch in the saddle for O'Brien's hot King George favourite
Published: 24/07/2007 (Sport) By Tony O'Hehir and Jon Lees
DYLAN THOMAS will have a change of jockey for the 11th race in a row after Johnny Murtagh was drafted in yesterday to ride the red-hot favourite for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.
Murtagh has not ridden the high-class performer for more than a year but is right back in the fold at Ballydoyle this year after not being used between Glorious Goodwood last year and this year's Guineas meeting in May.

He has already recorded a Classic victory for the stable this season, having been handed the Irish Oaks ride on Peeping Fawn at the 11th hour after Kieren Fallon was injured.

The former Irish champion takes over on Dylan Thomas as Christophe Soumillon is banned, Seamie Heffernan may be required at Leopardstown and Fallon is unable to ride in Britain due to corruption charges.

Mick Kinane, whose phenomenal King George record includes five wins, will ride Dylan Thomas's stablemate Scorpion, who was cut to 7-2 (from 5) by Totesport yesterday.

The last time Murtagh rode Dylan Thomas was in the 2006 Derby. On that occasion the Aidan O'Brien-trained colt made most of the running before losing out to Sir Percy and Dragon Dancer in a three-way photo finish.

Murtagh, who won the King George on Alamshar in 2003, also twice rode Dylan Thomas as a two-year-old but has yet to win on him.

O'Brien, who also included Yellowstone among eight declarations, said yesterday: "We've booked Johnny for Dylan Thomas and Mick will again ride Scorpion. At this stage, it's unlikely Yellowstone will run."

Kinane won the Coronation Cup on Scorpion in June before partnering the five-year-old into second place behind Maraahel, a rival again on Saturday, in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Ireland's former champion has the best record of all current jockeys in the big Ascot event with five victories, most recently winning on Azamour two years ago. His other winners include Galileo, who gave O'Brien his only success in 2001.

Dylan Thomas will not be the only challenger who will have a change of partner, with Rod Millman forced to begin a search for a replacement for Sergeant Cecil.

With the race having cut up, Millman signalled that the 'people's horse' is set to take his chance but, with three of the horse's most regular riders unavailable, he will pick from a shortlist of three.

Champion jockey Ryan Moore and Australians Hugh Bowman and Kerrin McEvoy are in the frame, as Frankie Dettori is committed to Godolphin's Laverock, Jimmy Fortune has taken the ride on German challenger Prince Flori and Alan Munro is still sidelined.

Millman said: "Ryan has the advantage of having ridden Sergeant Cecil before, but both Kerrin and Hugh will be considered as well. There won't be a firm decision until I've talked it over with owner Terry Cooper.

"Sergeant Cecil did a fantastic piece of work on Saturday and is in great form. With Yellowstone in the field, there could be a fast pace, which will suit our horse. We know Dylan Thomas doesn't like soft ground and if you take him out the race is wide open.

"We've always wanted him to have a run in a top-class mile-and-a half-race, and now the race has cut up a lot of people will be wishing they could buy our entry from us. He'll be left in the Goodwood Cup as a precaution in case Ascot is abandoned, but if Ascot is on we'll go to Ascot."

Published: 25/07/2007 (Sport) By Rodney Masters

Rod Millman yesterday booked Ryan Moore for Sergeant Cecil in Saturday's showpiece. It will not be an association of strangers, the champion jockey having ridden the eight-year-old in last season's Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp, in which they finished third.

"I'm not saying Sergeant Cecil will win, but he deserves to take his chance," said the trainer. "People will no doubt state he's a two-miler, and while that's true, the key factor is that he's a stayer with a turn of foot - he's not a plodder. I think he'll surprise a few and some of our owners are on at 100-1."

Millman found nothing amiss following a poor performance in the Ascot Gold Cup. "He did get into a bumping match at one stage, and perhaps that was the reason - I don't know," he said.
After a dry day at Ascot yesterday, conditions remained good to soft on the straight course, but improved to soft, good to soft in places on the round course.

Chris Stickels, clerk of the course, said: "The dry conditions have removed the 'heavy in places' from the round course, but in view of the weather forecast of 6mm of rain on Wednesday and another 6mm on Thursday, plus a more persistent belt of rain on Saturday, I wouldn't be surprised if I had to include it again at some stage."

4:20 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Group 1) (Class 1) (3yo+) 1m4f

[off 4:24] £425,850.00, £161,400.00, £80,775.00, £40,275.00, £20,175.00, £10,125.00

1 Dylan Thomas (IRE) 5 A P O´Brien 4 9-7 J Murtagh 5/4F
2 4 Youmzain (IRE) 1 M R Channon 4 9-7 Richard Hughes 12/1
3 3½ Maraahel (IRE) 3 Sir Michael Stoute 6 9-7 v R Hills 6/1
4 ½ Laverock (IRE) 7 Saeed Bin Suroor 5 9-7 L Dettori 11/1
5 3 Scorpion (IRE) 2 A P O´Brien 5 9-7 M J Kinane 3/1
6 5 Sergeant Cecil 4 B R Millman 8 9-7 Ryan Moore 33/1
7 3½ Prince Flori (GER) 6 S Smrczek 4 9-7 Jimmy Fortune 10/1

7 ran TIME 2m 31.11s (slow by 1.11s)

1st OWNER: Mrs John Magnier & M Tabor BRED: Tower Bloodstock TRAINER: A P O'Brien
2nd OWNER: Jaber Abdullah
3rd OWNER: Hamdan Al Maktoum

While all but one of these were already Group 1 winners and two of them had won Classics, there is no escaping the fact that this was a weak renewal. It again attracted an unusually small field, and while an even smaller field a year ago produced a cracking finish that was dominated by three of the best turf middle-distance horses in the world, only Dylan Thomas had any pretensions to being regarded in the same league as the likes of Hurricane Run, Electrocutionist or Heart's Cry.

Even more worryingly, there were no three-year-olds again, and while some of the key reasons are obvious it is a trend that is going to be hard to reverse. While nine of the 11 King Georges run between 1985 and 1995 went to three-year-olds, four of them to Derby winners, there have been only two more in 12 subsequent runnings, and since Alamshar scored in 2003 only Tycoon and Eswarah, who were both down the field, have taken their chance.

In the absence of horses like Authorized and Soldier of Fortune what the race badly needed was an impressive winner, ideally DYLAN THOMAS, who was much the most credible candidate beforehand. Thankfully that's exactly what it got.
Racing for the first time over 1m4f since last summer's impressive win in the Irish Derby, and with stablemate Scorpion to take them along, Dylan Thomas travelled well on the outside of Laverock, disputing fourth and taking a nice hold. As they turned for home and Prince Flori started to lose his place he was perfectly poised on the heels of Maraahel, with Johnny Murtagh still holding on to him, and when shaken up around 2f out he wasn't long taking command. Although he drifted across to the rail as soon as he got to the front and was kept right up to it all the way to the line, he was far too good for these. He won in the style that his RPR of 128 (which made him inferior only to Manduro and Authorized) suggested he might, and by the widest margin since Daylami won in 1999.

Dylan Thomas, who stood out in the paddock, now has the Arc as his main target and he is 7-1 with the Tote. In the meantime he has various options, but the Irish Champion, which he won last year, must be high among them. He will be a force to reckon with wherever he goes, provided that the ground isn't too soft (it had dried out significantly here) and that he gets the decent pace that Scorpion provided here.

Youmzain was ridden even more patiently than the winner, and he still had only Sergeant Cecil behind him until after they had straightened up. He was poised on Dylan Thomas's heels approaching 2f out and Richard Hughes waited for Murtagh to make his move before he made his. Youmzain picked up well to go second inside the final furlong and come clear of the rest, but the winner was simply too good for him. This was a much better effort from the colt, who had such good form with Rail Link and Red Rocks last year, and he too is likely to be aimed at the Arc, with the Breeders' Cup and Hong Kong among his end-of-season options.

The dual Hardwicke winner Maraahel wasonly fifth of six here last year and had been beaten in all 11 previous attempts at this level, but he went down by the minimum margin to Notnowcato in last year's Juddmonte International Stakes (Dylan Thomas and Laverock both behind) and came here at the top of his form. With a visor replacing the blinkers he has worn lately he quickly recovered from a slow start and travelled really well. He responded readily when Scorpion stepped it up at around halfway and moved upsides him on the turn, but when it came to the crunch he was found wanting yet again. A return to shorter for the Juddmonte is on the cards.

Laverock was bidding to give Godolphin a sixth win in the race, but he did not look in the same league as their previous winners and while his Newmarket second under a penalty was reasonably encouraging, it still left him a lot to find. He was always on Dylan Thomas's inner, hugging the rail, but on this drying ground he just didn't have the pace when it mattered. Connections are now likely to take him back abroad in search of a third Group 1 win.

Nobody was admitting that Scorpion was a pacemaker - after all, he is a high-class colt in his own right and a three-time Group 1 winner, including in the Coronation Cup only last month - but that was effectively the role he was given. He performed it well too, racing two or three horses' widths off the rail at a nice enough pace until increasing the tempo at around halfway. He was on the retreat when hampered by Maraahel over a furlong.

Sergeant Cecil has a lot more finishing speed than most who stay as well as he does, but few expected him to be able to mix it with Group 1 middle-distance specialists, especially on a track where the short straight does not play to his strengths.

Prince Flori had top-class German form and had twice run well in France, but he was bidding to succeed where the likes of Platini, Boreal and Acatenango had all failed. Having chased the leader, racing on the rail, he was a bit tight for room on the inside turning for home, but he was already starting to feel the pace. This wasn't his running, but even on his best form he would not have seen which way Dylan Thomas went. [GD]

Lonsdale Cup

Weatherbys Insurance Lonsdale Cup (Group 2) (Class 1) (3yo+) (2m88y) 2m½f

1 Septimus (IRE) 2 A P O´Brien 4 9-1 J Murtagh 6/5F
2 1 Balkan Knight 8 D R C Elsworth 7 9-1 Jimmy Fortune 12/1
3 1 Anna Pavlova 4 R A Fahey 4 8-12 Paul Hanagan 11/1
4 5 Distinction (IRE) 6 Sir Michael Stoute 8 9-1 Ryan Moore 4/1
5 3 Sergeant Cecil 7 B R Millman 8 9-6 L Dettori 6/1
6 nk Percussionist (IRE) 3 J Howard Johnson 6 9-1 Darryll Holland 12/1
7 3½ Juniper Girl (IRE) 9 M L W Bell 4 8-12 Luke Morris 14/1
8 2 Souvenance 1 Sir Mark Prescott 4 8-12 Seb Sanders 33/1
9 47 Mickmacmagoole (IRE) 5 Seamus G O´Donnell 5 9-1 Jamie Spencer 66/1

9 ran TIME 3m 38.82s
1st OWNER: D Smith, Mrs J Magnier, M Tabor BRED: Barronstown Stud & Orpendale TRAINER: A P O'Brien
2nd OWNER: Raymond Tooth
3rd OWNER: Galaxy Racing

Much of the interest here centred on SEPTIMUS, who was stepping up to this trip for the first time. That he proved he possesses the necessary stamina was beyond doubt as he scored in workmanlike fashion. In a race run at a fair pace, generous early, before a slight brief lull at half-way, the winner was always travelling supremely well just behind the leaders. Still running away in Johnny Murtagh's hands once the race began in earnest from the half-mile pole, he was switched right and shaken-up to lead over a furlong out. Not doing a great deal in front, he needed to be rousted all the way to the line, but he was always finding enough to prevail.
His victory, over this trip, opens more doors to him in the future. Much more will surely be heard of him, and there are endless possibilities coming up, including the Irish St Leger, Doncaster Cup and the Melbourne Cup. He does seem a happier with some juice in the ground.

Balkan Knight, better than ever this season, ran a fine race in second, coming from off the pace and sticking to his task in grand style, albeit if just lacking the finishing speed to reel-in the winner.

Anna Pavlova, returning from a three-month break, underlined her versatility with a rock-solid effort over a distance which was new territory for her. Patiently ridden, she was the last to make a move and, running on, if drifting to her left (which she has done in the past), she saw her race out in pleasing style. She could enjoy a lucrative autumn campaign, especially ifgetting the mud on which she clearly revels.

Distinction, who forced the pace until going on at half-way, was unable to shake-off his pursuers once in line for home and was soon put in his place when push came to shove. Having missed the whole of last season, it may take him a little more time before he returns to his peak, though, obviously, now at the age of eight, his best might be some way short of what it was a couple of years ago.

Sergeant Cecil, a four-time winner on this course, and triumphant in this race last year, was penalised here and was forced to concede weight all round. Dropped out early, he made headway from the rear once in line for home, but it was pretty much laboured stuff, on ground which may have too dead for him, and he never genuinely threatened to pose a major threat, in the end being beaten ten lengths by Septimus. There was no disgrace in this performance, but, given the high standards he set for himself previously, you have to wonder whether his best is now behind him; at the age of eight, it would be no surprise, and, one thing is for sure, whatever the future might hold, he owes nobody anything. He is likely to turn out in the Doncaster Cup.

Percussionist, returning after more than three months, was firmly outpointed. Juniper Girl, stepping out of handicap company after her brave victory in the Northumberland Plate, found this too tough. Souvenance was well beaten and Mickmacmagoole, raised significantly in class, finished tailed off. (TO'R)