SERGEANT CECIL NEWS - the 2008 season as it happens

John Porter Stakes 2008, Newbury

Sergeant Cecil started his 2008 campaign where 2007 was started too: in the John Porter Stakes at Newbury on the 19th of april, just run under a sponsors name this time. After a hold-up preparation over the winter The Cecil was not yet fully fit - after all the first main target will be the Yorkshire Cup at York in may - and as the sticky ground certainly didn´t help the matter, failed to make an impact yet. Cecil came out of the race in good shape, and will continue his preparation towards further aims of the season.

from racingpost.co.uk:

2:15 Dubai Tennis Championships Stakes (Registered As The John Porter Stakes) (Group 3) (Class 1) (4yo+) (1m4f5y) 1m4f

[off 2:15] £26,681.90, £10,114.40, £5,061.90, £2,523.90, £1,264.30, £634.50

1 Royal And Regal (IRE) 10 M A Jarvis 4 9-0 N Callan 13/2
2 nk Zaham (USA) 4 M Johnston 4 8-11 R Hills 7/1
3 ¾ Tempelstern (GER) 3 H R A Cecil 4 8-11 b T P Queally
4 ½ Ivy Creek (USA) 8 G Wragg 5 8-12 Steve Drowne 7/1
5 3½ Red Gala 5 Sir Michael Stoute 5 8-12 Ryan Moore 9/1
6 shd Gower Song 14 D R C Elsworth 5 8-12 T Quinn 14/1
7 1¼ Regime (IRE) 1 M L W Bell 4 8-11 Jamie Spencer 15/2
8 nk Big Robert 15 W R Muir 4 8-11 Richard Mullen 50/1
9 1¼ Bauer (IRE) 13 L M Cumani 5 8-12 Dane O´Neill 40/1
10 2½ Malt Or Mash (USA) 12 R Hannon 4 8-11 Richard Hughes 6/1
11 1½ Ajhar (USA) 7 M P Tregoning 4 8-11 Martin Dwyer 20/1
12 9 Sergeant Cecil 2 B R Millman 9 8-12 Darryll Holland 33/1
13 3¾ Petara Bay (IRE) 11 T G Mills 4 8-11 Jim Crowley 40/1
14 3½ Tranquil Tiger 9 H R A Cecil 4 8-11 Ted Durcan 9/2F

14 ran TIME 2m 43.19s (slow by 11.19s)
NON RUNNER: Alfie Flits
1st OWNER: P D Savill BRED: P D Savill TRAINER: M A Jarvis
2nd OWNER: Hamdan Al Maktoum
3rd OWNER: Ennismore Racing I

After a stewards' inquiry, the placings remained unaltered.

The bottom bend on the round course had been pushed out 2.5m overnight. This was an unusually big field. Few could be entirely ruled out, although there were fitness question marks over many of them with only three having raced previously this season, and there were worries over the ground with some of the principals, too. They raced up the centre of the track in the straight, although in the closing stages the principals had all drifted back towards the far rail.
ROYAL AND REGAL, one of only two with a penalty and having his first race for Michael Jarvis, was racing over what is likely to be his minimum trip this year, but conditions made this a fair test of stamina and he confirmed the class he had shown at three in last year’s Jockey Club Cup for Andre Fabre with a good effort, marred only by the incident two furlongs out when he hung left and did Zaham no favours.
The winner will have a Cup campaign, but his owner reportedly has reservations about him as an Ascot Gold Cup horse this year owing to his age group’s dismal record in the race. The Yorkshire Cup is next on the agenda.
....
Sergeant Cecil had been fourth in this race for the last two years, but the vibes had been negative through the week and he was the first beaten and just passed a couple of stragglers before the finish.

Yorkshire Cup 2008, York

from www.racingpost.co.uk:

SERGEANT CECIL returns to one of his happiest stomping grounds for another crack at the Emirates Airline Yorkshire Cup on Friday.

Rod Millman's popular nine-year-old won the Group 2 prize 12 months ago and also came home in front over the same course and distance in the Ebor of 2005.

With two other York wins to his name, Millman is anticipating a bolder show than when he finished 12thon his reappearance.

"He's very well and we're obviously hoping he'll run another good race. He's working well and looks good in himself too," said the trainer.

"He'd had an interrupted preparation ahead of Newbury and I did tell everyone that at the time, but we just wanted to get him back on the track to give him that edge.

"We'd expect to see a different Cecil line upon Friday and he will have come on a lot for his first run."

Sergeant Cecil was a long way behind Royal And Regal last time and while Millman has great respect for that Michael Jarvis-trained rival, he is expecting a closer run thing on Friday.

"He's had some great times at York and he doesn't seem to be showing any signs of ageing but you can never be sure until you see them on the track," he continued.

"Michael's horse looks nice and he put up a great performance in the John Porter but if they don't get any rain he might not run.

"Quicker ground wouldn't worry us too much and although one-mile-six is short enough for our horse, he has had some great results in the race in the past.

"He's finished first and second and if he runs a similar race this year we'll be delighted."

....

2:40 Emirates Airline Yorkshire Cup (Group 2) (Class 1) (4yo+) 1m6f

[off 2:42] £79,478.00, £30,128.00, £15,078.00, £7,518.00, £3,766.00, £1,890.00

Draw TRAINER Age Wgt JOCKEY SP OR TS RPR

1 Geordieland (FR) 2 J A Osborne 7 8-12 Shane Kelly 13/2
2 hd Royal And Regal (IRE) 6 M A Jarvis 4 8-12 N Callan 3/1
3 5 Samuel 4 J L Dunlop 4 8-12 Eddie Ahern 16/1
4 shd Honolulu (IRE) 1 A P O´Brien 4 8-12 J Murtagh 5/4F
5 8 Sergeant Cecil 5 B R Millman 9 8-12 Alan Munro 11/1
6 1¼ Alfie Flits 7 G A Swinbank 6 8-12 Robert Winston 12/1
7 5 Veenwouden 8 E F Vaughan 4 8-9 Kerrin McEvoy 50/1
8 ½ Young Mick 3 G G Margarson 6 8-12 v Ryan Moore 14/1

8 ran TIME 3m 2.47s (slow by 4.47s)
1st OWNER: Mountgrange Stud BRED: Mle Michele Bliard TRAINER: J A Osborne
2nd OWNER: P D Savill
3rd OWNER: Normandie Stud Ltd

After a stewards' inquiry, the placings remained unaltered.

Far from a vintage running of what is often the first big target for the top middle-stayers - there looked no potential Kayf Tara or Marienbard in a field featuring several with something to prove at Group 2 level and a couple whose best days may be behind them.
They did not go a great gallop for much of the way either but that was no problem for GEORDIELAND, who travelled smoothly from the off, has plenty of speed for a stayer and will always be seen to advantage in a test of speed at this trip. He is also notoriously quirky but this race panned out ideally for him, with the leaders dashing clear early in the straight giving him a perfect target. It still took a tremendous ride to get him to the front, his challenge timed to the second as he led in the final strides - in the knowledge that he would have turned it in had he got there any sooner.
Riding Geordieland will always require such precision timing but it should prove potentially rewarding as the seven-year-old has the ability to win more big races - he finished second in the Gold Cup last year and ought to run well again this season so prices of around 16-1 look good each-way value but he probably has the speed to be effective at shorter trips too.
Jockey Club Cup and John Porter Stakes winner Royal And Regal is clearly an up-and-coming young stayer and did nothing here to alter the impression that he has more Group races in him with more give in the ground - this surface was on the firm side for him but he still ran a good race, soon in front, setting just a fair pace until quickening over 4f out and comfortably beating all bar the winner.
That said, if the first two are taken out of the race these turned out a pretty modest bunch by Group 2 standards. Samuel has never won a race and though he has been placed in Listed company and may well prove himself an improved horse this season the fact that he could finish third despite racing freely on this reappearance is a sign of the lack of strength in depth to this field.
Honolulu had looked a high-class stayer in the making when second in the Ebor and third in the St Leger last year but he ended last season on a lower note and lacked the pace to get involved here, outpaced when the tempo increased then keeping on fora slightly laboured fourth. The modest gallop was not in his favour but the signs of inexperience he showed as a three-year-old could also be read as signs that he is less than straightforward and he may just be worth a try in blinkers.
The remainder were comfortably held, with 2007 winner Sergeant Cecil again well below his best - age looks to be catching up with him and possibly with Young Mick too. Alfie Flitts could not confirm the apparent promise of his third in a possibly misleadingrace at Navan on his reappearance, while Veenwouden has yet to find her form this year. [DC]

Henry II Stakes, Sandown 29/05/08

7:15 Betfair Henry II Stakes (Group 2) (Class 1) (4yo+) (2m78y) 2m½f

[off 7:17] £47,970.65, £18,184.40, £9,100.65, £4,537.65, £2,273.05, £1,140.75

Draw TRAINER Age Wgt JOCKEY SP

1 Finalmente 7 S A Callaghan 6 9-2 p L Dettori 16/1
2 hd Balkan Knight 6 D R C Elsworth 8 9-2 Jamie Spencer 10/1
3 nse Royal And Regal (IRE) 5 M A Jarvis 4 9-0 N Callan EvensF
4 1½ Peppertree Lane (IRE) 9 M Johnston 5 9-2 Jimmy Fortune 5/1
5 1½ Sergeant Cecil 1 B R Millman 9 9-2 Alan Munro 33/1
6 nse Enjoy The Moment 8 J A Osborne 5 9-2 Shane Kelly 33/1
7 2¼ Thundering Star (SAF) 11 M F De Kock 5 9-7 K Shea 33/1
8 1 Allegretto (IRE) 4 Sir Michael Stoute 5 9-4 Ryan Moore 3/1

8 ran TIME 3m 54.30s (slow by 20.40s)
NON RUNNERS: Steppe Dancer (IRE) ,Tranquil Tiger ,Tungsten Strike (USA)
1st OWNER: Edward M Kirtland BRED: Helshaw Grange Stud Ltd TRAINER: S A Callaghan
2nd OWNER: Raymond Tooth
3rd OWNER: P D Savill

Three non-runners owing to the ground, which was changed to soft from good to soft following further rain. It still attracted a fair line-up, but it was a non-event as a Gold Cup trial as it was run at a crawl and the winning time was more than 20 seconds slower than standard.
In a sprint finish the first four all traded at odds-on in in running on Betfair. While FINALMENTE took the spoils, he owed his success to a superb ride from Frankie Dettori. It was a tactical affair and he was quite possibly only the third-best horse in the race, for Balkan Knight edged ahead of him well inside the final furlong, before being run out of it close home, and Royal And Regal would probably have beaten them both if he had got out sooner.
The winner was reportedly only 95 per cent here, having missed a couple of gallops following a minor setback, but his fitness was not seriously tested here owing to the nature of the race. Dettori slowed things right down on the back straight and got two or three of his rivals running much too keen, then having made a bee-line for the stands' side on straightening up he was sent for home approaching the three-furlong marker. Challenged on all sides, he held on until Balkan Knight nosed ahead late on and then outbattled him for a narrow win.
He now heads to Royal Ascot for the Gold Cup in which Yeats beat him around eight lengths into fourth last year. He is entitled to finish closer, but it's hard to see him winning and he is still freely available at 25-1.
Balkan Knight, second to Allegretto here last year, has plenty of ability but is notoriously hard to win with. Jamie Spencer, who had not ridden him since they landed a handicap together here five years ago, looked an ideal partner and must have thought he had timed things perfectly, but he still got run out of it.
Royal And Regal looked to have everything going for him, but he got boxed in behind the winner in the sprint up the straight, and by the time he saw daylight on the stands' rail he had a bit too much ground to make up. He stayed on strongly under pressure, but just failed to get there. He had already been taken out of the Gold Cup as connections are conscious of the dismal record four-year-olds have there (backers of heavily supported French colt Coastal Path take note) and feel he is not ready for it this year. He will be rested now until the autumn, when one would imagine races like the Jockey Club Cup again, and possibly the Prix Royal-Oak might come into calculations.
Peppertree Lane, just outstayed over this trip at Ascot, ran well in fourth, fading only inside the final furlong, while Sergeant Cecil has been out of sorts for some time, and although he seemed to show a lot more here he was probably flattered by the way the race was run. He got very keen down the far side, when he needed them to go quicker, but he was in contention for minor honours until the final furlong or so.
Enjoy The Moment will be all the better for this and should be spot-on now for a repeat challenge in the Queen Alexandra Stakes, which he took last year.
The Group 1 winners Thundering Star and Allegretto brought up the rear, but they were not beaten that far. Thundering Star, who had a 5lb penalty for his Group 1 win in a handicap inSouth Africa, was much too keen down the far side, and there was also a question mark over him handling this ground. It would be unfair to judge him on this and he will be worth another chance.
Last year's winner Allegretto, similarly penalised for her Prix Royal-Oak win, has never won first time out and faded in the last two furlongs after making her effort closest to the rail. She, too, must be given another chance.