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| Staff Writer |
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Jayarebe held off the late challenge from the favourite, King's Gambit, to win the Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Despite having won the London Gold Cup at Newbury, King's Gambit faced a setback with a slow start and found himself at the back of the pack around the home turn. Although he made a strong finish, it wasn't enough, and he finished as the runner-up.
On the other hand, Jayarebe, under jockey Sean Levey, who previously dominated in the Feilden Stakes at Newmarket, secured the victory by three-quarters of a length after taking the lead early in the straight.
This win marked trainer Brian Meehan's second victory of the week at Royal Ascot, following the surprise win of Rashabar in the Coventry Stakes. Levey also doubled his tally with Rosallion's victory in the St James's Palace Stakes earlier that day.
Meehan said: “Sean got him in a great position. He was able to get a breather in and that was key. That never happened at Chester, which was his undoing, along with the track.
"Once he got the position, Sean was able to just take back, get a little breather. That man is riding out of his skin at the moment, it’s so impressive the way he's riding. He knows the horse really well, as he comes in every week.
He added of Jayarebe: “He’s getting better and is still lightly raced. With practice, he is improving and the red hood was a good addition today. It’s more about curbing his exuberance, but when we were saddling, he was calm and we’re going in the right direction.
“What more does he have to do and at this stage he is on the up. This was always the plan – it was Newmarket, Chester, then here. I always said to his owner that we would then explore an autumn campaign and then look at some of the international races for him.
“The Eclipse is a possibility as well, but we will see how he is and I’ll talk to Sean.”
Levey said: “Jayarebe has been doing all the right things at home. Chester didn't suit him. He has a huge stride, I think it's something like 26ft, which is a massive stride for a horse like this.
“We know he stays I got a great break from [stall] 12 and I committed early because I knew he'd stay strong to the line.
"This week is about having the horses that have a chance of winning. They are so hard to find here, it's so competitive.
“When you have a horse and you know how good it is, and it's in the right race and doing everything right at home, then you can ride them with confidence.
Harry Charlton said of King’s Gambit: “It looked like a disaster from furlong one. We were in the worst possible position on the Round Course, and he’s run monstrously well to get anywhere near them.
“You can see how good he is, and we’ll enjoy him down the line.”
1st- Jayarebe (Iraj Parvizi) Brian Meehan / Sean Levey
2nd- King’s Gambit (Mohammed Jaber) Harry Charlton / William Buick
3rd- Bellum Justum (King Power Racing) Andrew Balding