 |
|
| Staff Writer |
 |
Jockey Callum Shepherd and trainer George Scott secured their first ever victory at Royal Ascot when Isle Of Jura triumphed in the Gr.2 Hardwicke Stakes.
Shepherd showed his emotions as he acknowledged the cheering crowd when the 4YO Isle Of Jura finished nearly four lengths ahead of Goliath, with Middle Earth coming in third three quarters of a length behind. Continuous, ended up in fifth place.
Isle Of Jura has shown significant improvement over the past year and had a successful run while racing in Bahrain during the winter, winning four out of five starts. The horse is owned by Bahrain’s Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
Shepherd's display of joy came just weeks after he was replaced in the Lingfield Derby Trial-winning duo, which eventually participated in the Derby.
Shepherd said: “Isle Of Jura has been amazing. We took him over for that handicap series in Bahrain initially, and obviously you hope he’s going to be better than that, but at that stage we had no idea. He just kept improving; he’s never let us down and has got better with every start.
“He has become very straightforward, and he has a real desire to win as well. He was rusty at Goodwood, but you still saw that innate desire to pass the post in front, which is so important. It’s so wonderful for his owner, Sheikh Nasser; it was lovely he went over there so they could enjoy him on home soil, so to speak, and he’s come back and continued to climb.
“Isle Of Jura was so good today – he loves quick ground and stays a mile and a half very well. Six weeks ago I thought I’d found my diamond [Ambiente Friendly] and that wasn’t to be, but Isle Of Jura has certainly blossomed into one.
“He has not stopped improving so far with every start, so hopefully he can continue that way. If you look at him as a physical specimen, you would hope the best is yet to come. He is actually a very lazy work horse at home – he’d go by a 70 horse and that’s pretty much all he’d push himself to achieve. But George and his team have done such a good job - they’ve got it absolutely to a T.”
Scott said: “Isle Of Jura is a special horse. He has improved all the time and has been a pleasure to train. He has just kept improving physically – he is the most ginormous horse. He is a beautiful mover and a lot of hard work has gone into him at home.
“The finish was a moment I will never forget, everything stopped for a minute and I could enjoy the last half-furlong. Most best-laid plans go to pot, but this has been a long-term plan. This was an obvious race for him. We knew Goodwood would bring him on, and it has. We knew he would get the ground, and he has. It was a scintillating performance, so we shall enjoy it.”
He added: “Callum gave him a perfect ride. He sat nice and tight to a slow pace. He was in pole position and able to make use of his position, kick nice and early and put the race to bed.”
Goliath’s trainer Francis-Henri Graffard said: “We came here because we wanted to avoid the French style of racing, with no pace, and unfortunately today they decided to do a little bit of the same.
“My horse was a bit too keen through the race; he’s difficult to manage, but not too bad today. I walked the course and there was a good cover of grass and I thought it was safe ground for him, but he’s probably better with a bit of cut. He has to settle in his races to be able to stay and to produce a good turn of foot, but we are very pleased with the run - he’s a very nice horse and we beat some very nice horses, too.
“He’s entered in the King George, but we’ll see what the weather forecast is. It is a long journey and a tough race, but why not?”
Oisin Murphy said of Middle Earth: “I didn’t want to be back at the field but, as I said before the race, Middle Earth is a bit of a slow starter. He travelled and finished very well.
“He ran home the last three furlongs in, I’d imagine, the quickest time of the race, so you have to be grateful for that. He’s probably run up to his rating. It wouldn’t surprise me if he went to the King George, but it would be lovely to win a Group Two on the way to more difficult races.”
1st- Isle Of Jura (Victorious Racing) George Scott / Callum Shepherd
2nd- Goliath (Philip Baron Von Ullmann) Francis-Henri Graffard /Maxime Guyon
3rd- Middle Earth (Qatar Bloodstock & Ciaron Maher) John & Thady Gosden / Oisin Murphy