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| Staff Writer |
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Epic Poet has emerged as a serious Royal Ascot contender following his courageous performance in the Boodles Yorkshire Cup Stakes at York. Trainer David O'Meara's 6YO campaigner demonstrated his class when finishing a narrow second to Godolphin's globe-trotting Rebel's Romance, going down by just a head in a thrilling finish.
The performance capped a profitable winter campaign in the Middle East, where Epic Poet proved his versatility by finishing runner-up in the Red Sea Turf Handicap before claiming third place in the Dubai Gold Cup. These efforts established him as a genuine player on the international stage.
The Yorkshire Cup provided the perfect stage for Epic Poet to announce his credentials against elite opposition. Rebel's Romance, whose career earnings now exceed US$11.5million, made his first appearance on British soil this season but found Epic Poet a determined adversary throughout the two-mile contest.
Group winners Sweet William, Alsakib and Continuous completed the field behind the leading pair, but the spotlight belonged firmly to the front two as they battled to the line.
O'Meara is now eyeing the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot as Epic Poet's next assignment, representing a drop back to a mile and a half.
"We're considering running him in the Hardwicke at Royal Ascot and coming back a couple of furlongs," O'Meara explained. "He's been a great horse for us and we're thinking of that next, then possibly the Goodwood Cup after that to stretch him back out to two miles.
"He seems very versatile, and he ran a brilliant race in York. We were delighted with him; he bumped into a very good horse that has won a lot of prize-money around the world and we'd no right to beat him – but we got very close."