Lavazza group not rewarded as Chalk Stream gains handicap
Jockey William Buick rides Century Dream to victory in the Diomed Stakes on the second day of the Epsom Derby Festival in Surrey, southern England on June 2, 2018.
Lavazza sponsored the feature £75,000 handicap at Ascot, but it was a bitter ending for William Haggas, despite him walking away with currency from the Queen's Chalk Stream (Cieran Fallon 13-2).
William was predicted to enjoy a one-two, but his rider Adam Farragher weighed in light after a wardrobe malfunction on Candleford.
Subsequently, the horse was disqualified from second spot - a mandatory sentence for such weighing-room errors. It meant True Courage (Dylan Hogan 50-1), and Champagne Piaff (Shane Kelly 7-1), were promoted.
What exactly happened? William didn't put the saddle cloth on. It had 5lb of weight pads. Such is life, plus a hefty fine, with no excuses.
The 1.4-mile Lavazza Stakes had ten runners, with Chalk Stream, chalking up 2:31:8/10. Stay Well (Rob Hornby 16-1), did not live up to his name, 19 lengths last.
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They say that jump jockeys are pessimists, so trainer Kevin Ryan had no positivity behind Emaraaty Ana (Andrea Atzeni 11-1).
They crossed the Betfair Sprint Cup wire, a fraction ahead of Starman (Tom Marquand evens), so Kevin was eventually happy with his Group 1 specialist.
Emaaraty Ana was chugging along at high speed with Starman down her neck all the way. Starman only failed by a moustache, which is enough to give heartache to gamblers thinking he would be invincible.
Owner of Emaraaty, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, is ultimately the most patient client ever. He will wait relentlessly for the ideal moment to enter.
Past mistakes were rectified. Emaraaty only needed to be settled, rather than going full throttle. Now there is a possibility of the Breeders' Turf Sprint, with Kevin winning in 2020 with Glass Slippers.
Starman ran crackingly. It was no disgrace. Chil Chil (David Probert 22-1), and Happy Romance (Sean Levy 25-1), were right there, less than a neck behind. Photo-finish was too beautiful for words.
Emaraaty Ana drew 1:09:1/10 for 1,200m, which is fast by any standards. Our best Ngong sprinters usually clock in around1:11:00. Creative Force (William Buick 6-1), was really fancied, but after stumbling at the start, it caused a huge blow to his momentum.
