Crowley Calls It: “This is one of the best Juddmonte renewals for a good few years”

Every horse in the race deserves their place, and it’s going to be a fascinating race.  Hopefully the track will play to Ulysses’ strengths, I’m glad it’s not a big field, it’s small but select and hopefully he can run another big race. 

We beat Barney Roy at Sandown, although obviously not by much, and Cliffs Of Moher was also behind us in the Coral-Eclipse, and then there’s Churchill stepping up in trip, so it really is top-class, but I wouldn’t swap my fella for any of them.

He ran a super race in the King George on ground that wasn’t ideal, and I couldn’t have asked any more of him that day.

This will be the fourth time I’ve ridden Ulysses, and he’s a horse that you need to ride with plenty of confidence, so I’m really looking forward to this, races and horses like this are what it’s all about!

4.50 – Nursery Handicap

I end day one of this meeting on Tathmeen for the boss, Sheikh Hamdan.  He made it third time lucky when winning by six lengths at Newbury last month on soft ground, it wasn’t a strong race but he’s clearly going the right way and has some big race entries.  He gave me a good feel, and while he wouldn’t want really fast ground, good ground would be perfect.

Thoughts on Massaat

Looking back to last Saturday, and I was really pleasantly surprised by the way Massaat won the Hungerford Stakes.  After a long absence I thought he might be a bit rusty, so it was a great training performance by Owen [Burrows] to bring the horse back after a year off. 

He ran in the Derby which was too far for him, so over the shorter trip and on easier ground, I really do think the sky’s the limit for him now.  There are plenty of options for him now in the Autumn, races like the Moulin, the Foret and the QE II. 

He’s been second in the 2,000 Guineas so he’s a proper Group One horse, and he’s a big, heavy-topped horse, so ground with a bit of give in it, like we should get at Ascot for Champions day, will suit him perfectly, and I’m really looking forward to getting back on him.

Check out our preview of the day’s races here.