A mighty Double
Sun 29 Sep 2024
Winner 74 of 2024: ONE EYE JACK, trained by Hugo Palmer and ridden by Paul Mulrennan. ‘Happy Birthday Matthew Pendlebury – British EBF Maiden Stakes’ over 1m at Haydock.
After a two-timer at Newmarket on a stormy Thursday afternoon, Hugo Palmer continues to operate in fantastic form and provide our owners with another exciting first-time out-two-year-old winner. We went into the race with one big unknown, whether our son of Starspangledbanner would handle the underfoot conditions, with the going at Haydock officially described as soft after a few days of heavy rain. One Eye Jack was a shade slowly into stride and showed a few signs of inexperience at the early part of the race travelling at the rear of the field. But the pair made good headway turning for home, and stayed on relentlessly to deny the eventual second, and favourite, by a head but 5 ½ lengths clear of the rest. Starspangledbanner needs no introduction to MPR, having had great success with his offspring in the past, and we are very excited about our latest winner by him. A yearling purchase in 2023, who is now likely to line up in the valuable Arqana Series, at the prestigious Prix de l’ Arc de Triomphe Meeting next Saturday with 260,000€ of prizemoney on offer.
"One Eye Jack is trying to close the gap..." - watch the full race replay here: https://www.racingtv.com/results/2024-09-28/haydock-park/1405
Timeform rated his maiden success with an 81+. "Overcame notable inexperience to make a winning debut and seems sure to progress; slowly into stride, held up, ran green, shaken up 2f out, headway over 1f out, chased leader final 1f, squeezed through gap up stand rail to lead post."
Paul Mulrennan spoke to Racing TV after the race: "He is a fine big horse, who probably would prefer better ground, but he coped with the conditions very well today. He was very relaxed in the early parts of the race and saw the mile out well, he will be a nice middle distance horse next year, and has got a great mind."
Syndicate Manager Tom said after his win: "Congratulations. A fantastic win by One Eye Jack. We feared he would still be a little bit green and not yet the finished article, but he must have some engine to overcome that level of "rawness" and finish as well as he did. He clearly handled the ground, but as Paul suggested, he would like to see him on slightly better surface, which is exciting, as this opens up plenty of avenues for us. The penny dropped at the right time and he and the eventual second horse, and favourite, pulling well clear of the rest of the field. A hugely exciting victory. Well done everybody"
Many thanks to John Grossick, find the offical photo gallery here: Grossick Photography
Winner 75 of 2024: OUR MIGHTY MO, trained by Karl Burke and ridden by Sam Feilden. ‘Sky Bet build a Bet Nursery Handicap’ over 7f at Haydock.
Our 16th 2-year-old winner and 9th double of the season, courtesy of OUR MIGHTY MO, who relished the soft conditions and step up in trip at Haydock, was a ready winner of the nursery handicap under a good ride from Sam Feilden. After a level break from the stalls, our son of Kodiac gained the rail and settled nicely into 2nd place. The winning pair had to see off strong challenges from the eventual second-placed horse, but Mo showed a Mighty attitude to re-asset and hit the line hard to win by a length. Another tough and genuine display by our improving 2-year-old. With our 9th double of 2024 and a little help from HOW IMPRESSIVE who finished a close 2nd at Chelmsford later that day, we surpassed £1,6million in prizemoney for the year and are just 5 wins away from an incredible 1600 wins overall.
Watch the full race replay here: https://www.racingtv.com/results/2024-09-28/haydock-park/1625
Timeform rated his second success with an 83. "Claimer ridden, resumed winning ways, relishing the longer trip; prominent, challenged over 2f out, edged ahead final 100 yds, responded well; he's clearly very effective on testing ground, which bodes well for further success in the closing weeks of the season."
Listen to a complimentary Sam Feilden in the winners enclosure after the race:
Many thanks to John Grossick, find the offical photo gallery here: Grossick Photography