Foaled in Co. Cork, Ireland on January 30, 1990, Lyric Fantasy was a daughter of Tate Gallery – a full-brother to the exceptional sire Sadler’s Wells – and named, quite cleverly, after an unfinished mural by Augustus John that is housed in the Millbank institution. Bought for just 12,500 guineas as a yearling by the late Lord Carnarvon, Lyric Fantasy was trained by Richard Hannon Snr. and ridden, throughout her two-year-old campaign, by Michael ‘Muis’ Roberts. A small, nay tiny, filly, who stood a little over 14 hand high, Lyric Fantasy was clearly precocious and became known as the ‘Pocket Rocket’. She made her racecourse debut in the Lady Caroline Stakes, over 5 furlongs, at Windsor on April 27, 1992 and, although she had to be hard ridden in the closing stages, ran on to beat previous winner Ancestral Dancer by half a length. With that experience under her belt, the following month she was stepped up in class in the National Stakes, also over 5 furlongs, at Sandown. She met Ancestral Dancer again, on 5lb worse terms than at Windsor, and three other rivals, but quickened clear in the closing stages to win by 6 lengths. On her next start, Lyric Fantasy was stepped up in class again, in the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot. Sent off 11/8 favourite, not only did she make all the running for an impressive 5-length win but, in so doing, recorded a time of 59.72 seconds, a course record for her age group. Consequently, the Newbury Sales Super Sprint Trophy – now the Weatherbys Super Sprint – in which horses are handicapped according to their purchase price as a yearling, looked hers for the taking. Despite Hannon expressing misgivings about her ability to act on rain-softened ground, Lyric Fantasy was sent off 2/5 favourite to maintain her unbeaten record and duly obliged, making most of the running and winning easily by 6 lengths. Her next appearance was in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York in August, in which, as a juvenile filly taking on older horses, she received a colossal weight allowance of 27lb. She was due to carry just 7st 7lb, but Lord Carnarvon ‘allowed’ Roberts – whose usual lowest riding weight was 7st 13lb – to put up 1lb overweight at 7st 8lb. Testament to the impact made by Lyric Fantasy in her juvenile season was the fact that, at York, she was sent off 8/11 favourite ahead of the July Cup winner, Mr. Brooks, also trained by Hannon. In any event, ridden with a little more restraint than was customary, Lyric Fantasy led two furlongs out and ran on strongly to beat her stable companion by half a length. In so doing, she became the first juvenile since Ennis, in 1956, to win the Nunthorpe Stakes and the first juvenile filly to do so. Although she achieved a Timeform Annual Rating of ‘just’ 113 when winning the Nunthorpe Stakes, Lyric Fantasy was, unsurprisingly, named Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly for 1992. Her two-year-old campaign ended in a 2-length defeat by Sayyedati, when stepped up to 6 furlongs for the first time, in the Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket in September and, although she was subsequently sold to John Magnier for 340,000 guineas, Lyric Fantasy didn’t train on as a three-year-old. On her reappearance in April, 1993, she finished only sixth of 12, beaten 3 lengths, behind Sayyedati in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket and, although she won the Charlotte Fillies Stakes, over 6 furlongs, at the same course the following month, she finished seventh of eight, beaten 13½ lengths, in the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot and last of eleven, beaten 14 lengths, in the Nunthorpe Stakes.
Embed from Getty ImagesFoaled on March 26, 2001, La Cucaracha – Spanish for ‘Cockroach’ – was a daughter of high-class sprinter Piccolo, who finished second, beaten 1½ lengths, behind Blue Siren in the Nunthorpe Stakes in 1994, but was awarded the race in the stewards’ room. La Cucaracha would win the Nunthorpe Stakes, too, as a four-year-old, in 2005, but the fact that she was still in training at that stage of her career, never mind winning a Group One race, owed much to the skill of her trainer, Barry Hills. Bred and owned by the late Guy Reed, in whose recognisable colours –gold and black check, pink sleeves and cap – she raced, La Cucaracha was, like many of the progeny of Piccolo, a fast, precocious juvenile. She made her racecourse debut in a lowly median auction maiden stakes race, over 5 furlongs, at Leicester in April, 2003, which she won, easily, by 5 lengths, from the odds-on favourite Fine Silver. Stepped up in class in a fillies’ conditions stakes race at Newbury, also over the minimum trip, the following month she comfortably landed odds of 1/2. Thereafter, though, her career was plagued by injury and she wasn’t seen again until 347 days later in April, 2004. Indeed, her entire three-year-old campaign consisted of just three starts in Listed company in April and May – on all of which she ran well, without winning – before she was off the course again, for a further 313 days, until April, 2005. However, despite being restricted to three starts in the better part of two calendar years, she made a winning reappearance in the Cammidge Trophy, over 6 furlongs, at Doncaster. The following month, La Cucaracha was stepped up to Group company for the first time in the Duke of York Stakes, again over 6 furlongs, at York. On her one and only outing on soft going, she weakened well over a furlong out, eventually finishing ninth of 11, beaten 5 lengths, behind The Kiddykid, whom she’d beaten half a length, on 2lb better terms, in the Cammidge Trophy. Nevertheless, La Cucaracha won her first Group race, the Ballyogan Stakes at the Curragh, on her very next start and, although subsequently only second in the Summer Stakes at York, she also won the Sky Bet Dash, over the same 6 furlongs on the Knavesmire, off top weight of 9st 10lb. Now rated 110, having officially improved by 12lb since the start of the season, she faced her toughest task so far, the Nunthorpe Stakes, over the fast, flat 5-furlong course at York. Despite tackling Group One opposition for the first time and her three wins that season having come over 6 furlongs, she was sent off 7/1 fourth-favourite behind Chineur, who had won the King’s Stand Stakes – run over the same course and distance as the Nunthorpe Stakes that year, during the redevelopment of Ascot Racecourse – on his most recent outing in June. Drawn in stall eight of 16, La Cucaracha was held up in midfield before quickening to lead inside the final and holding on for a narrow victory. At the line, just a neck separated her from The Tatling, whose task was made no easier by a slipping saddle, with Majestic Missile, who was hampered close home, a further length away in third. Her victory, albeit narrow, was the first at Group One level for prolific owner-breeder Guy Reed, after nearly 40 years’ involvement in British horse racing.
New to horse racing and is looking to get already started for this year’s Belmont Stakes Race? No need to worry! For this article will provide you the information you need for this year’s race and would help you understand the Belmont Stakes Race’s betting in a jiffy. Starting with introductions, the Belmont Stakes Race which is also dubbed as the “Test of the Champions” is an American Grade I stake Thoroughbred horse race, and is the third jewel of the Triple Crown race which is contested at the Belmont Park at a distance of 12 furlongs (1 ½ miles) on dirt. Sounds like a fun event, right? Then bet your heart out by understanding the race’s betting system by reading up ahead. Different Horse Race Betting Options To start understanding how the betting of Belmont Stakes works, you should first know that there are different betting options available for you. Knowing what kind of bet you’d do would help you sort out your wagers that you will be doing in the future and shape out the strategies that you will be making in order to win almost any bet that you’ll do. Straight Bets Straight bets are the simplest form of bets that you can place if you are betting on a horse race. This bet just simply means that you are betting on a single horse that would do one good thing for you. Now, the straight bet refers to three types of wagering: win, place, and show. So, what do these three wagers mean? Win. A “win” wager may be the simplest of the three since it is a type of a straight bet wherein you just simply pick out the horse that you think will win the race. Well, you probably already know what would happen if the horse you’ve bet on win, right? ¬¬ —if the horse wins, you win. Place. A “place” is a wager which you usually pay less than the win bet for the reason of improving your odds. How come? Well, for this wager, you get to choose a horse which you think will win in the first or second place. Not bad, right? Show. If the place is a wager that lets you choose a horse that might win the first or second place, then the wager “show” is a bet wherein you wager on a horse that you think will place on either first, second, or third place. In addition, you might want to consider another type of wager which is called “Across the Board”. This wager is a great way for beginners like you to tackle this event. Also, this is an easy way to say that you choose a horse to finish in any of the first three places. Basically, you wage on the three straight bet wages. For example, 2 dollars to win, another 2 dollars to place, and another 2 dollars to show. Now, if the horse wins, then you’ll win on all three wagers. However, if the horse comes second, then you’ll cash on the place and show. If the horse you’ve waged on comes in third, then you’ll just collect on the show. 16 The exotic horse racing betting is when you place a wager on more than one outcome. Meaning, it is the idea wherein one gets to choose more than one occurrence on a single bet slip, it could be betting on the victors of more than one horse race, or betting on the consecutive finishers of one sole horse race. If all of your picks come correctly, in the way you have chosen, then you win the exotic bet. However, if it’s not the case, then you lose. Now, if there’s only a portion of your picks that have succeeded, but one or more failed, then the bet is lost. Quiniella. This form of an exotic wage wherein you must accurately pick the horses that will come in first and second. Quiniella is a type of wager wherein the horse you chose can either finish in first or second place and still win. Exacta. A form of an exotic wage which is almost similar to Quiniella. Wherein the only difference is that you should pick the top two finishing horses in exact order. Due to its slight difficulty, the wager pays better than the Quiniella. Trifecta. Ready to tackle some more complex bets? Then try this type of wager. This kind of exotic bet is the selection of the first, second, and third place in correct and exact order. This type of wag is popular because even a small wager can result in a big payoff due to its difficulty. Superfecta. This type of an exotic bet is like a level-up betting of Trifecta wherein you should exactly pick out who’ll place in first, second, and third.in superfecta, you are required to pick out the first four finishing horses in their exact order of finish. Takeaway Surely this information should help you out since as a budding horse racing enthusiast, it is important for you to know and understand the ways in betting on horse racing so that you will be able to enjoy the event to the fullest and be smart about the wages you make.
Foaled in Ireland on March 17, 2008, Margot Did was a daughter of top-class Australian sprinter Exceed And Excel and proved to be a precocious, smart, if rather unlucky, two-year-old. Owned by Peter Phillip and Tim Redman, trained by Martin Bell at Fitzroy House in Newmarket and ridden, almost exclusively, by Hayley Turner, Margot Did won her maiden, over 6 furlongs, at Newbury at the first time of asking in May, 2010, and followed up, in effortless fashion, in a novice stakes race at Yarmouth ten days later. The following month she was stepped up in class in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot, in which she was beaten a head, and so began a series of agonising near-misses over 6 furlongs in Pattern and Listed company. She was beaten half a length in the Princess Margaret Stakes, also at Ascot, in July, three-quarters of a length in the Lowther Stakes at York, in August, and a nose and a neck in the Dick Poole Fillies’ Stakes at Salisbury, in September. On the final start of her two-year-old campaign, on her first attempt at Group One level, she finished fifth of 11, beaten 6¾ lengths, behind Hooray, who had beaten her in the Lowther Stakes. On her reappearance in April, 2009, Margot Did was again narrowly beaten, this time by a neck and half a length, in the Pavilion Stakes, again over 6 furlongs at Ascot. She attempted 5 furlongs for the first time on her next start, in a conditions stakes race at York in May and, despite a slipping saddle, finished a never-nearer fourth, beaten half a length, a head and a neck, behind odds-on favourite Night Carnation. Thereafter, a change of tactics saw Margot Did ridden more prominently over the minimum trip and she won her next two starts, the Scurry Stakes at Sandown, by 5 lengths, and the Land O’Burns Fillies’ Stakes at Ayr, by a neck. Stepped back up to Group level, in the Sprint Stakes, also at Sandown, in July, she met Night Carnation on the same terms as at York but, having chased the leaders, faded inside the final furlong to finish fourth, beaten 4 lengths, behind her old rival. Nevertheless, Margot Did next lined up in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York, for which she started 20/1 co-eighth choice of the 15 runners behind 11/4 favourite Hoof It, who’d readily won the Stewards’ Cup at Goodwood under 10st on his previous outing. Once again ridden prominently, she took the overall lead on the stands’ side approaching the final furlong and kept on strongly to win by three-quarters of a length. Hamish McGonagall, who’d taken the stands’ side group along, finished second, with Prohibit, who’d tracked the leader on the far side, a further half a length away in third place. The victory was the second at Group One level for Hayley Turner, who’d already won the July Cup on Dream Ahead, and the second for a lady jockey in the Nunthorpe Stakes, after Alex Greaves dead-heated on Ya Malak in 1997. Sadly, Margot Did never won again, finishing last of 15, beaten 13½ lengths, in the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp on the final start of her three-year-old campaign and failing to trouble the judge in five starts as a four-year-old before she was retired from racing in July, 2012.
If ever one horse was genetically predisposed to win one race that horse was Sole Power and that race was the Nunthorpe Stakes at York, although, just for good measure, he won the prestigious 5-furlong contest not once, but twice, in 2010 and 2014. Foaled on March 18, 2007, Sole Power was sired by Kyllachy, who won the Nunthorpe Stakes for Henry Candy in 2002 and was, in turn, sired by Pivotal, who won the Nunthorpe Stakes for Sir Mark Prescott in 1996. He was owned by Mrs. Sabine Power and trained by Edward Lynam in Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath. Destiny or not, his first victory, as a completely unconsidered 100/1 outsider, over a field that contained Kingsgate Native and Borderlescott, winners of the last three renewals, and Staspangledbanner, winner of the Golden Jubilee Stakes and the July Cup – to name but three of his 11 illustrious rivals – sent a shock wave of major proportions through the racing world. Prior to the Nunthorpe Stakes, his best performance in a Pattern race had come on the second start of his three-year-old campaign, when fourth of 12, beaten 2½ lengths, behind Equiano – who was also in the Nunthorpe field – in the Palace House Stakes at Newmarket, when ridden by Wayne Lordan. On that occasion, Sole Power was ridden prominently but, at York, a change of tactics brought about a dramatic change of fortune. As would become his customary style of racing thereafter, he was, for the first time, held up, before unleashing a single, withering burst of acceleration in the closing stages to win decisively by 1¼ lengths from Starspangledbanner. Sole Power ran in the Nunthorpe Stakes in five of the next six years before he was retired from racing, at the age of ten, in March, 2017, on his return from a short, but unsuccessful stint in Dubai. He missed the race in 2011, when connections preferred the Group Three Flying Five Stakes, on home soil, at the Curragh – in which he was beaten, anyway – but finished seventh to Ortensia in 2012, third to Jwala, beaten half a length a nose, in 2013, fourth to Mecca’s Angel in 2015 and eighth to the same horse in 2016. However, in 2014, despite suffering from a skin infection that limited him to just four appearances on British soil, Sole Power was at the top of his game. He won the Palace House Stakes at Newmarket under Ryan Moore and the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot – for the second time – under Richard Hughes en route to his fourth crack at the Nunthorpe Stakes in five years. Ridden, once again, by Richard Hughes, he unsurprisingly started favourite, at 11/4, to land his second renewal, but had things far from all his own way. Held up, as usual, he was switched to challenge on the stands’ side over a furlong out, but denied a clear run and switched back to the centre of the course inside the final furlong, before quickening through a gap between horses close home to win by half a length. Stepper Point finished second, as he’d done in the King’s Stand Stakes, while the next seven horses home, headed by Sprint Stakes winner Extortionist, all finished within 2 lengths of the winner.
