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CHESTER 1.30, LILY AGNES CONDITIONS STAKES, 5F 15YD
The traditional fast-and-furious opening to Chester’s May meeting, although the initial entry of a dozen runners has been whittled down to eight by non-runners, including three that were initially drawn eight or higher. The hugely significant stall one, meanwhile, went to Karl Burke’s unbeaten Ali Shuffle, who would probably have started favourite in any case as a result of her perfect two-from-two record, but is now odds-on to make the most of her luck in the draw. She is also top on Timeform ratings and has the best timefigure in the race too, so unless she blows the start, she is likely to be very difficult to beat. Miss Piggle, from Hugo Palmer’s local yard, was the 7-2 second favourite this morning but she is out to 5-1 now as the money comes for Ali Shuffle and there will be some seriously burned fingers among the backers if she fails to oblige.
SELECTION: ALI SHUFFLE.
Thady Gosden has been speaking to the Nick Luck Daily Podcast about the decision to sack Kieran Shoemark as the stable’s No.1 jockey and demote him to the pool of riders from which the stable will pick “the best available” in future.
“Naturally since Saturday, myself and John have gone through things together and decided the best policy going forward is to adopt a best available rider strategy,” Gosden said.
“Of course, it is still very early in the season and there is plenty of time still to go, but we believe that is the best way for the stable to go, to have the best available rider, alongside of course a different number of retained riders pre-existing in the yard.”
Preamble … and Shoemark sacked by Gosdens
Good morning from the Roodee, where one of Britain’s most popular and historic Flat tracks will stage two significant Classic trials later today – the Chester Vase and Chester Oaks – but the early talk is all about the news that Kieran Shoemark has been sacked from his role as No 1 jockey to John & Thady Gosden’s powerful Newmarket stable, just four days after steering Field Of Gold, the favourite, into a fast-finishing second place in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket.
John Gosden, who was hoping to complete the full set of English Classics on Saturday by winning the 2,000 Guineas for the first time, seemed fairly philosophical in the immediate aftermath.
“We were sitting some way back and quite frankly, the winner has kicked and gone and we have run out of racetrack,” he said. “In another probably 25 yards the race would have been ours. You know when this track gets firm like this, it rides slick and with a bit of cross tailwind, they can just get away from you. It just got away from us today I am afraid, as we came into the Dip. He was clawing the ground back but it was too late.”
On further reflection, though, the trainer seems to have decided that enough blame attaches to Shoemark to merit a change of stable jockey (although, as the trainer has often pointed out too, several owners in the yard already have retained riders of their own).
The ultimate sanction for Shoemark does feel a little harsh in the circumstances. William Buick, on the winner, Ruling Court, got first run on Field Of Gold, but his draw, one stall outside the runner-up, had allowed him to take a slightly more prominent position within a furlong of the start. Shoemark did not do too much wrong but Buick, with his much great wealth of big-race experience, did everything right, from a better position in the early stages.
Shoemark – somewhat oddly, perhaps, given the news – is still expected to ride the stable’s two runners, Queen Of Thieves (2.35) and Marnier (4.10) at Chester today, with Gosden expected to use “the best available” from now on when an owner does not have a retained jockey.
Elsewhere on the card, the eight-runner Chester Vase includes four Derby entries – Lambourn, Lazy Griff, Pinhole and Thrice – while the action is under way at 1.30pm with the Lily Agnes Stakes, where Karl Burke’s Ali Shuffle, in stall one, has been backed down to odds-on favouritism.
