British Horseracing Authority News Headlines

Smullen takes Sea ride

Pat Smullen will ride Born To Sea in Saturday's Abu Dhabi Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh, with the colt set to sport a first-time hood.

A half-brother to the brilliant Sea The Stars, Born To Sea ruined his chance in the Newmarket Guineas by pulling much too hard in the early stages and trainer John Oxx hopes the hood will help to keep him calm.

"Born To Sea has been working in a hood and it seems to keep him calm so we're going to run him in it. It's a step up from ear plugs and just covers the whole ear," said Oxx.

"He'd blown his chance after two furlongs at Newmarket so we want to see him relax.

"I haven't raced a horse in a hood for many years, in fact the last time might be when my father still trained.

"Willie Mullins uses ear plugs a lot and Sir Henry Cecil has used a hood recently. It's not a sound thing, it's more to stop the wind whistling. When horses gallop you notice they put their ears flat against their head to try to avoid it."

Oxx also runs Takar, who will be the mount of owner the Aga Khan's retained jockey Johnny Murtagh.

"Pat Smullen will ride Born To Sea as Johnny is retained by His Highness so he rides Takar," Oxx went on.

"With Takar we'll get an idea of how good he is. It's the same for both really as Newmarket was a non-event."

Collina camp's grounds for optimism

Kevin Prendergast is confident the drying ground will suit La Collina in the Etihad Airways Irish 1,000 Guineas at the Curragh on Sunday.

A Group One winner as a two-year-old, she ran a fine race to finish fifth behind Homecoming Queen in the Newmarket equivalent.

"The ground didn't suit her but we were happy she finished pretty good, she kept going to the line," Prendergast told At The Races.

"She didn't grow very much but she's very solid and took the race at Newmarket very well.

"The drying ground - it should be good by Sunday - should suit her well.

"Newmarket was a little bit messy for her. She needs it fast so under the circumstance she ran well.

"I think she could step up in trip. An Irish Oaks winner is in the family so that could be an influence. She's got a high rating, so we'll see on Sunday if she can run up to it."

Nothing grim about Reaper - Lyons

Trainer Ger Lyons is delighted summer has finally arrived for The Reaper ahead of his run in the Weatherbys Ireland Greenlands Stakes on Saturday.

The consistent four-year-old needs to hear his hooves rattle to be seen at his best and with the ground drying out at the Curragh, Lyons is expecting a decent performance.

"He's an intended runner, subject to the ground being suitable. He needs it fast," said the County Meath handler.

"He's a very consistent horse. He went to Dubai and that made a man of him.

"Unfortunately because he needs fast ground and we rarely get it, I think we'll have to do a bit of travelling with him this season. We wanted to run him in the Duke of York but the ground was too soft.

"In Naas last time out we ran him just to make sure he wouldn't act with any cut in it and he hated it.

"The ground should be beautiful by the weekend if the weather stays like it is now.

"There's no programme for Irish sprinters which is why the English have a good record in this. They can run nearly every week if they want to so their sprinters are battle-hardened. Ours need to learn how to do it."

The Greenlands will have to take place without Definightly, who was second in the Palace House Stakes on his reappearance.

"He won't run - it's not soft enough," said trainer Roger Charlton.

Prohibit set to swerve Temple test

Robert Cowell's stable star Prohibit is set to bypass Saturday's Betfred.com Temple Stakes on account of the ground at Haydock.

Last year's King's Stand Stakes winner spearheaded three entries for the Newmarket trainer in the Group Two event, along with Monsieur Joe and Spirit Quartz.

Instead, Prohibit will head for another shot at the Prix Du Gros-Chene on June 3, a race in which he was beaten a head last season.

Cowell tweeted: "Prohibit unlikely participant for the Temple Stakes on Saturday, ground too lively so will head to Chantilly a week later.

"Monsieur Joe and Spirit Quartz are intended runners for the Temple Stakes, both of which are in really good order."

Height a tall order for Coquet

Hughie Morrison admits he has not had the easiest few weeks preparing Coquet for her racecourse return, but finally has his exciting filly back in competition in Thursday's Height of Fashion Stakes at Goodwood.

Coquet still holds an entry in the Investec Oaks due to a fine two-year-old campaign which saw her win her final two starts, a maiden at Wolverhampton and the Listed Montrose Fillies' Stakes at Newmarket.

Jockey-of-the-moment Robert Havlin takes the mount on the daughter of Sir Percy in an interesting mile-and-a-quarter contest, where she must take on John Gosden's Gathering among six rivals.

"She wintered well but she didn't enjoy the cold, wet spring, so I had to back off her a bit. I probably maybe had to rush her a bit to get her ready for this, so I'd say she'll come on for the run," Morrison said.

"She's a fairly straightforward, tough horse and as long as she stays a mile and a quarter, there should be some fun to be had. I'd be surprised if she was ready enough to win, but you never know, and that's why I left her in the Oaks."

Gathering is also making her 2012 bow, having finished her juvenile season with an assured victory at Newmarket in September, and Gosden said: "She has taken time to come to herself this spring but she's now ready for a run."

The remaining quintet have already been seen in action. Roger Charlton's Estrela was third behind Vow in the Lingfield Oaks Trial, but finished comfortably in front of fifth-placed Zimira, who has also been declared by Ed Dunlop.

"Like many people, we are continuing the pursuit of getting black type. She had the run of the race in front at Lingfield but we just thought she might be better suited by a mile and a quarter, rather than a mile and a half," said Charlton.

"Maybe she just wasn't good enough, but she didn't quite finish her race off at Lingfield. It will be interesting to see how she gets on."

Gerard Butler is represented by Zaina, and said: "She fits into the race quite nicely, she's a nice progressive filly and I hope she'll give a good run. She is entered in the Ribblesdale at Royal Ascot. If she ran well, you'd look to go there, but she would need to run well."

Star set for Epsom trip

All roads lead to next week's Investec Oaks for Shirocco Star after her narrow comeback defeat at Newbury.

Hughie Morrison's filly was beaten just a short-head by Momentary in the Swettenham Stud Fillies' Trial Stakes, a race in which subsequent Oaks winner Dancing Rain also finished second last year. It was Shirocco Star's first outing since winning a maiden at the same Berkshire course in October.

"I was pleased with her and she seems to be very well - almost too well. The plan is just to keep her ticking over until Epsom next week," said Morrison.

Aigles among Longchamp contenders

Penitent, Planteur and Colombian feature alongside Cirrus Des Aigles in a list of 10 entries for Sunday's Prix D'Ispahan at Longchamp.

David O'Meara's Penitent has won a Listed race at Doncaster and stepped up on that when landing a Group Two at Sandown on heavy ground. Colombian, trained by John Gosden, raced frequently in France last season and began this campaign with a good win in the Gordon Richards Stakes.

However, they will both have their work cut out against Corine Barande-Barbe's multiple Group One winner Cirrus Des Aigles, who recently landed the Prix Ganay.

O'Meara is a bit concerned about the trip for Penitent as well, admitting: "It's over nearly 10 furlongs and that would be a slight worry. He ran over it twice for William Haggas and you couldn't say he didn't stay on those runs.

"We've beaten the same horse twice this season (Questioning) but the second time we did it easier and we had Dubawi Gold well back in third at Sandown and he wasn't beaten that far by Frankel in the Lockinge. I know the ground was completely different, though.

"There's no opportunities over here for him so we'll give it a go. He'll be my first runner in France."

Reliable Man, Tin Horse and Golden Lilac are also in the mix, although Carlton House and Nahrain have been taken out.

Lyons plots Pearl route

Ger Lyons feels his decision to bypass the Etihad Airways Irish 1,000 Guineas this weekend with Lightening Pearl will be vindicated in the long run.

The Marju filly provided the County Meath handler with his first Group One winner as a trainer when collecting the Cheveley Park Stakes as a juvenile last season. Lyons believes she failed to see out the mile in the Newmarket version and he will now wait for the tyregiant.com Summer Stakes at York in July.

"She's in great order and is very fresh at the moment. She was last off the bridle in the Guineas. In the group chasing the winner, nothing was going better than her two out but she emptied very quickly," said Lyons.

"It was a bit of a mess of a race with what happened at the start, but it was the same for everybody.

"Maybe she didn't stay, that's the big question mark. In my opinion, we are better off missing the Guineas because her sectionals suggested she is all speed.

"We'll go for a Group Three at York in July over six furlongs. The programme for three-year-old sprinters isn't great but they do have a very good record in that race, I think the last three winners have all been her age.

"She won't have her Group One penalty and it looks a lovely race to start her back in.

"I just wasn't able to give Sheikh Fahad the guarantee that she would stay a mile in the Guineas and hopefully it will take a good one to lie up with her at York."

Disappointment for Rooney team

Wayne and Coleen Rooney's horse Tomway managed to beat just one rival home at Chepstow.

Having his second start after making his debut at Chester recently, the Tom Dascombe-trained juvenile was sent off at 12-1 in the 32RedPoker.com Maiden Auction Stakes.

Settled in third early on by Richard Kingscote, he faded when the race began to get serious and dropped out tamely.

Great Leighs fixture bid refused

Great Leighs' application to be given fixtures in 2013 has been turned down by the British Horseracing Authority.

The racecourse, near Chelmsford in Essex, was the first new track to open in Britain for 81 years but only lasted for a few months before going into administration in January 2009. Now under different ownership, there had been hopes towards the end of last year that it could make a return.

The BHA board considered an application on behalf of MC Racetracks at their May meeting but decided not to approve it and has since notified the company of their findings.

Will Lambe, head of external affairs for the BHA, said: "We have informed those involved with the Great Leighs submission of the Board's concerns and although we won't be discussing them publicly, we have offered to provide the racecourse with some guidance as to how they might be addressed in any future applications.

"When it is appropriate, we have said they are welcome to submit an application to be part of the 2014 fixture list."

In response, Keith Brown, chairman of MC Racetracks, said: "We are disappointed that BHA has turned down our application for inclusion in the 2013 fixture process.

"While we satisfied the BHA on a number of issues, particularly our high-quality racing surface, BHA need to be satisfied in other aspects of our application.

"We intend to seek an early meeting with BHA to resolve the outstanding matters before making a new application so that racing can be resumed at Great Leighs at the earliest opportunity."