'His price is a bit of an insult and I was surprised when I saw it' - trainers have their say on the John Smith's Cup

With big meetings taking place in the south at Newmarket and Ascot, it’s always interesting to see which leading jockeys make the trip north instead to York for the John Smith’s Cup.

Tom Marquand rode at Newmarket and Longchamp in a cross-Channel jaunt yesterday and is one of the higher-profile riders on show in this feature. He is probably primarily here to ride Hamish in the Silver Cup, but his mount Millebosc can’t be ignored given the rain.

The 2021 Prix du Jockey Club third gained his sole win for Stephanie Nigge in France on heavy ground at Deauville and the newly gelded son of Le Havre will evidently be suited by slower going.

His sole run for new trainer William Haggas resulted in a fifth of ten at Lingfield last November and he has to overcome a long absence, but the last three winners of this were making their seasonal reappearance and runners from this stable rarely lack fitness.

Haggas is also 27 per cent (29-107) with those having their first run after being gelded in recent seasons and that suggests Millebosc might show the benefit of the procedure in this contest.

Andrea Atzeni is also here and he has landed the plumb mount on Sea The Casper, who has recorded improved Racing Post Ratings on his last three outings and is progressing rapidly.

He carries a 5lb penalty for a wide-margin win on the all-weather at Lingfield last month, but is 4lb well in as a result and trainers Simon and Ed Crisford enjoy plenty of success on the Knavesmire. They are 29 per cent at the track in recent seasons and will have aimed for this.

Long Tradition is another wide-margin all-weather winner who is bidding to defy a penalty and he is due to race off a mark of 100 in future, so is therefore 9lb well in going from 91.

Saeed bin Suroor switched cheekpieces for a hood when Long Tradition scored at Chelmsford last month and that headgear is retained here, but this is turf and not sand.

Long Tradition is 2-3 on the all-weather and 0-4 on grass, but his second-highest RPR was achieved on soft turf at Newbury and he was returning from 607 days off last time. He is therefore entitled to come on for that run and should have no problem with the rain coming.
Race analysis by Graeme Rodway

Another ace for Atzeni?

Andrea Atzeni might seem a handy jockey to have on your side for this.

He won the race on Danchai in 2013 and followed up a year later on Farraaj.

Andrea Atzeni winning the 2014 John Smith's Cup on FarraajCredit: John Grossick

In Sea The Casper, he has an unfamiliar mount, but one full of promise after just eight starts.

Only once has the four-year-old finished out of the first three, so Atzeni must like what awaits him.

Sea The Casper is trained by Simon Crisford and his son Ed, who said: "He's just grown up and strengthened over the winter. He was very impressive at Lingfield last time, he settled nicely and showed a good turn of foot, which we hadn't seen before on the racetrack.

"This race is always very competitive and you've got to be very good quality to win it but he's got a good draw in stall four and he's a horse on the up. We'll judge him against this sort of company but if he comes through it we could see him in stakes races down the line, there are lots of options for him."

What they say

Amy Murphy, trainer of Pride Of America
I do think his price is a bit of an insult and was surprised when I saw it, but he's in good form and has done very little wrong on his starts for us. Every bit of rain that comes will help. He wasn't beaten far in a Group race in France last time, but the ground was quicker than advertised and I verged on taking him out. He ran, which was probably a mistake on my part as my stick wouldn't even go in an inch. He likes to go forward, which he can do from his draw in stall two. Those tactics might not suit a big-field handicap like this, but that's what he enjoys so I hope we can get away with it.

Daniel Kubler: trainer has booked Tom Eaves for Astro KingCredit: Edward Whitaker

Daniel Kubler, joint-trainer of Astro King
If he hadn’t run in the Hunt Cup, what price would he be for this? His first run for us at York was very encouraging. Our analytics and stuff that we do would suggest that he should get a mile and a quarter. It’s definitely something that’s worth exploring further. I suppose the only thing is we wouldn’t want loads of rain. That would be the one thing we’re a little bit concerned about. We thought we’d move fairly early on booking Tom Eaves because this Saturday can be pretty complicated. Tom knows his way round York.

Richard Hannon, trainer of Dawn Of Liberation
He was a little disappointing in the Hunt Cup last time but the ground was plenty quick enough and I think he’s ready for a rise in trip. The handicapper is giving him no leeway whatsoever, so I can’t be confident he’s up to winning this off his current mark, but he’s in good shape and could go nicely on ground that will suit.

William Haggas, trainer of Millebosc
He's all right and has been training well. He's an interesting character, but has been going nicely and we are very happy with him. I don't particularly like his draw in stall 20, but any rain will suit him. I'm hopeful.

Jim Goldie, trainer of Faylaq
He's well drawn in stall one and I'd rather be there than out in the car park. I imagine, if we get a decent position, we'll be a player at some stage. The trip might be a wee bit sharp for him, but he travels well in his races.
Reporting by James Burn

Read our Saturday previews:

1.45 Ascot: Can Mountain Peak 'rediscover his mojo' and win race again on 8lb better terms? 

2.20 Ascot: 'It's what we've been waiting for' - which trainer hopes forecast rain will arrive to help his top miler? 

3.25 Newmarket: Who will fare best in clash of heavyweights? Analysis and quotes for Superlative Stakes showdown 

4.00 Newmarket: 'If he goes well, you could see him in stakes company down the line' - trainers on the Bunbury Cup 

4.35 Newmarket: Shaquille 'open to further improvement' as sprint star chases July Cup glory 

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