James Owen 'bloody excited' as Wimbledon Hawkeye takes on powerhouse stables in wide-open Futurity Trophy

The last time the Gredley colours were carried to Group 1 success on Town Moor was back in 1992 when User Friendly won the St Leger, and Wimbledon Hawkeye has the job of emulating that feat in the William Hill Futurity Stakes.

The Royal Lodge winner reopposes second-placed Royal Playwright and six others and his trainer James Owen is positive about his chances.

He said: “I’m bloody nervous but bloody excited at the same time for our team and about his chances and it’s great to be competing in a Group 1.

“We have all our fingers and toes crossed but hopefully he does himself justice. We always thought a mile would suit him, which he proved when winning the Royal Lodge, and he’s been training really well since. He looks great and I don’t see any reason why he can’t repeat that.”

Wimbledon Hawkeye: won the Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket last timeCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

On the likely soft ground conditions, Owen said: “He handed similar ground at Newmarket and he’s very straightforward. He never hit a flat spot on the Rowley Mile and we think a flat mile will help him. We’ll leave it to James Doyle where he puts him in the race as he knows the horse well.”

Owen is breaking new territory as the son of Kameko will be his first runner in a Group 1, just a couple of years after the Newmarket trainer opted to concentrate most of his operation on the Flat.

James Owen: "This is new ground for us"

Owen, who previously trained Arabs from his premises on the Hamilton Road,  said: “I’ve had Group 1 runners in Arabian races and have had Group 2 winners on the Flat and Grade 2 winners over jumps, but this is new ground for us.”

Gosdens doubly represented

John and Thady Gosden have posted placed efforts in this in the past two years and are two-handed in a bid to bring the feature to Clarehaven for the first time with unbeaten pair Detain and Nibras.

Detain has been most impressive in his two outings to date, both have which have come over 7f at Kempton, most recently a seven-length romp under a penalty. Connections are hopeful, rather than confident, he will act on the likely soft ground.

The son of Wootton Bassett is a half-brother to stablemate Arrest, who enjoys getting his toe in, and sprinter Spring Loaded who scored on the soft at Doncaster back in the day.

Detain: soft ground an unknown for the dual Kempton winnerCredit: Edward Whitaker

John Gosden said: “It’s a small but competitive field. Detain won exceptionally well both times at Kempton. We will see how the ground is but obviously he has not been tried on it. His half-brother Arrest went on it but he is by a different sire so we’ll see how we go.”

A win for Nebras, who carries the same colours as Authorized who won this when it was held at Newbury back in 2006, would be very timely for his family connections as his older half-sister Nashwa was recently retired to the paddocks.

Gosden added: “Nebras is a grand colt. He showed a good level of ability in his maiden win two weeks ago and deserves every opportunity to run in a race of this nature and he will appreciate the ground. This will tell us where we are with him going forward.”

O’Brien out to make it a dozen

Aidan O’Brien became leading trainer in the straight mile contest a few years ago and is chasing a 12th victory with Delacroix, who is reappearing just two weeks since winning the Group 3 Autumn Stakes at Newmarket.

That route from the Rowley Mile to Town Moor proved a success 12 months ago for Ancient Wisdom and O’Brien relies solely on the son of Dubawi to make it a round dozen for Ballydoyle.

Aidan O'Brien: runs Delacroix in the Futurity TrophyCredit: Edward Whitaker

The trainer said: “We were delighted with him at Newmarket and he is progressing nicely with each start. He’s tough, hardy and has been taking his racing very well. Ryan looked after him the last day, thinking of going to Doncaster, so this was the plan.”

What they say

Charlie Appleby, trainer of Anno Domini
We have been very pleased with him on both his starts to date and he has done physically very well for a break since his latest run at Sandown. This will be his first start in Pattern company and it’s a race that appears to have plenty of strength in depth, but we feel he won’t look out of place. We are confident that he can run a good, solid race.

Shane Foley, jockey of Hotazhell
He’s a very tough horse. He got a bit lit up during the Beresford but he saw out the mile very well and we are always confident he’d be the type to improve for that step up in trip. He was unlucky at the Curragh on his penultimate start as there wasn’t much pace on and Henri Matisse was able to quicken by us, while the third went on to win the National Stakes so his form is there. I think he’ll handle an ease in the ground, we were always cautious of running him on very quick ground.

Seaplane (yellow and blue silks): runs in the Futurity Trophy for Paul and Oliver ColeCredit: Edward Whitaker

Oliver Cole, joint-trainer of Seaplane
He deserves to be in the line-up and we think he’s a very good horse. He’s come on for his last win at Newmarket and is more professional. He has shown he prefers soft ground, which is one of the reasons were running him there.

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