Kinane still wanted by Motivator team
The son of Montjeu was partnered by Kieren Fallon on his two starts last term, including when an impressive winner of the Racing Post Trophy.
However, with Fallon now retained by the Aidan O’Brien yard and unlikely to be available, owners the Royal Ascot Racing Club need to find a new rider and sounded out the veteran rider last week.
“We have approached Mick Kinane and he is keen to ride. He hasn’t been to sit on the horse yet, but we are hoping that he will be available,” said spokesman Alex Smith.
“You couldn’t really do much better than him for a big race as he has so much experience.”
Motivator is as low as 12-1 with William Hill for the 2000 Guineas, and is the 7-1 second favourite with the same firm for the Vodafone Derby.
Smith is more than satisfied with Motivator’s progress over the winter, even though trainer Michael Bell is yet to start really serious work with the colt.
“He’s in good order and has done extremely well over the winter, we are very pleased with him,” he said.
“He’s strengthened up in all the right places and he looks quite forward in his coat for this time of year. But he’s not being asked any serious questions at the moment.”
The 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on April 30 is Motivator’s intended starting point, but he may have a racecourse spin first.
“We think he has really improved from two to three and the plan is to go straight for the 2000 Guineas without another run as we feel he has already proved himself in the Racing Post Trophy,” Smith added.
“He may well go for a racecourse gallop, but we have not got any special plans at the moment.”
Meanwhile, Ouija Board has wintered well and is back in training with Ed Dunlop to be prepared for a seasonal reappearance in the Vodafone Coronation Cup.
Now a four-year-old, Ouija Board, named champion turf female at America’s Eclipse Awards in January, is only being put through her paces at Gainsborough Stables at this stage, but early reports suggest she has been progressing nicely.
“Ed is very happy with her - she is in great order and looking very well,” said Peter Stanley, racing manager to owner Lord Derby.
“She was turned out in the paddocks at Gainsborough during the winter. We were happy to leave here there, and it was all straightforward.”
The daughter of Cape Cross proved herself to be one of the finest fillies of recent memory last term, winning the English and Irish Oaks as well as the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf on her final start.
She also finished third in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and is set to take on the colts again over the Oaks course and distance when she returns at Epsom on June 3, exactly 12 months after her ultra-impressive seven-length victory over All Too Beautiful.
“She is not doing a lot at the moment - just ticking over,” added Stanley.
“Basically, her first target is the Coronation Cup in June. It will be nice to get her back to Epsom, which is where she had her last run in this country.
“She has filled out, although she hasn’t grown. But it is early days - there is a lot of time to go between March and June, but we are happy with things at the moment.”
Elsewhere, Brunel, winner of last year’s German 2000 Guineas, is set to make his seasonal bow in the Betfred Mile at Sandown next month.
The William Haggas-trained four-year-old will be looking to get back to winning form in the Group Two event on April 23.
Brunel made a promising start last season, landing the European Free Handicap before going on to Classic glory in Germany.
Hopes are also high for the useful stayer Distinction, who was last seen when finishing sixth to Makybe Diva in the Melbourne Cup last November.
The owners and trainer Michael Stoute are planning to take in all the major staying races this year, with the six-year-old already pencilled in for a crack at the Emirates Airline Yorkshire Cup on May 13.
