Ward strikes again
After a bloodbath for the bookmakers on the opening day, a couple of hotpots were turned over including Tartan Bearer (6-4) floored by the French in the feature race of the day.
Jealous Again showed blistering speed to beat some well-regarded fillies, and after blasting out of the stalls, her 12 rivals did not see which way she went.
While Ward’s winner on the opening day was an unconsidered 33-1 chance, this one was well backed at 13-2 as she beat Misheer by five lengths, once again ridden by John Velazquez.
“She ran brilliantly. I’m very proud of her, Johnny rode a great race and everything went just like we thought,” said Ward.
“In America we train for speed and the reason I came over here was I thought the others in the race here are trained to go on for next year.”
Jeremy Noseda’s Forgotten Voice (4-1) looked the proverbial good thing in the Royal Hunt Cup but plenty of those have been beaten before in this fiendishly difficult race.
However, ridden positively by Johnny Murtagh, the 4-1 favourite really did look a Group horse in a handicap as he stretched his unbeaten run to four.
“I was thinking of the John Smith’s Cup after this but Johnny doesn’t think so and he is normally a good man to listen to,” Noseda said.
Murtagh was in double form as he made every yard of the running aboard James Fanshawe’s Spacious (10-1) in the Windsor Forest Stakes to beat Heaven Sent, with both fillies sporting the Cheveley Park Stud colours.
Michael Bell’s Moneycantbuymelove (9-2 favourite) gave Jamie Spencer his first winner of the meeting in the Sandringham Handicap while Tadhg O’Shea rode his maiden Royal meeting winner on Barry Hills’ Ouqba in the Jersey Stakes.
Hills’ jockey son Richard picked stable companion Infiraad, who finished last.
