Foley hoping for one last hurrah with Hotazhell
Shane Foley celebrates after winning The Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes (Group 1) with Hotazhell at Leopardstown last month. Pic: Morgan Treacy/Inpho
With connections deciding against an outing on British Champions Day, jockey Shane Foley is hoping Hotazhell can go out in a blaze of glory at the Breeders’ Cup.
Jessica Harrington’s charge will head Stateside off the back of successive Group One wins in Europe, with a narrow verdict in the Grosser Dallmayr-Preis in Munich followed by a shock victory in the Irish Champion Stakes.
Hotazhell had the option of attempting to become only the third horse since 2011 to win both the Leopardstown feature and Ascot’s Champion Stakes in the same season after Almanzor (2016) and Magical (2019), but he will instead head for Keeneland and a tilt at the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
“He’s never got really deep ground since his two-year-old days when winning the Futurity Trophy (at Doncaster) and he wasn’t going to get that at Ascot, so it was either take on Calandagan and Ombudsman there or take our chance in America,” said Foley.
“The owners are American and are from just down the road from Keeneland so it might be a nice last hurrah.”
Hotazhell, who is set to begin his stallion career at Haras d’Etreham in France and Widden Stud in Australia after the Breeders’ Cup, narrowly beat Charlie Johnston’s Timeforshowcasing and the George Scott-trained Wimbledon Hawkeye in Germany at the end of July.
And while few would have had that down as elite form at the time, it was Hotazhell and Wimbledon Hawkeye who filled out the first two places in the Irish Champion Stakes and the latter has since won the Prix Dollar in France.
“It was mad really when you think about it,” Foley continued.
“Going to Germany we were thinking it might be an easier touch, but Wimbledon Hawkeye was there and the Johnston filly, who have both really franked the form.
“He’s really stepped forward and I always thought he was really good as a two-year-old. He let us down a bit at three, he never ran bad, but we just couldn’t get him right.
“It’s great for this season to happen as it has and it would be massive for the owners to run at the Breeders’ Cup.”
Meanwhile, Rossa Ryan has been called up to partner Constitution Hill for his Italian mission on Sunday in the Gran Premio del Jockey Club.
Trainer Nicky Henderson had intimated on Sunday that Oisin Murphy would be reunited with the 2023 Champion Hurdle winner having ridden him to his first win on the Flat at Southwell in February, but there has been a change of plan.
With plenty of rain due in Italy it looks as if Constitution Hill’s back-up option at Newbury in Saturday’s St Simon Stakes will be just that, with everything pointing towards an outing at San Siro.
“It’s a bit of a mad one,” Ryan told Sky Sports Racing at Yarmouth on Tuesday.
“I was in Milan last weekend and Nicky rang me to see what the ground was like yesterday morning, then he rang me back yesterday evening to see if I could ride him, so it’s a great opportunity.
“I literally got the phone call last night so I’ve never ridden him. He’s popular for sure. San Siro is just like this (Yarmouth) – it’s just the other way around – and I was reading between Wednesday and Thursday they are due 52mm of rain, so it will be proper soft ground.
“It looks a good race on paper and he’ll have a chance. I was speaking to Oisin and he said the softer the ground the better, so we’ll see.”
