The home team drew a rare blank at Ffos Las last week as William Haggas carried his superb form from Royal Ascot all the way to West Wales.
Haggas enjoyed a week to remember at the Royal meeting, firing in four winners headlined by the narrow victory of Almeraq in a blanket finish to the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes on the final afternoon of the five-day extravaganza.
Haggas’ runners are always worth monitoring at Ffos Las – he currently boasts a formidable 58 per cent strike rate at the course since the turn of the decade – and he was on the mark courtesy of Great Dream in the feature RHN Travel Handicap.
Jockey Darragh Keenan sent the four-year-old to the front two furlongs from home and he only had to be pushed out to justify 6-5 favouritism by 11 lengths.
There was an equally likeable performance in the 10-furlong Oil 4 Wales Maiden Fillies’ Stakes, where Lady Magu put her previous experience to good use by stretching clear of her rivals in the final 200 yards to score for trainer Roger Varian and apprentice jockey Harry Vigors (photographed).
The best Wales could do was the second place taken by Level Up from the David Evans yard in the opener. Barry Murphy was also out of luck at his home track – he trains just a few miles from Ffos Las – as his Bobby Dassler finished third in a one-mile handicap.
But Murphy had struck just two days previously with the same horse who won at Chepstow’s evening meeting.
But the night belonged to Tony Carroll, the Worcestershire trainer stealing the show with a treble. There were also two winners for Mike Murphy.
June is a busy month at Ffos Las and Welsh trainers will be hoping for better fortune this week when the track stages a meeting on Tuesday 23rd June.
The fixture the following day, June 24th, has been abandoned due to the red extreme heat warning. A replacement fixture has been arranged for Monday 29th June.
There’s also racing on Tuesday 30th June.
The likes of David Evans, Grace Harris, Bernard Llewellyn and Sam Thomas – better known for his National Hunt exploits – all have runners engaged on this Tuesday’s card, which gets under way at 2.30pm.
Wales went close to a winner at Royal Ascot with Gstaad – the horse bred just miles from Ffos Las at Maywood Stud and now in the care of the Coolmore operation – finishing a close second to Bow Echo once again in a vintage renewal of the St James’s Palace Stakes.
David Probert finished back in ninth on Dubai Honour in the Ascot Gold Cup.
A fairly quiet week for reigning champion jump jockey Sean Bowen saw him bag two winners from just three rides. He won on Tamarind Bay at Stratford, then followed up with a success on Off The Jury at Worcester. Both horses are trained by his brother Mickey.
There’s racing at our sister course Chepstow this Saturday 27th June. It’s Ladies Day.
