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Group One glory for Turpin at last

July 4th, 2010 |

Author: admin

Richard Hannon’s Dick Turpin finally gained the first Group One success of his career with a stunning display in the Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly.

French Guineas and Derby winner Lope De Vega was sent off a short price, but he struggled to get past his pacemaker three furlongs out and when Richard Hughes sent Dick Turpin after him the result was never in doubt.

He showed an electric turn of foot to streak five lengths clear of the chasing pack and it was left to Siyouni to run on into second, with Clive Cox’s Xtension just behind in third.

Godolphin’s Frozen Power was never involved, while Lope De Vega was eased right down inside the final furlong.

Second in the English and French 2000 Guineas as well as the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, Dick Turpin was certainly not winning out of turn and Hughes was ecstatic with the result.

He said: “I’m absolutely delighted for the horse. He deserved to win a Group One – he’s run some brilliant races. You get horses like that which never get to win one and finish second all the time, but it’s great now he’s broken his duck. The pressure is off.

“We went a very fast gallop and I kicked him on at least two furlongs out because I knew I’d stay well. I said after the race he’ll probably get 10 furlongs because they weren’t catching me. He killed them off very quickly.

“It was fast ground today and he’s better with more of a cut. I was probably four or five lengths further in front of Xtension than I was in the Newmarket Guineas, so the form is rock-solid.

“We said to the owners we’ll take it race by race and he’ll tell us when he’s ready to run again. He’s been on the go a while, but he looked so well, so we said ‘why not go’.

“The only thing we wouldn’t do was run him on firm ground, but the French water well and do a very good job.”