Times Up completes Doncaster Cup double

Times Up (left) defeats High Jinx (right) and Repeater (centre) in this afternoon’s Speedy Services Doncaster Cup. Image courtesy of racingfotos.com.

It was almost a repeat of last year in the two and a quarter mile Speedy Services Doncaster Cup with Times Up defeating High Jinx and Repeater who had finished first, second and fourth in the race 12 months ago.

Times Up has now won three Series races in the last two seasons with the Weatherbys Hamilton Insurance Lonsdale Cup also annexed last year and he joins the likes of Millenary, Double Trigger and Le Moss as back-to-back Doncaster Cup winners.

Last year Times Up was trained by John Dunlop at Arundel, but on his retirement he joined his son, Ed, in Newmarket.

He has had his issues this season after disappointing runs in the Henry II Stakes and Gold Cup, but he showed he was coming back to form when third in the Weatherbys Hamilton Insurance Lonsdale Cup last month and he had clearly improved before today’s race.

Always travelling well, he led over a furlong out and stayed on strongly.

High Jinx had not run since May because of the fast ground that has prevailed and he ran a gallant race in second. Undoubtedly he will improve for the run.

Repeater improved on his fourth last year by taking third for his new trainer, David O’Meara.

"It was a really messy race and I kind of had to go when I did," said the winning rider, Ryan Moore, who goes joint second in the Jockey of the Series table as a result.

"I was just trying to save him when he got there but he dug deep when I asked him."

Dunlop said: "I’m sure my father’s watching and finally we’ve achieved something with the horse.

"I trained him very badly, he had a problem when he was going very well in the spring, he got an infection in a leg and then he pulled too hard in the Gold Cup.

"York was his first run of the year, really, and he’s thrived since.

"What do you run in next? He seems to like going this way round.

"We’ll take him home and enjoy today. I’m very proud to have trained him."