Doyle hopeful of back-to-form Gregory in Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup

James Doyle believes that last year’s Queen’s Vase winner Gregory can make a long awaited return to the winner’s enclosure when he takes on eight smart rivals in Friday’s Group 2 Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup.

It was Gregory who launched Wathnan Racing’s burgeoning racing empire on the big stage as the evens favourite for Royal Ascot’s mile and six furlongs Group 2 last year, and 24 hours later his stable-mate Courage Mon Ami took their profile to another level in the Gold Cup.

Even bigger things were predicted for both horses, but while Wathnan has expanded enormously and this year enjoyed four wins and nine places from a Royal Ascot team of 28, neither Gregory nor Courage Mon Ami has won since and the Gold Cup winner has been absent since he was beaten by Coltrane here 12 months ago.

Gregory, only third when odds on for last year’s Great Voltigeur, scoped badly after disappointing in the Gold Cup, but he got considerably closer to Kyprios when third in the Goodwood Cup and comes into this race in decent form.

Doyle, who has Leovanni and The Strikin Viking to look forward to for Wathnan in the week’s big two-year-old races, is looking forward to him and said: “Gregory should have a nice chance. I was very pleased with his run in the Goodwood Cup. It was obviously much better than his run at Royal Ascot, where we know he wasn’t 100 percent, hence that blip in his record. 

“He felt great at Goodwood. He travelled well, picked up good, and did everything right, and I think the flatter track at York should suit him better.”

Looking at the main opposition he added: “There’s no Kyprios this time and Point Lonsdale has yet to run over two miles. We are closely matched with Vauban on the earlier York running in the Yorkshire Cup, and he’ll have a nice chance hopefully.”

Two worlds collide as Mullins and O’ Brien spearhead Irish challenge

Point Lonsdale represents Aidan O’Brien, whose only success here came with Septimus in 2007. He has raced only once since his six-length defeat of Arrest in Chester’s Ormonde Stakes, when third over a mile and a half in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, but O’Brien has said that through no fault of his own he has been “in the holding bay” for much of the year, overlooked in favour of others for some some of the bigger prizes. He is looking forward to seeing him over the longer distance here.

The former Triumph Hurdle winner Vauban finished narrowly in front of Gregory when both were making their reappearance at York in May, and further ahead when fourth in the Gold Cup. He is being trained for a return to Flemington for the Melbourne Cup, in which his stable’s 2015 Lonsdale winner Max Dynamite was so narrowly beaten on his next start.

Johnston sees the stars aligning for promising three-year-old

Charlie Johnston has chosen this race over the Melrose Handicap for the massive Align The Stars, who is the only three-year-old in the field and one of only a handful of colts still in the Betfred St Leger who are not from the O’Brien camp. A brother to the classy but somewhat enigmatic multiple Group winner Al Aasy, Align The Stars has been something of a slow-burner, but he has always had Group-race potential.

He is now making up for lost time and his recent handicap wins at Haydock and Goodwood suggest he could be highly competitive here. If successful, he would be the first three-year-old winner of the Lonsdale since Double Eclipse won for Johnston’s father Mark in 1995.

Quickthorn and Marquand hope to replicate 2023 Goodwood Cup glory

There has been no easier winner of the Lonsdale than Quickthorn, who dominated from the start and came home 14 lengths clear two years ago  – one of two good wins and an Ebor second from just four starts at York. Similar tactics paid off almost as spectacularly in last year’s Goodwood Cup, but he has been in nowhere near the same form in three subsequent starts.

Tom Marquand has seen signs of a return to form however, and insists that Quickthorn is not one dimensional. He said: “I jumped on Quickthorn the other morning and he seems really well in himself. The Sandown run last time was a step back in the right direction and returning to a track where he’s been so successful before is obviously a big plus. He seems to be in the right place.

“We didn’t lead at Sandown because it was obvious Roberto Escobarr wanted to make it and in any case Quickthorn has run some big races from behind. When we won those three on the trot two years ago at Sandown, Longchamp and the Lonsdale, and then at Goodwood last year, we made the running because they just looked perfect for doing so, but it’s not essential

“It’s been a while since he’s shown that sort of form, and he’ll have to be back to his best, but he’s a proper old warrior of a horse and you can’t do what he’s done on so many occasions without being a top-class, solid stayer.”

Clover champing at the bit to unleash new recruit Al Nayyir

Al Nayyir makes his first start for Tom Clover and has his first run in Britain since he was down the field at Kempton at two on his only start for Godolphin. He is a five-time winner in Dubai and France and ran the race of his life when second to Tower Of London in the Dubai Gold Cup in March.

Clover is excited by his new recruit and said: “These Group races are all hard to win, but there’s no Kyprios and so it could have been a deeper field. Al Nayyir looks in good shape and we are looking forward to it.

“He’s won on easier ground but we think that top of the ground is ideal for him and that going left handed at York will suit too. It was fast ground and two miles going left-handed when he ran to an extremely good level in Dubai, and it’s a similar scenario at York.”

Old favourites and new pretenders round off nine strong field for staying showpiece

Andrew Balding, successful with Coltrane last year, saddles Alkasib, who won the Group 3 Silver Cup here last time, and Night Sparkle, who was runner-up in the Group 2 Lillie Langtry Stakes at Goodwood.

Brian Ellison has declared former QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup runner-up Tashkhan, who was fifth to Alkasib here and then a non-runner in the Goodwood Cup owing to fast ground.