Carrytheone won the Balmoral Handicap at Ascot | report and free video replay
By Sporting Life
17:07 · SAT October 19, 2024
Christophe Soumillon produced Carrytheone (14/1) with a withering run to win the Balmoral Handicap (sponsored by QIPCO) at Ascot.
The well backed favourite Thunder Run was in the vanguard throughout but the three-year-old started to roll about as he came under pressure with challengers on both sides.
Lattam was on the inside but Soumillon produced Carrytheone with a long, sustained run down the centre of the track and his mount responded willingly, passing the leaders and running on to score by two lengths.
Lattam was second with Witch Hunter third and Thunder Run fourth.
"He didn't jump so good so I was last in the first part of the race and I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to be unlucky in the race again," Soumillon said.
"So I brought him out, coming to the stands' side," he continued.
"He made a great effort because it's not easy to come out so early and when I hit the front, he kept going until the end so he is a very generous horse. I was just hoping he didn't give up in the last furlong because the ground is very deep today. The good thing was I had him really relaxed in the first part of the race.
"So happy. It is always very difficult to win this kind of race and I finished with a good win on a big day."
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Trainer Michael Bell wasn't at Ascot so it was left to owner Stuart Mizon to give the post-race debrief, he said: “We freshened him up for six weeks at the back end of August and September with the aim of coming for the big handicap two weeks ago.
"He didn’t run very well there, missed the break 10 lengths, still finished sixth and was still showing plenty at home, so we thought we’d come here.
"He won very well today - Christophe gave him a great ride, and I said to Nick (Bell) afterwards, he deserves to go back into Group company after that. So he’ll have a holiday now and come back in the new year and we’ll make a plan from there.
“We bought him pretty cheaply out of the Horses-In-Training Sale last year, Nick and I had a relatively short list we went through and homed in on him and really worked hard to get him. I think we bought him very well, and he’s repaid us many times over. He was third at Royal Ascot, so we’ve been there, we’ve been to loads of really big days, so it is absolutely fantastic.”
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