Te Akau Tangerine Triumphant at Ascot

Karyn writes:

What a huge thrill and honour to be at Ascot, England today to support Torcedor in his quest to win the Group 3 Longines Sagaro Stakes.  With London-based daughter Lydia, I headed out to Windsor in the pouring rain, with the weather looking very grim.

It was a small but highly select field he faced for trainer Jessie Harrington and rider Colm O'Donoghue who knows the son of Fastnet Rock so well ... and did he deliver!!! and delivered in a totally dominant style.

I would have to say that I have had many racing highlights in my life but representing owners Sir Peter Vela, Sir Patrick Hogan, Mo Moussa and Laurie Laxon, plus the horse's manager David Ellis at Ascot was a huge thrill.

David purchased this gelding (who is out of a full sister to four-time Ascot Gold Cup winner Yeats) at the Deauville Sale for 70,000 euro.  He has now won over NZD$700,000 in his 15 starts.  All kudos to Jessie Harrington and her team for having him in sublime order.

 

 

Racingpost.com reports:

Jessica Harrington has her eye on a £1 million payday after classy stayer Torcedor put a disappointing effort in Dubai behind him to run out a thoroughly convincing winner of the Group 3 Longines Sagaro Stakes.

Already a Cheltenham Gold Cup winner with Sizing John, Harrington has a live contender for Ascot's version next month, with a number of firms cutting Torcedor to 10-1 (from 16) for a race in which he was fifth last year.

However, winning rider Colm O'Donoghue revealed that the Royal Ascot showpiece is not the only big prize on the trainer's mind, with the new Weatherbys Hamilton Stayers' Million - an initiative offering £1 million to the connections of any horse who wins the Gold Cup, Goodwood Cup and Lonsdale Cup, having also been successful in one of the established Gold Cup trials, of which the Sagaro is one - also in her thoughts.

“The series has been on Mrs Harrington's mind and today was the first step,” said O'Donoghue. “She'll make the decision if we do go that route, but you'd have to be very happy with today. He's got a great constitution and takes his race well, so it's a possibility.”

But for Order Of St George, Torcedor would have been an Irish St Leger and Long Distance Cup winner by now, and Betway probably had the star stayer in mind when quoting 100-1 about Torcedor pulling off the stayers' million.

Either way, O'Donoghue was clearly impressed with the winner, who was virtually pulled up at Meydan at the end of March.

“He was the class horse of the race and, if he ran to three-quarters of his best, I thought he'd beat those horses today,” he added.

“Dubai was just unfortunate. When you travel a horse that far you're learning all the time, but he's come back in great shape. He's from the same family as Yeats and has that great body to him. Hopefully it's all systems go for the Gold Cup.”

 

 

 

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