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'She had to be brave at the end' - Karl Burke hails speedy filly Swingalong

SWINGALONG and Clifford Lee win the Lowther Stakes for Trainer Karl Burke at York 18/8/22Photograph by Grossick Racing Photography 0771 046 1723
Swingalong (right): narrow winner of the Lowther StakesCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Thursday: York

When one door closes, another opens. While stable star Dramatised disappointed, Karl Burke picked up great compensation with outsider Swingalong's shock success in the Sky Bet Lowther Stakes.

An electric winner of the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot, Dramatised's challenge went out with a whimper as she folded tamely in the final furlong, but her stablemate thrived and bravely held off fast-finishing Queen Me to oblige at 25-1.

Betfair and Paddy Power cut Swingalong to 12-1 (from 50) for the Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket next month and Burke is eyeing that as the big autumn target for the daughter of Showcasing.

She was also introduced at 25-1 for next year's Commonwealth Cup and 33-1 for the 1,000 Guineas with William Hill.

"She's a lovely filly and she's got a lot stronger in time. She had them beat over two furlongs out but had to be brave at the end. She's done that really nicely and she'll go to the Cheveley Park next," Burke said.

"Clifford [Lee, jockey] thinks she'll get another furlong or so, but whether she wants that I don't know. She has a lot of natural speed, so this trip is fine for her for now."

Burke conceded Dramatised failed to see out the trip and would return to five furlongs, but insisted she remained a potential top-level prospect.

DONCASTER, ENGLAND - JUNE 26: Trainer Karl Burke poses for a photo at Doncaster Racecourse on June 26, 2020 in Doncaster, England. (Photo by Dan Abraham/Pool via Getty Images)
Karl Burke: 'She had them beat over two furlongs out'Credit: Dan Abraham (Getty Images/Pool)

"To be fair to Danny [Tudhope, jockey], all along he said he had his doubts. Her challenge just petered out in the last 100 yards and she clearly didn't stay," Burke added.

"He rode her in work two weeks ago over six furlongs and I wouldn't have it she wouldn't stay, but Danny was right. She'll go back to five furlongs and still has a big future. She's very quick."

Runner-up Queen Me was unable to follow in the footsteps of three generations of her family to win the Lowther, with Kevin Ryan putting her neck defeat down to inexperience.

"It was a lovely run; a lack of experience midway through the race probably just cost her. She'd only had one start before and she did it very easily," he said.

"We want to protect her this year and she'll progress again from that. She galloped right through the line and took a fair bit of pulling up, which is always a very good sign."

Hannon hits the mark

What an easy game. Back Richard Hannon in the Goffs UK Harry Beeby Premier Yearling Stakes, then collect your winnings.

Don't you believe it. Anyone who knew the effort it took to prepare 5-2 favourite Shouldvebeenaring, who defied a three-month absence and gave the trainer his fifth win in the £250,000 race in seven years, might have thought twice before parting with their cash.

"After he won at Ripon he pulled a muscle behind, he had sore shins and it was a real struggle to get him here," Hannon said.

Shouldvebeenaring (Sean Levey) gets up on the line to deny Washington Heights in the 6f Goffs UK Harry Beeby Premier Yearling StakesYork 18.8.22 Pic: Edward Whitaker
Tight finish: Shouldvebeenaring (left) gets up on the line to deny Washington Heights (noseband)Credit: Edward Whitaker

"But in his last couple of bits of work I put him right in at the deep end with Classic, who's been beaten in two maidens but is a very good horse, and Persian Force, and he came up nicely and I thought 'I didn't expect that'. I'd thought he might drop away."

Hannon thinks plenty of the Middleham Park Racing juvenile and said: "He's done very well to win, he's not very experienced. He's a black-type horse, I'm sure.

"It's good for Middleham Park Racing. They've been good supporters of ours over the years and these races are about people like that."

O'Meara makes numbers count

David O'Meara had six runners in the mile handicap and his numerical advantage paid off handsomely as he saddled the first and second after favourite Blue For You narrowly denied outsider Escobar.

Blue For You (Danny Tudhope,farside) beats Escobar in the Clipper Logistics StakesYork 18.8.22 Pic: Edward Whitaker
O'Meara 1-2: Blue For You (far side) beats Escobar to give trainer David O'Meara first and secondCredit: Edward Whitaker

The 11-2 market leader's head victory gave O'Meara a third win in the valuable handicap in the last ten years, while he also saddled the fourth and unlucky loser Orbaan.

"I don't know if I have a knack in these races; it's my job to keep all of the owners happy," he said. "There was a good chunk of the field there getting in each other's way, but Escobar ran a great race and looked like he was going to win.

"Blue For You was beaten by Orbaan at Goodwood the other day, so he deserved his big day. Orbaan still ran a great race in defeat."

Rapid progress

Haskoy continued to make up for lost time in terrific fashion as she led home a Juddmonte one-two in the Listed Galtres Stakes under a fine ride from Ryan Moore.

"That was magic. She got a bad injury and didn't go to Ralph Beckett's until June," Juddmonte's racing manager Barry Mahon said.

"Ryan said her penny didn't drop until the last minute. We'll look into supplementary entries and we won't be afraid to take our chances somewhere."


Replays, results and analysis


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Matt RennieReporter
David CarrReporter

Published on 18 August 2022inReports

Last updated 18:25, 18 August 2022

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