Merchant overcomes wide draw for King George V glory

Tom Marquand extricated himself from a difficult position to win the King George V Stakes on Merchant for William Haggas.
Drawn in stall 20, Marquand had chosen to drop in behind horses while Ryan Moore on Serious Contender, who was also posted out wide, opted to go forward.
Moore was still in front as they entered the final furlong but Merchant picked up well to defy an 8lb rise for winning at York last time out and justify 3-1 favouritism by a length, with Pantile Warrior a further neck back in third.
'It was difficult to watch because all I was watching was the time per furlong and they set off like scalded cats,' said Haggas.
'I then thought they hadn't gone fast enough because in every race this week on the round track, they've gone so fast and everything has come off the speed.
'He was plenty far back and I knew when he turned for home he'd be able to sit a bit, I knew he'd come home. I was really pleased with him.
'You hope (they are good enough). He's clearly progressive and I'm afraid I don't know how far he will go. It's extremely exciting.'
Arabian Story provided Saeed bin Suroor with a 40th Royal Ascot winner in a dramatic finish to the Britannia Stakes.
Having just the fourth run of his life and his first on turf, the 15-2 chance had to be brave under Oisin Murphy.
La Botte and Fearnot both threw down late challenges but it was Arabian Story who prevailed by a neck and a head.
Bin Suroor said: 'We took him to Dubai and physically he improved a lot. He always works well in the morning and I said to Oisin keep him handy and he gave him a great ride. Oisin is the best – he is world-class and one of the best around.
'He is still improving and it was only his second race in the UK. We'll have to maybe find a Group race for him now and Oisin said he is definitely a Group horse.
'He's good at the mile but he could go further, maybe up to a mile and a quarter.'

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Daily Mirror

2 hours ago

• Daily Mirror

Royal Ascot bookie loses £367,000 after five favourites win on Ladies Day

Star Sports described it as 'a black, black day' which started with the shortest priced favourite of the week, Charles Darwin, landing the first race A Royal Ascot bookie lost £367,000 on Ladies Day after favourites won five of the seven races. The five day royal meeting is the biggest betting event of the year in Flat racing when many high rollers are present to place large bets with the bookmakers in the betting ring. Star Sports, which has two pitches on the site, has a reputation for accepting bets of up to six figures. But once the day started with the odds-on Aidan O'Brien-trained Charles Darwin capturing the first race, there was little respite thereafter. ‌ Kaan Hughes, head of Star Sports on course, said: 'It's a painful start after yesterday was good. We've given it all back and more in the first, a bad, bad result. ‌ 'All the faces were on and they knew. We've done six figures in the first and we done the each way money in the third. Between the two firms we are on the back foot early. It's only going to get worse at this stage.' More detail was shared on Simon Nott's Star Sports blog which related that one punter placed a £40,000 bet to win £50,000 on Charles Darwin with Star Sports and in the next the firm paid out one of £20,000 staked on second race winner Merchant, collecting £70,000. The pitch lost nearly £60,000 on the race. The biggest bet taken on the Gold Cup was one of £42,500 on Trawlerman, who made all the running to take the feature prize. In the sixth race Trinity College was the fourth favourite to win with Nott commenting: 'It appeared the big punters wanted to finish Star Sports off on the day, not just the meeting.' In the final race, won by another favourite Never So Brave, the firm had taken a bet of £10,000 which earned them £50,000. ‌ 'The Tatts book lost £15,849 but the rail won £2,781 on the race and copped £15,276 on the day, the Tatts pitch fared less well, losing £367,990. A black black day." The results were bad for bookmakers betting off course as well and William Hill spokesperson Lee Phelps said: 'When five winning favourites go in on a Royal Ascot card, us bookies are always going to be licking our wounds. 'Charles Darwin, Merchant, Trawlerman, Trinity College and Never So Brave's wins have seen the punters begin to claw back after the first two days saw us well clear, but it's still all to play for in the final two days. 'Friday's business looks to be defined by the Coronation Stakes and the Commonwealth Cup. If we can get either Falakeyah or Zarigana beat in the Coronation, that'll be a real touch, and the same can be said for Shadow Of Light in the Commonwealth Cup.'

Leader Live

15 hours ago

• Leader Live

Merchant overcomes wide draw for King George V glory

Drawn in stall 20, Marquand had chosen to drop in behind horses while Ryan Moore on Serious Contender, who was also posted out wide, opted to go forward. Moore was still in front as they entered the final furlong but Merchant picked up well to defy an 8lb rise for winning at York last time out and justify 3-1 favouritism by a length, with Pantile Warrior a further neck back in third. 'It was difficult to watch because all I was watching was the time per furlong and they set off like scalded cats,' said Haggas. 'I then thought they hadn't gone fast enough because in every race this week on the round track, they've gone so fast and everything has come off the speed. 'He was plenty far back and I knew when he turned for home he'd be able to sit a bit, I knew he'd come home. I was really pleased with him. 'You hope (they are good enough). He's clearly progressive and I'm afraid I don't know how far he will go. It's extremely exciting.' Arabian Story provided Saeed bin Suroor with a 40th Royal Ascot winner in a dramatic finish to the Britannia Stakes. Having just the fourth run of his life and his first on turf, the 15-2 chance had to be brave under Oisin Murphy. La Botte and Fearnot both threw down late challenges but it was Arabian Story who prevailed by a neck and a head. Bin Suroor said: 'We took him to Dubai and physically he improved a lot. He always works well in the morning and I said to Oisin keep him handy and he gave him a great ride. Oisin is the best – he is world-class and one of the best around. 'He is still improving and it was only his second race in the UK. We'll have to maybe find a Group race for him now and Oisin said he is definitely a Group horse. 'He's good at the mile but he could go further, maybe up to a mile and a quarter.' Never So Brave, trained by the now-retired Sir Michael Stoute in his early days, then provided Murphy with a double in the Buckingham Palace Stakes. Now with Andrew Balding, the 4-1 favourite positively shot clear once a gap appeared on the rail and triumphed by two and a quarter lengths. Akkadian Thunder ran on for second, with Holguin a further two and a quarter lengths back in third. It was Balding's 13th winner at the meeting and he said: 'He's a really lovely horse and I think gelding him over the winter has helped him and improved him. 'Sir Michael always had a high opinion of him and he ran here in the Jersey Stakes last year, so I think he was probably a Group horse in a handicap today. 'He settled well today and I think the key is to get him to relax early in his races. He has an excellent turn of foot when you can get him to do that.'

South Wales Argus

15 hours ago

• South Wales Argus

Merchant overcomes wide draw for King George V glory

Drawn in stall 20, Marquand had chosen to drop in behind horses while Ryan Moore on Serious Contender, who was also posted out wide, opted to go forward. Moore was still in front as they entered the final furlong but Merchant picked up well to defy an 8lb rise for winning at York last time out and justify 3-1 favouritism by a length, with Pantile Warrior a further neck back in third. 'It was difficult to watch because all I was watching was the time per furlong and they set off like scalded cats,' said Haggas. 'I then thought they hadn't gone fast enough because in every race this week on the round track, they've gone so fast and everything has come off the speed. 'He was plenty far back and I knew when he turned for home he'd be able to sit a bit, I knew he'd come home. I was really pleased with him. 'You hope (they are good enough). He's clearly progressive and I'm afraid I don't know how far he will go. It's extremely exciting.' Arabian Story provided Saeed bin Suroor with a 40th Royal Ascot winner in a dramatic finish to the Britannia Stakes. Having just the fourth run of his life and his first on turf, the 15-2 chance had to be brave under Oisin Murphy. La Botte and Fearnot both threw down late challenges but it was Arabian Story who prevailed by a neck and a head. Bin Suroor said: 'We took him to Dubai and physically he improved a lot. He always works well in the morning and I said to Oisin keep him handy and he gave him a great ride. Oisin is the best – he is world-class and one of the best around. 'He is still improving and it was only his second race in the UK. We'll have to maybe find a Group race for him now and Oisin said he is definitely a Group horse. 'He's good at the mile but he could go further, maybe up to a mile and a quarter.' Never So Brave, trained by the now-retired Sir Michael Stoute in his early days, then provided Murphy with a double in the Buckingham Palace Stakes. Now with Andrew Balding, the 4-1 favourite positively shot clear once a gap appeared on the rail and triumphed by two and a quarter lengths. Akkadian Thunder ran on for second, with Holguin a further two and a quarter lengths back in third. It was Balding's 13th winner at the meeting and he said: 'He's a really lovely horse and I think gelding him over the winter has helped him and improved him. 'Sir Michael always had a high opinion of him and he ran here in the Jersey Stakes last year, so I think he was probably a Group horse in a handicap today. 'He settled well today and I think the key is to get him to relax early in his races. He has an excellent turn of foot when you can get him to do that.'