Quotes from connections ahead of the 2024 Nunthorpe Stakes
This Group One headlines day three of Ebor Festival at York on Friday 23rd August
Read quotes from Henry Dwyer, Mick Appleby, Hollie Doyle and more
Asfoora's trainer Henry Dwyer. (Getty)
York Quotes
Henry Dwyer (Asfoora)
Mick Appleby (Big Evs)
Hollie Doyle (Bradsell)
George Boughey (Believing)
Adam West (Live In The Dream)
Hector Crouch (Starlust)
Cosmo Charlton (Racing Manager for Washington Heights' owners)
Ed Walker (Makarova)
Michael Dods (Azure Blue)
Robert Cowell (Clarendon House)
Kate McGivern (So Majestic)
Quotes from connections ahead of the 2024 Nunthorpe Stakes, which takes place at York on Friday.
Read what the connections of this year's contenders have had to say, before their stable stars take part at York.
2024 Nunthorpe Stakes News - Quotes From Connections
Henry Dwyer (Asfoora)
All the videos I’ve seen from the gallop the other morning looked tremendous.
From all our metrics and data, she looks to be going as well as she possibly can and I think she might have improved a little bit from Goodwood.
I think just the travel has really settled her down and I think that’s been manifested by how she’s racing. She just seems a different horse mentally which has helped her. She’s able to take a sit and relax and then conserve her energy for the end of the races.
She’s thriving, she’s eating everything in sight and holding her condition because of that. I really think she’s just as good as she can possibly be, so I’m very excited about heading to York with her.
Mick Appleby (Big Evs)
He came out of Goodwood really well and he is in good form.
He is drawn 14 of 14, so I’m not sure if that is going to be a good or a bad draw. Whether it will work in his favour or not, I don’t know.
It’s a different track and different circumstances (to Goodwood). What will be will be and I think it is going to be a very fast race. I think if it stays quick ground, I wouldn’t be surprised if the track record gets broken.
Hollie Doyle (Bradsell)
We know he’s a very good horse on his day and I thought his reappearance run in Deauville was very smooth and I liked the way he hit the line.
He’s been in amazing form since that, and you never know what he’s capable of – he’s full of surprises!
I think sprint form can be turned around, you can run the same race three or four times and get a different winner. It’s such small margins. I think it depends on which horse is in the best condition on the day.
George Boughey (Believing)
I did think after a furlong (At Goodwood), ‘crikey, we’ve really slipped up here and run her downhill at Goodwood’, having won at a stiff five (furlongs) at the Curragh.
The five at Goodwood is faster, probably, than the York five and I look forward to seeing her back at the top level. I think she’ll just be allowed to get into her own rhythm at York and we could see her doing her best work late.
She’s just restarted training the last few days and come back in super shape. She’s an amazing filly – she keeps surprising me each time. You kind of think, ‘Oh God, we’ll come out of it and she’ll have said it was one (run) too many’, and she just bounces out of each one.
Big Evs beating Asfoora and Live In The Dream at Goodwood. (Getty)
Adam West (Live In The Dream)
We’ve trotted him up this morning and he’s been out in the paddock, he’s very well.
We weren’t in a position to dominate with the headwind, the ground and the draw.
Since the Breeders’ Cup we’ve been a little bit conservative, he did a little bit too much going into the bend.
He’d come to hand and we were seeing if his maturity would allow him to run his races another way but to be at his best he does need to be ridden aggressively with conditions right.
Hector Crouch (Starlust)
He is getting quicker as he’s getting older and he’s turned into a real professional sprinter.
The Hays (owners) always like to pitch them in the proper races, I’ll leave it to Ralph but I’m sure he’s earned his place if they wish to go to the Nunthorpe.
Cosmo Charlton (Racing Manager for Washington Heights' owners)
He’s just showing increasing speed now and he showed us that in the Duke of York.
We always thought he might end up being a five-furlong horse and it did concern us that stiff six furlongs at Ascot. We decided to hold onto him a bit at Ascot and maybe he was a touch keen with doing that as well, he just ran out of gas.
Tom (Eaves, jockey) got off and said he thought he had won it two furlongs out and it was just a case of if he got home, but he has not got home. He got off and said back to five, so it’s straight to the Nunthorpe.
He’s ran three times at York and been narrowly beaten each time, so I would be hopeful he bounces back in that race.
Kevin was delighted with him before Ascot and now the master sprint trainer has another good one (Inisherin), it almost makes perfect sense to go back to five furlongs and is a beautiful outcome – he will be favourite for the July Cup I would imagine.
Ed Walker (Makarova)
This year she has been super consistent, and she started off rated 67 or something. She was so laid back and never looked like a sprinter in the early days. She just kind of woke up and learned to sprint. She's a legend.
We've chanced our arm a lot and unfortunately, she is only a Listed winner, so it is important we have now made her a Group 3 winner and we will try and make her a Group 2 winner if we can.
Sean Kirrane riding Live In The Dream (pink) win The Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes. (Getty)
Michael Dods (Azure Blue)
She’s in great shape and she deserves her chance. She’s really well but this is a highly competitive Group One over five furlongs, so we’re going into the unknown.
The ground was sticky in the July Cup last time and she didn’t perform, but she’s come home fine, and we hope she bounces back. She might be outpaced over five, or she might travel - we’ll find out on Friday.
I’m sure she’ll have the speed for five furlongs at some stage of her career. Whether she’s got it yet remains to be seen. She’s always a strong traveller in her races, and this is the Nunthorpe, at York, so the owners were keen to go there and so were we.
I do think she’ll end up coming back to five in the future, but whether we’re a bit quick, and whether she’s not ready for it, I couldn’t say. That said, we’ve got her in great shape, and she deserves a chance.
Robert Cowell (Clarendon House)
He won that big handicap at York so we know he likes the track, a nice, fast and furious pace is what he needs to aim at.
He’ll get that in the Nunthorpe and his rating would give him an outside squeak so we’re looking forward to running him.
Kate McGivern (So Majestic)
She obviously hasn’t ran in a race as good as this – and she is very much an outsider – but I think the conditions of the race will suit.
I didn’t want to run her in the handicap in case it ended up messy, whereas, the Group 1 is going to be true from start to finish. They are going to go hard and the best horse wins. I’ve yet to run her in a race like that.
She is very fast, but it’s very hard to get her conditions – she’s very select. She wants fast ground and she wants a very fast five (furlongs) and she wants loads of pace. If she comes down-field, fine – I tried it.
Maybe I should have gone for the fillies’ handicap. But I’ve done a load of research and last year’s winner of that, on their time, could have been third in the Nunthorpe.
She’s that much pace that she’d match Live In The Dream’s pace. I’m not saying she’ll stay like him. That’s a very unknown for me – will she stay it after going that blistering pace?
She definitely has that pace to use early-race, whereas in Ireland they don’t use that. They ride way more a waiting race and it doesn’t suit her and it’s very frustrating.
We’ll see what she’s made of on Friday. There’s no pressure, because I’m a big outsider. I just hope she runs her race. If she finished in the first six, it’s a massive run. There’s no high expectations – it’s very much we’re hopeful. She definitely has pace for a Group 1 – whether she can stay on at the end, that’s what I want to see. But it’s worth a go.
