Supplements Out in ‘Force’ for British Champions Day
David O’Meara is unsure how G Force (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}) will handle the likely testing conditions in the QIPCO British Champions Sprint at Ascot Saturday. The former Richard Hannon inmate has come a long way since breaking his maiden tag at Newcastle in April, progressing from talented handicapper to Group 1 winner. Last month’s Haydock G1 Sprint Cup hero has been added to the Ascot line-up at a cost of £20,000, but the ground is likely to be much more demanding on Champions Day than on Merseyside.
“He was obviously very impressive at Haydock and he’ll be meeting a lot of the same horses on Saturday, so it was the obvious place to go,” said O’Meara. “It might be a Group 2, but he doesn’t have to carry a penalty and it’s a Group 1 in all but name. He’s in there as favourite and deserves his place in the race.
Added O’Meara, “We always felt fast ground would be a bit of a negative for him and that good to soft ground would probably be ideal. That said, if it’s going to be soft to heavy on Saturday, that will be a bit of an unknown, so we’ll just have to see what happens.”
Custom Cut (Ire) (Notnowcato {GB}) will bid to crown a stunning season with a first Group 1 victory after he was supplemented for the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. at Ascot Saturday. Snapped up for 95,000gns last October after showing smart form in Ireland for George Kent, the 5-year-old has enjoyed a superb campaign for David O’Meara, racking up a five-timer in the G2 Joel S. at Newmarket last month. O’Meara admits his charge has exceeded all expectations this year and is keen to give him the chance to test his mettle at the highest level on Champions Day, with the likely testing conditions not expected to be a problem.
“It cost a lot of money to supplement [£70,000], but he’s won five Pattern races in a row, so he bought his own ticket for Saturday, really,” said the North Yorkshire handler. “Gary Douglas and Pat Breslin [owners] came to me last year and said they wanted to buy a nice horse, they had the budget and this horse was the one we went for. He’d run some good races in Ireland for George Kent. He won the Gladness S. last year, so he’s always been a good horse. If he’d just carried on doing the same for us we’d have been happy, but obviously he’s had a fantastic year. We know he handles heavy ground, so any rain that falls at Ascot this week won’t be detrimental to his chances.”
Meanwhile, Silk Sari (GB) (Dalakhani {Ire}) and Albasharah (Arch) have been supplemented for Saturday’s G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares S. at Ascot. The Luca Cumani-trained Silk Sari staked her claim when winning the G2 Park Hill St. at Doncaster, while the Saeed bin Suroor-trained Albasharah was also added to the field at a cost of £35,000 after she was victorious in a Listed event at Newmarket last week.