Portcullis

5.15 York, Novice, 3yo/up, 7f 192yT PORTCULLIS (GB) (Frankel {GB}) earned TDN Rising Star status in Newmarket's Wood Ditton last month and goes steady for now with Royal Ascot looming. John and Thady Gosden have opted to send The King and The Queen's homebred son of the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine Castle Lady (Shamardal) to the race they used for their eventual Lockinge hero Lead Artist and have won on the last three occasions, including with two colts they subsequently pitched into Group 1 company.   1.22 Newmarket, Novice,...

Whether the Classic picture is any clearer this week than last is debatable but what the last seven days have brought us is some truly impressive performances to savour. And it is hard to pick just one, though it has to be said that Portcullis's Wood Ditton run was visually the most spectacular for all that you could see the colt learning with every stride he took, from being left at the start, to bounding through then clear of his rivals.  His maiden success for the King and Queen played...

John Warren was doing his level best to suppress his excitement, but even a longstanding racing manager who has been privy to the highs and the lows of the sport has to crack after witnessing a performance like that of Portcullis in the Wood Ditton Maiden Stakes at Newmarket. The colt's breeder King Charles III was not present at the Rowley Mile but it's a safe bet that he and Queen Camilla will receive the most glowing post-race report from Warren and Portcullis's trainers John and Thady Gosden. "If I'm...