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50th John Smith's Cup Meeting Preview

9th July 2009

Click here to view the first running of the 1960's John Smith's Cup when Fougalle crossed the line first.

The 50th running of The John Smith’s Cup – Britain’s longest continuous commercially-sponsored race named after Britain’s best-selling ale – is the centre-piece of a quality seven-race programme at York on Saturday (July 11), the second day of the early July Meeting on the Knavesmire.

One of Europe’s most prestigious, competitive and valuable middle-distance handicap contests, Saturday’s renewal of The John Smith’s Cup is contested over the extended one mile and a quarter – and boasts a total prize fund of £150,000. The winning owner can look forward to receiving the specially-commissioned Wedgewood challenge trophy.

Fougalle was the first winner of this famous race back in 1960, and since then there have been many dramatic moments over the years, with the race becoming a major betting heat of the summer. After supplying the winners of the last two years – Charlie Tokyo and Flying Clarets (last year) - Malton trainer, Richard Fahey will be looking to complete a unique hat-trick.

Always one of the big days of the year in the County , the Golden Jubilee event has been developed as a showcase for ‘Yorkshire’s Finest’, and sees John Smith’s paying homage to their iconic Yorkshire roots with a full Yorkshire menu of locally-sourced and hand-made food. In addition, there will be a number of cask ales available at the racecourse for the first time, thanks to collaboration with fellow Yorkshire brewers, Theakston’s.

Last year, John Smith’s produced a number of limited edition cask ales to celebrate 250 years of brewing at Tadcaster. On e of these ales, the aptly-named ‘Finest Hour’ was brewed in honour of the 90th Anniversary of the RAF, with John Smith’s donating 10p for every pint sold to the RAFA’s ‘Wings Appeal’. The company worked closely and successfully with RAF Linton-on-Ouse, forging strong links with the Yorkshire air base which trains the next generation of jet fighter pilots. The base celebrates its own 90th anniversary this year, and as a mark of respect, Saturday’s opening race at 2-05 p.m. – a Nursery Handicap for two-year-olds – is named in their honour. On a day dedicated to ‘Yorkshire’s Finest’, pilots from RAF Linton-on-Ouse will perform a diamond-formation flypast.

The Band of the Royal Marines will add musical ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ to the Golden Jubilee race meeting celebrations. The corps of trumpets and drums will herald the start of the feature race with the full 40-plus members of this famous band concluding proceedings with the impressive finale known as ‘Beating The Retreat’.

At 12.30 in the Winner’s Enclosure, a platoon of soldiers from 4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (4 YORKS) will parade to receive their medals following a six-month tour in Afghanistan last year. The 26 soldiers from Delta Platoon undertook a Force Protection role in Kabul where they guarded bases of NATO troops, patrolled the city and escorted convoys in the region. The battalion is based in Worsley Barracks, Fulford, York and has companies in Hull, Middlesbrough, Huddersfield and Barnsley and detachments in Keighley, Halifax, Beverley, Leeds, Sheffield, and Northallerton. They will receive their medals from the Regiment’s Honorary Colonel, Colonel Julian Fox. Family and friends have joined them

Saturday’s other race titles draw attention to the best-known brands of brewers, John Smith’s, such as The John Smith’s Extra Smooth Silver Cup Stakes (a £40,000 handicap and Listed contest for stayers over one mile and three-quarters), The John Smith’s ‘No Nonsense Racing’ Stakes, The John Smith’s 50 Years Of Racing Sponsorship Maiden Stakes, The John Smith’s Yorkshire’s Finest Stakes and The John Smith’s Cask Stakes.

Racing on Friday (July 10) begins at 2.15 p.m. and features The Cuisine de France Summer Stakes, a Group 3 sprint contest over six furlongs for fillies and mares, offering prize money of £65,000. This race forms the backdrop for the annual charity day in support of Caravan – the National Grocers Benevolent Fund which exists to provide financial aid for those people who have served in the grocery industry. The Yorkshire branch of the charity is once again responsible for Friday’s fund-raising activities, which also involves four other sponsored races – The Cadbury Cup (a handicap race over one mile and a half), The Mr. Kipling Exceedingly Good Stakes (a handicap contest for three-year-olds over one mile and three-quarters),The Cakemark EBF Maiden Stakes for two-year-olds over seven furlongs, The ‘Caravan Chairman’s Charity’ Stakes (a handicap contest over seven furlongs), while apprentice jockeys take part in the concluding race on Friday, The Warburtons, Bakers Born & Bred Handicap Stakes, a handicap contest for sprinters over the minimum distance of five furlongs.

Going into this meeting, Richard Fahey is in pole position to retain his title as York’s top trainer and once again secure The Minster Jaguar Trophy. He has recorded six winners so far this term, three clear of both David Nicholls and Saeed bin Suroor. The champion jockey, Ryan Moore has also made his mark at York this season, leading the way in the riders’ category with five winners.

A number of giant screens will enable racegoers to enjoy even more of the action on both days, along with the racing from Newmarket’s July Meeting on Friday, while the popular punter’s panel held prior to racing on the winners’ podium will preview the card on both days.

Related News: Fahey searching for John Smith's Cup hat-trick

YORKSHIRE-based trainer Richard Fahey looks to have a strong hand as he bids to win a third successive John Smith’s Cup, the 50th renewal of which will be staged at York on Saturday July 11.

In what is the longest-running sponsorship in Flat racing, the Tadcaster-based brewer and York Racecourse are looking forward to celebrating the Golden Jubilee of this flagship handicap.

Fahey, based in Malton, wants to continue to keep it a local affair at his favourite track and has six horses among the 86-strong entry for the £150,000 heritage handicap, which he won in 2007 with Charlie Tokyo and then, 12 months later, with Flying Clarets.

Fahey has entered Albaqaa, Charlie Tokyo, Deadly Secret, Deep Winter, Unbreak My Heart and Viva Ronaldo - who broke his maiden at York last season - as he goes in search of what would be a first-ever hat-trick in the historic race.

Asked who he considers to be his leading contender at this stage, Fahey indicated that it was Albaqaa. The four-year-old gelding, entered in the 9f Ladbrokes.com-sponsored handicap at York this Saturday, ran a promising race over course and distance when fourth in a handicap at last month’s Dante Festival.

Fahey said: "Albaqaa is a horse that I would be keen to run in the John Smith’s Cup. He gets the trip well and I think the race would suit him. He almost tries too hard but if they go a million (miles an hour) it might just help him settle better."

Another intriguing Fahey-trained contender entry is Unbreak My Heart, who finished sixth of 15 in last month’s Zetland Gold Cup at Redcar.

Fahey said: "Ideally, he wants soft ground. If it turned up soft on the day it would bring him into play. He gets the trip well."

Explaining his fondness for an event that he also won by a head in a thrilling 2002 renewal with Vintage Premium, Fahey added: "The John Smith’s Cup and the Ebor (sponsored by totesport) are two races that we love to try and win. I’ve targeted the John Smith’s Cup and been lucky enough to win it three times."

Another trainer to have a cluster of entries is Ed Dunlop. He has put forward five horses, including the progressive Aqwaal, successful on each of this last three starts, recent Lingfield conditions stakes winner Wasan and Derbaas, third in the Silver Bowl at Haydock last month.

Newmarket-based Dunlop said: "We would love to be represented in this year’s John Smith’s Cup, a very valuable race and one steeped in history. Among those we have entered, Aqwaal, Derbaas, Wasan and Stone Of Scone could all run at Royal Ascot, so we will see how they perform and then consider our options for the John Smith’s Cup."

Second-season trainer David Lanigan has earmarked the race for his charge Ben Chorley. The comparatively lightly-raced five-year-old helped put Lanigan on the map by recording three straight wins before a setback prematurely curtailed his 2008 season. But connections have been patient with him and this afternoon Ben Chorley is due to return at Haydock after a 356-day lay-off.

Lanigan said: "The John Smith’s Cup would be a nice target for him to have. If he were to win at Haydock, I would aim to run him at Royal Ascot in the Wolferton (Listed) handicap on June 19 and then consider the John Smith’s Cup.

"We had him spot-on for it last year – he was training brilliantly. But a chip in a joint in front reared its ugly head at the wrong time. So we flushed the joint out, did the right thing by the horse and gave him the winter off before bringing him back gradually."