Isle Of Jura after his Hardwicke triumph (Megan Coggin)
Ascot Racecourse Press Release
Jockey Callum Shepherd and trainer George Scott notched their first Royal Ascot winner courtesy of Isle Of Jura in the G2 Hardwicke Stakes.
An emotional Shepherd saluted the crowd as four-year-old Isle Of Jura (16/1) crossed the line almost four lengths clear of Goliath, with Middle Earth three quarters of a length further back in third. The 13/8 favourite Continuous finished fifth.
The winner has progressed markedly in the past year and enjoyed a superb sequence while racing in Bahrain during the winter, winning four of his five starts. He is owned by Bahrain’s Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
Shepherd’s show of elation came weeks after he was replaced on eventual Derby runner Ambiente Friendly, following the duo’s win in the Lingfield Derby Trial.
Shepherd said: “Isle Of Jura has been amazing. We took him over for that handicap series in Bahrain initially, and obviously you hope he’s going to be better than that, but at that stage we had no idea. He just kept improving; he’s never let us down and has got better with every start.
“He has become very straightforward, and he has a real desire to win as well. He was rusty at Goodwood, but you still saw that innate desire to pass the post in front, which is so important. It’s so wonderful for his owner, Sheikh Nasser; it was lovely he went over there so they could enjoy him on home soil, so to speak, and he’s come back and continued to climb.
“Isle Of Jura was so good today – he loves quick ground and stays a mile and a half very well. Six weeks ago I thought I’d found my diamond [Ambiente Friendly] and that wasn’t to be, but Isle Of Jura has certainly blossomed into one.
“We had a great winter and I’d ridden plenty of winners, and it was all going pretty smoothly, but that’s sport – it won’t all go your way for long, and I’m so fortunate to have this horse to continue to bring me to the big occasions. Hopefully, we haven’t made too many mistakes yet and hopefully it will stay that way.
“He has not stopped improving so far with every start, so hopefully he can continue that way. If you look at him as a physical specimen, you would hope the best is yet to come. He is actually a very lazy work horse at home – he’d go by a 70 horse and that’s pretty much all he’d push himself to achieve. But George and his team have done such a good job – they’ve got it absolutely to a T.”
Scott said: “Isle Of Jura is a special horse. He has improved all the time and has been a pleasure to train. He has just kept improving physically – he is the most ginormous horse. He is a beautiful mover and a lot of hard work has gone into him at home.
“The finish was a moment I will never forget, everything stopped for a minute and I could enjoy the last half-furlong. Most best-laid plans go to pot, but this has been a long-term plan. This was an obvious race for him. We knew Goodwood would bring him on, and it has. We knew he would get the ground, and he has. It was a scintillating performance, so we shall enjoy it.
“All roads lead to the King George, 100 percent.”
He added: “Callum gave him a perfect ride. He sat nice and tight to a slow pace. He was in pole position and able to make use of his position, kick nice and early and put the race to bed.”
Goliath’s trainer Francis-Henri Graffard said: “We came here because we wanted to avoid the French style of racing, with no pace, and unfortunately today they decided to do a little bit of the same. My horse was a bit too keen through the race; he’s difficult to manage, but not too bad today. I walked the course and there was a good cover of grass and I thought it was safe ground for him, but he’s probably better with a bit of cut. He has to settle in his races to be able to stay and to produce a good turn of foot, but we are very pleased with the run – he’s a very nice horse and we beat some very nice horses, too. He’s entered in the King George, but we’ll see what the weather forecast is. It is a long journey and a tough race, but why not?”
Oisin Murphy said of Middle Earth: “I didn’t want to be back at the field but, as I said before the race, Middle Earth is a bit of a slow starter. He travelled and finished very well. He ran home the last three furlongs in, I’d imagine, the quickest time of the race, so you have to be grateful for that. He’s probably run up to his rating. It wouldn’t surprise me if he went to the King George, but it would be lovely to win a Group Two on the way to more difficult races.”
