JOHN QUINN and David O’Meara will be aiming to re-write local history at Newmarket on Saturday when The Wow Signal and Hail The Hero line-up for the Qipco 2,000 Guineas. It is 62 years since a Ryedale trainer last won the first colts’ Classic of the season.

Capt Charles Elsey sent out Nearula, ridden by Edgar Britt, to clinch the 1953 2,000 Guineas to post a famous victory for Highfield Stables. And now, Quinn, the present incumbent of Highfield, bids to do the same with The Wow Signal, one of last year’s star juveniles.

O’Meara, based at Nawton near Helmsley, saddles Hail The Hero, a Doncaster maiden winner, who was far from disgraced in the Craven Stakes, a traditional stepping stone to the Guineas.

“I am very happy with him,” said Quinn, who is entering the fray without giving The Wow Signal a preparatory outing this season. Instead, he took him to Pontefract earlier this month and galloped him after racing with Frankie Dettori, retained jockey to owners Al Shaqab Racing, in the saddle.

“Pontefract really brought him on and his last two pieces of work have been very good,” says the Norton trainer, who will be having only his second-ever Classic runner.

“Red Duke ran in the 2,000 Guineas three years ago and ran well to finish 10th of the 21 runners on ground too soft for him. But he was a Group 2 horse. The Wow Signal is a Group 1 horse.”

He proved that last season when winning the Prix Morny at Deauville in August, a victory which followed his Royal Ascot success in the Coventry Stakes.

“The two question marks with him are - has he trained on and will he get a mile, given that he hasn’t won over further six furlongs? You never know for sure if they’ve trained on, but I feel he’s got every chance on pedigree of staying the trip. We haven’t trained him any differently with that in mind, other than to keep him relaxed and to make sure that when he works, he’s ridden to come home.”

Hail The Hero, owned by Middleham Park Racing who secured him from the Aidan O’Brien stable at the end of last season, won nicely at Doncaster’s opening meeting of the campaign before dipping his toe into Group 3 waters in the Craven Stakes. He finished sixth of the seven runners, but was beaten by little more than five lengths by the winner Kool Kompany.

“I didn’t think he looked out of place in the Craven and I think he could have finished a couple of places closer if things had gone differently,” said O’Meara.

It’s a tall order for the impeccably-bred Hail The Hero to now bid for Classic glory, but the trainer added: “The owners are very keen to run, so we’ll give it a go.”

The opposition to the locals on Saturday will include former Malton-based jockey Paul Hanagan aboard Estidkaar, who is one of the favourites after his narrow defeat in the Greenham Stakes at Newbury a couple of weeks ago.

It promises to be a great race. Fingers are crossed that The Wow Signal and Hail The Hero perform admirably and that one of them can replicate the victory of Nearula all those years ago. That would be something to celebrate.

 

• FIVE straight wins last season proved Custom Cut to be a highly talented and progressive performer. And the Ryedale colt underlined that his progression has not yet ended by making a winning start to the latest campaign with an all-the-way Group 2 success at Sandown last Friday.

Trained by David O’Meara and ridden by Danny Tudhope, Custom Cut produced a spirited display to win the bet365 Mile.

“He was very tough and Danny gave him a great ride,” said O’Meara. “It’s good to see him back in great form. He’s a wonderful little horse.”

Next stop for Custom Cut could be a crack at Group 1 company at Newbury next month in the Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes. No horse deserves a victory at the highest level more.

 

• IT’S the sort of question that might well pop-up in a racing trivia quiz of the future. Which jockey rode the winner of the first-ever Flat race at Wetherby?

The answer is Ryedale rider David Allan, who steered the Alan Swinbank-trained In Focus to a narrow victory in the opening race on Sunday’s historic meeting at Yorkshire’s ‘A1’ course. Wetherby has been staging jumps racing since 1891, but they are holding four Flat fixtures this summer as a way of supplementing their racing programme and utilising their fabulous facilities which otherwise would stand empty for four months.

Trainers and jockeys were unanimous in their praise of the new Flat course, which looks very much here to stay. Allan, who went on to complete a double on Moccasin in the final race, said: “It rides very well, no problems at all. I was drawn on the inside on In Focus over a mile, but I would imagine if you were drawn wide, you could lose ground around the (home) turn. But it’s a good track.”

Paul Mulrennan, another jockey to ride two winners on the curtain-raising card, was in full agreement. “It’s the sort of course where you can ride a race,” he said. “The bend rode well and it’s a good long straight.”

Malton jockey Jason Hart lifted the feature race on Ridge Ranger for Eric Alston. He added: “It’s a really good course. I’ll look forward to going back again.”

 

• TIM EASTERBY was under no illusion that Excessable was a smart juvenile on what he’d shown him at home and, at Ripon last Saturday, the son of Sakhee’s Secret proved his talents to a wider audience when making a winning debut under David Allan by three-and-a-half lengths.

“He’s a lovely horse and has been very professional all the way through,” said Easterby, who bought Excessable for only £6,000 as a yearling. On Saturday, the colt picked up more than £5,000 in prize money and a £10,000 bonus. A good return for a first hit.

Immediate plans for Excessable are in the melting pot, but he will get the opportunity of going for some jackpot prizes later in the season.

“He’s got entries in the Weatherbys Super Sprint, the big sales race at Doncaster and the Redcar Two-Year-Old Trophy,” said Easterby.

Plenty more, it seems, will be heard of Excessable in the coming weeks and months.

 

• GEORGE CHALONER posted a notable success at Ripon on Saturday when winning the feature sprint on Piper’s Note, trained by Richard Whitaker.

Norton-based Chaloner, who had also scored on the gelding at Beverley on his previous outing, said: “He’s improving with every race.”

A crack at the Stewards’ Cup at Goodwood in is being considered for Piper’s Rock. Success in that race would sit nicely for Chaloner, who won the Wokingham Handicap at Royal Ascot last season on the Richard Fahey-trained Baccarat.