Earth Shot swoops for Ribblesdale honours

James Doyle got off the mark for the week at Royal Ascot when Earth Shot reeled in Johanna Walsh in a rather dramatic Ribblesdale Stakes.

Hector Crouch was unseated from Lady Roisia coming out of the stalls and the loose horse ended up at the front of the pack, setting Venetia alight who subsequently set a stiff gallop.

Coming off the home bend Joseph O’Brien’s Johanna Walsh kicked clear looking to give his trainer a fifth winner of the week and as Oaks runner-up Legacy Link was seemingly not over those exertions, she looked to have slipped the field.

Doyle was getting a real tune out of William Haggas’ Earth Shot (4-1) out wide though, and despite having three lengths to make up in the final furlong, got up to win by a head, with Gilded Prize back in third.

Haggas said: “I need to watch it again as when there is a loose horse, the jump jockeys know what to do and push it out at the next fence but for Flat jockeys it is a bit of a new phenomenon and I thought she stayed very well. I didn’t think she would catch the leader at one stage, but she stayed on well.

“I thought she possible should have won at Goodwood last time but she’s always been a beautiful filly and I’ve always said she wants soft ground.

“We always had hopes she would be good and, I guess, for a middle distance filly, winning the Ribblesdale is second best to winning the Oaks but it’s a hell of a prize to win.”

Considering future plans, the Newmarket handler added: “She’s a mile and a half, three-year-old filly and there’s lots of possible races, but there’s a chance she will go for the Irish Oaks now. ”

On reaching the 3,000 career winners milestone at Beverley earlier this week, Haggas said: “We’re very proud and it’s great for Maureen and I and the people who work for us, but I imagine everyone else does not give a hoot!

“In a year’s time no one will know if we’ve had 3,100 or 3,200 and I guess the only people who care are the people who do it. If I had 100 winners a year I would have to train till I was 86 to beat Mark Johnston and I’m not doing that!”

Joseph O’Brien was delighted with the performance of the runner-up. He said: “It was a messy enough race with the loose horse; the loose horse probably interfered with us a bit and the winner was probably affected as much as we were.

“We’re very proud of her run, she’s an exciting filly.”