James McDonald 'beaming' after Coolangatta Ascot workout Coolangatta and Cannonball are among Australia's Royal Ascot hopes and prepared for the King's Stand Stakes on Tuesday with a spin on Ascot's straight track this morning. With Choisir, Takeover Target, Miss Andretti, Scenic Blast, Black Caviar, and Nature Strip all winning the five-furlong highlight prior to the summer showpiece meeting at Royal Ascot , Coolangatta aims to continue the impressive record of Lightning Stakes winners. With co-trainer Ciaron Maher present, Coolangatta and big-race jockey James McDonald trained just shy of five furlongs, and the pair easily outpaced lead horse So Chic at the finish. Maher said: “The idea was to bring Coolangatta here and have a look at the whole surrounds. We did a bit of paddock schooling and then had a nice look at the track. “She stretched nicely to the line and James said she took quite a while to pull up. He was beaming about the work and it was everything I wanted to see. “She has really thrived since being here — she is in the very quiet surrounds of Lambourn — and she was in need of a nice hit out to keep a lid on her.” Coolangatta’s compatriot Cannonball, who represents the training partnership of Peter and Paul Snowden, was last seen finishing third in the Group One Galaxy Handicap at Rosehill in March. The Capitalist colt also enjoyed an Ascot blowout over just short of five furlongs, after which Peter Snowden expressed his satisfaction. “Cannonball did a routine piece of work. He is quite a gross colt and he needed that,” he said. “He arrived here on Friday and had a few easy days, which he had taken the benefit of. The gallop today will bring him back up to the mark somewhat. He will do a bit more on Saturday morning and then he will be ready to go. “My expectations are always exceeded. He is an inexperienced horse but, in his two starts for me, he has shown that he is well above average. “He won the Maurice McCarten in a very fast time and backed up a week later in a Group One, when he probably could have won. He is climbing up the ladder pretty quickly.”
