3 minute read
Kevin Ryan's likeable seven-year-old got his head in front for the first time since winning the Group 1 Haydock Sprint in 2021 when taking out the Listed Blue Eagle Rous Stakes at Ascot.
The son of Shamardal showed some high-class form towards the end of last year having placed in three consecutive Group 1 races but Kevin Ryan's charge has struggled to hit the same heights in four outings this season.
That said, he arrived in good fettle after finishing third behind Commanche Falls in the Listed BetGoodwin Garrowby Stakes at York last month and success never really looked in doubt at Ascot this afternoon.
After a quick exit from the stalls, Neil Callan made his intentions clear as he manoeuvred the gelding towards the stands' side rail, with the pair adopting a handy position at the head of affairs.
Emaraaty Ana travelled powerfully throughout under the hands of Neil Callan and quickened up smartly to take half a length out of his rivals with a few furlongs to travel. The challengers queued up to have a crack entering the final furlong, but Emaraaty Ana found plenty for his rider's urgings to score comfortably by a length and three quarters on his first drop back to the minimum trip this campaign.
Korker ran on well to fill the runner-up spot, but he was no match for the 5/2 market leader.
Paddy Power introduced the Kevin Ryan-trained contender at 16/1 for a repeat effort at the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in November.
"It [the drop in trip] was just a suggestion," said Callan on Sky Sports Racing. "And I think Kevin [Ryan] already had it in the back of his mind. That's the great thing about Kevin as a boss, you can talk openly - he doesn't always listen to you - but at least you can get your point across whether it's the right or the wrong one.
"I was a bit frustrated myself with this horse because I kind of had big plans to win a Group 1 this year at some stage with him and I was half thinking 'was it just me?', was he just not suiting me the way the races were being run because he was getting out of the gates a lot quicker than he normally used to.
"After Newmarket, I suggested, because I thought he was idling a little bit in front, that he just might need a bit of headgear on, and I don't mean that in a bad way. He hasn't lost anything, he's actually gotten faster as he's gotten older, and I think the cheekpieces just sharpened him up and hopefully that's a good confidence booster for him.
"His class has shown through today, he's better than this lot, and I'm just hoping he'll get some confidence out of it now and take the next step back up into better class."
