3 minute read

Classic-placed runner switches back up to a mile

Roger Teal, trainer of last year's 2000 Guineas runner-up Tip Two Win , remains hopeful of a return to form in the Fred Cowley MBE Memorial Summer Mile Stakes at Ascot.

The four-year-old defied odds of 50-1 to finish second in the Newmarket Classic, but has yet to repeat that performance in his subsequent runs.

After finishing lame over a mile and two furlongs in the Qatar Derby at Doha in December, Tip Two Win stepped down to six furlongs with a run in last month's Group One Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.

After the grey finished 11th of 17 on his return then, Teal intends to move back up to a one-mile trip at Ascot on Saturday.

He said: "We're hopeful. We ran at Royal Ascot, and that will have brought him on a ton. We're hoping for a big run from him.

"I think Beat The Bank will be the horse to beat, last year's winner. If you beat him, you'll be doing very well."

Speaking of the decision to return to a mile, Teal added: "It was always the plan – Royal Ascot was just trial and error. We needed to blow a few cobwebs away, because we've missed a lot of his early preparation.

"His owner, Anne Cowley, sponsors the race for her late husband – so it was always on his radar."

The Owen Burrows-trained Wadilsafa also holds an entry for the Summer Mile.

Last seen finishing second in the Listed Ganton Stakes at York, the Frankel colt will take on Group Two company for the first time this weekend.

"It's a bit early to say how he'll go – it depends on who's declared and who's running," said Burrows.

"Beat The Bank has done nothing wrong all season, and Accidental Agent might have blotted his copybook at Ascot, but he still ran well in the Lockinge.

"It's a Group Two – they're all there to be respected."

A good run could see Wadilsafa aimed at the Group Two Celebration Mile at Goodwood in August, with his trainer not ruling out a step up in trip later in the season.