Primitivo’s half-sister Implacable runs for us at Nottingham tomorrow
May 20
Alan, who is hoping for the best from Rakki on his turf debut at Windsor this evening, is at the Doncaster Sales this week, but he freely admits that he is unlikely to bag such a bargain as he did with Primitivo, whom he bought for just 10,000gns at Tattersalls Sales in 2014.
Primitivo proved a superstar for Barbury, providing Alan with his first Royal Ascot winner in the King George V Handicap in 2016. That was a magical day for Primitivo’s owners, who included his breeder, Mrs Lesley Field, and full credit to Alan, who had placed the three-year-old brilliantly, the Royal meeting culminating in a 34-day hat-trick of handicap successes
That victory also attracted attention from Hong Kong, with Primitivo subsequently bought to race in the former British colony. He won three races in Hong Kong and also finished second to the multi-Group 1 winner Pakistan Star in the QE11 Cup at Sha Tin. The following year he returned to Britain, Ian Williams training him to win first time out in a Listed handicap at York’s Ebor meeting.
I am waxing lyrical over eight-times winner Primitivo, not just because I was a huge fan of his when he was here at Barbury but because we have Churchill’s three-year-old half-sister Implacable, owned and bred by Mrs Field and Aidan Murphy, running in the novice at Nottingham on Tuesday.
Implacable had just the one run at two, starting at 125-1 on the tapeta surface at Wolverhampton last November and showing plenty of promise in finishing a staying on fifth behind Strutting, who was fourth in the Listed Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket last month.
Whatever Implacable does at Colwick Park, rest assured she will benefit from her first run back, though Mrs Field is realistic enough to accept that she is unlikely to scale the same heights of Primitivo.
We have runners at three different meetings on Wednesday, with recent jumping recruit Finest View, who confirmed debut promise for the stable when winning a mares handicap hurdle at Stratford, only 2lb higher for her repeat bid at Warwick.
Alan has snapped up champion jockey William Buick to ride Smart Charger at Yarmouth. Buick can boast a splendid strike-rate on his rides for Barbury, and, having joined us from Tony Carroll’s stable, Smart Charger made a good start when a length runner-up at Southwell. He is 2lb higher now, but over this extra two furlong trip has obvious prospects.
And our other Wednesday runner is Nap Hand, whom Oisin Murphy rides in the London Mile Qualifier at Kempton. Nap Hand has improved for being gelded, being narrowly beaten in both his races since the operation, He, too, ought to be in the mix.
