Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports, British racing trainer Ed Walker has slammed the sport's leadership as “hopeless” ahead of the Ebor Festival at York next week.
Walker argues that York Festival doesn’t want 150/1 winners and gives an insight into his team of horses heading to York next week, along with some shrewd selections to watch out for.
The outspoken trainer also gave his thoughts on what a Willie Mullins vs Aiden O’Brien battle could mean for the future of flat racing.
We Don’t Want 150/1 Winners In York!
They just get it right in every aspect. Staff are very well looked after, horses, owners and the racing public - everyone's well looked after, everyone has a good time.
It’s a great track, the ground is always well maintained to the best of their ability and without dissing Goodwood, you know it's fair racing, the best horse normally wins in those good races. You don't get huge, hard luck stories and strange results so often. In championship racing, we don't want strange results; we don’t want 150-1 winners.
The Lennox was disappointing, and the Sussex was disappointing. We want to see the champions be champions. No one wants to go and watch Roger Federer play tennis and see him getting beaten by a wild card. I think York is fantastic in that respect. I love Ascot too because it's so international.
It was our best year last season [at York]. We had an amazing York last year, Celandine in the Lowther, and Scenic in the Galtres Stakes, and Canoodled won the fillies’ handicap. When Celandine and Scenic both won on the same day, it was at an important stage of my career and was important for me. I was probably not renowned really for training two-year-olds.
So, to go and win one of the major two-year-old fillies’ races of the season, which the Lowther is, it's a very prestigious and a tough race to win, was a real boost to my career. It has changed our profile as a business a bit. It's really helped. Scenic is a wonderful filly, but has sadly retired now. She bolted up and watching that it was great.
My Ebor Festival Team
The ground will almost certainly be too quick for Balmoral Lady in the Nunthorpe. Celandine and Mgheera will probably go on fast ground. Both are in great nick.
Celandine has had a really disruptive three-year-old campaign through a very strange throat infection, which really derailed her. The plan was always the Commonwealth Cup. She had a good comeback run in the Summer Stakes, and then at Chester, it was annoying. She couldn't quite get there, but was in front before and after the line.
I'm intrigued to bring her back to five furlongs. I think fast ground, five furlongs on a track that suits her, as we know, will be very interesting.
For Mgheera, the Nunthorpe has always been the plan since The Temple. And she's flying. She’ll love the ground, the track, the trip. It should all tick boxes for her. You still need an enormous amount of luck in those sprints. It's not ideal that she's always a touch slow from the gates on a speed-favouring track. But I expect she'll be rattling home.
Qilin Queen Fresh For Yorkshire Oaks
I don't know. We'll probably leave her in this week and see how she works. I gave her plenty of time after her win at Longchamps. It was exceptionally hot that day, really, really sweltering.
She took quite a long time to bounce back. She's back now, she's fresh as well, and we'll see. But maybe it’s just a bit too soon. If so, that would mean the Prix Vermeille or the St Leger.
Royal Fixation Ready To Go
She’s in great form. This has been the target since Newmarket. She’s a very exciting filly.
She gave Karl Burke a fright at Newmarket, and that's as good a form as if there's probably been over six furlongs this year. We're really excited about that, but as always, it’s a very competitive, wide-open race.
Do or Do Not Die might run in the Acomb. He's the highest-rated maiden in the country, if not the world! He keeps getting placed in Group races but hasn't won one yet. He’s a cool horse.
Best Bets
Nap: Royal Fixation. If she can back up that run at Newmarket and hopefully step forward from only the second start of her career, then it's going to take a good one to beat her, I'd say. She's our shortest price.
NB: Mgheera. I know she got quite comfortably beaten at the Curragh, but softer ground and a stiff track didn't play to her strengths. I think York would really, really suit her. William Buick is back on board, and we are very excited about seeing her run.
Longshot: Astrazar is a horse we haven't seen the best of yet.
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Willie Mullins' Flat Ambitions? That’s Aidan O’Brien’s Territory!
No. Where the Irish domination comes from on the Flat is really Aidan [O’Brien] and Coolmore, predominantly in the middle distance to staying divisions, but because they're the only ones really focusing on breeding Derby winners. There aren't many studs out there trying to breed Derby winners. The scale they're doing it at creates a massive dominance.
You look at the St Leger entries and all those staying races, they're completely dominated by Coolmore. So, until we start breeding more stayers, there will always be an Irish dominance there.
Darley is doing a fantastic job at the moment. They've got some brilliant stallions and some very exciting young stallions. I think it's competitive and there's plenty of variety out there still. So it doesn’t worry me.
If Willie did focus on the Flat, the only person who would worry is probably Aidan O’Brien! I'd be amazed if Willie starts trying to win Nunthorpes and Lowthers.
Racing Shake-Up Badly Needed For Sports Future
I think it's got to be good. Since I've been fully immersed in racing, the tripartite agreement has been hopeless. How anybody ever thought any decisions could be made is beyond me.
In business, someone has to make decisions and be responsible for them. I think that racing needs someone who's able to make the right decisions for the sport, not for each stakeholder’s individual pocket.
It can only be good. I'm very excited about it. I hope it's as good as I think it can be. Some people are going to squeal, and some people are not going to like it. Some people are not going to be taking as much money out of the sport as they have been. But it's needed.
It's a shakeup. The way this sport is going at the moment, without doom-mongering, is not overly positive.
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