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Moore arrives in England and is ��delighted�� with Able Friend

13/06/2015

Mist and rain greeted John Moore as he made his way to Michael Bell’s Fitzroy House Stables this morning, Saturday, 13 June. The trainer had arrived in Newmarket late the previous night and so had not laid eyes on his stable star, Able Friend, in a week. His first sighting was enough to brighten even the murkiest day.   

“I’ve just arrived and I’m delighted with what I’m seeing – he looks a picture of health,” he said.

As work rider Thomas Yeung guided Able Friend on the now familiar route out of the stable yard and along leafy back lanes to the Racecourse Side work grounds, Moore jumped in a car and scooted across to the Poytrack round gallop, tracked by a hardy handful of media representatives.

Able Friend did his usual warm up in the trotting ring in company with the Bell-trained My Strategy, and then that horse led Hong Kong’s G1 Queen Anne Stakes contender around a couple of laps of the Round Gallop at a canter. The rain was hammering down by the time they pulled up.

Back at the stables, a wet entourage sought shelter. Moore and his son George Moore prepared a bucket of feed for the big Shamardal five-year-old as mafoo Alan Ng removed the tack.

“I was pleased with his work on the Polytrack just now, he did it effortlessly,” said the trainer. “He pulled up very well – very clean in the wind. Although it’s a mile race on Tuesday we know that it’s more like an 1800m race at Ascot, with that incline, but we don’t see any problems there because he’s going to be a very fit horse going into the race.”

Able Friend had a mile turf trial under Joao Moreira at Sha Tin on 2 June and galloped 1200m on the all-weather there on 5 June, just before his departure for England. Since then the Moore team has put the final touches to the chestnut’s fitness.

“Joao said to me when he trialled him in Hong Kong, ‘you’ve probably got a little bit more to go’ and that was the plan,” said Moore. “I didn’t want to have him fully fit before he left Hong Kong for the simple reason that we wanted to keep that condition on him and the condition would come off with the journey. Looking at the work load that he’s going through every morning, his weight is down to a weight that I like, I’m very happy.

“He’s a picture of health. He’s been the best traveller, he’s eaten up, he’s drunk up, he’s enjoyed the gallops, he has his pick of grass of an afternoon, so what more could you ask leading into the race. It’s been problem-free. All in all I’m very excited about what I’ve seen and bring on Ascot.”

Photo 1, 2, 3, 4:<br>
Trainer John Moore oversees Able Friend��s preparation at Newmarket this morning.
Photo 1:
Photo 1, 2, 3, 4:
Trainer John Moore oversees Able Friend��s preparation at Newmarket this morning.


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