Epic Poet gets it all right in Old Borough Cup
Bought out of Freddie and Martyn Meade’s yard for 48,000 guineas last autumn, the five-year-old had run with credit on each of his first four starts for David O’Meara, notably picking up second place in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes at Royal Ascot before placing fifth in the John Smith’s Cup and fourth in the Ebor York.
The son of Lope De Vega was sent off at 11-2 shot to claim the lion’s share of £100,000 on Merseyside and after travelling ominously alongside Waxing Gibbous inside the final two furlongs, he saw out the one-mile-six-furlong trip well to get the better of that determined rival by a neck.
O’Meara said: “I’m delighted with him. He’s had a very good season without winning.
“He ran a cracker at Royal Ascot and I think he was the only horse with a high draw to get in the frame in the Ebor, so he deserved to win a big one – it’s not before time. It was a great ride from Danny as usual and it’s great to get his head in front.
“I’m not sure where we’ll go now, but I wouldn’t be put off trying him in a Pattern race – I think he’s good enough.
“Long-term, I wouldn’t mind looking at the Red Sea Turf Handicap in Saudi Arabia, which is obviously worth a lot of money.”