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Gale Force Ten continues the O'Briens' Royal Ascot run in Jersey Gale Force Ten gave trainer Aidan O'Brien his third winner of Royal Ascot 2013, while the trainer's son Joseph enjoyed his second victory at the meeting, when posting a head score in the Group 3 Jersey Stakes on Wednesday. Gale Force Ten chased the pacesetting Dont Bother Me before grabbing command with two furlongs remaining. Once in front, though, the bay son of the Oasis Dream began idling until Montiridge suddenly appeared and took a slim margin advantage. Gale Force Ten fought back to just prevail by a head on the line. "He's a very tough horse. I was praying that someone would come to me before I got to the line because he wasn't doing a stroke (in front)," Joseph O'Brien said. "Richard (Hughes on Montiridge) actually headed me and, as soon as my horse saw him, he put his head down and fought. He was being very idle and I got to the front a mile too soon on him but he has been brave. "He got a mile very well at the Curragh and that's why I didn't want to get back too far -- I had to keep my rhythm going. He's small but he has a big heart. He's fairly uncomplicated and you could drop him back to six furlongs. He has been running consistently well." Gale Force Ten, the 9-2 Jersey favorite, came into the seven-furlong affair on the back of a classic second in the Irish Two Thousand Guineas behind stablemate Magician. "He fought back well. Joseph said in an ideal world Gale Force Ten does not want to be in front as long as he was. It suited us for the horse to be challenged," Aidan O'Brien commented. "He is a very hardy horse, loves the fast ground and has plenty of pace. He had two very good runs in classics so he was entitled to win this. "He can step back to a mile or go over six furlongs, which is unusual. Over six furlongs, he would not get to the front so early which might suit him. There are a lot of options. Mozart (2001) won this race by the same sort of distance (a neck) after being second in the Irish Two Thousand Guineas." Magician was unable to duplicate his classic success at Royal Ascot on Tuesday, winding up ninth and last in the Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes. "Magician is sore after yesterday -- he was in the wars and lost his rhythm totally," the trainer added. "He had a hard week and for him to turn up was the big thing." Gale Force Ten's only prior win of 2013 came in the Patton Stakes at Dundalk to open his three-year-old campaign on April 5. In addition to the Guineas, he's also run fourth this season in the Group 1 French Two Thousand Guineas. Last season, Gale Force Ten finished third in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes and second in the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes. Michael Tabor, the lead Coolmore partner in Gale Force Ten, was obviously happy with Wednesday's first group success. "We fancied him. Obviously, he was drawn the far side, which was not a positive, but we thought that he would be good enough even though he was drawn poorly," Tabor declared. "Aidan's horses are fit and they come again and this horse had run well previously. It's been a fantastic week, a great two days so far and hopefully there is more to come." While the Ballydoyle camp was celebrating, former champion trainer Richard Hannon and champion jockey Richard Hughes continued suffering a frustrating Royal Ascot. There is plenty of time for that to change, and their horses are running well, but they have yet to reach the winner's spot. Toronado's very close second in Tuesday's James's Palace sums up their luck, and Montiridge matched that in the Jersey. "We're hitting the crossbar," Hannon said with a sense of exasperation. "He wanted more give in the ground, but he's shown today he's pretty good," he added of Montiridge. "There are a couple of group races in France we can look at, including the Prix Jean Prat. That is on June 30, only 10 days away, but he's a pretty tough horse." Of Toronado, Hannon said, "We led him out this morning and he's fine. He lost about ten kilos, but it was a tough race. The Sussex Stakes is the obvious next race and probably the Prix Jacques Le Marois." Hughes was suspended for one day following his ride on Montiridge, after being found guilty of careless riding. According to the ruling, he allowed Montiridge to maneuver left before being sufficiently clear of unplaced Well Acquainted. The ban is set to take place on July 3. Trainer Saeed bin Suroor was unsure about running Tawhid in the Jersey, fearing the ground would be too quick, yet the Godolphin-owned colt ran a fine race to take third while just 1 1/2 lengths behind the top two. "He ran a huge race," bin Suroor said. "He finished the race really well, but I'm sure that on a softer surface he would have run even better. We'll look for another group race for him. He's entered in the Sussex Stakes, but we'll look at all options if it is soft enough for him." Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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