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King's Stand Stakes: Profitable season continues for Cox sprinter
Posted in: Royal Ascot News
The Clive Cox-trained Profitable continued his domination of the season's top five-furlong contests with victory in the King's Stand Stakes.
The improved four-year-old's Royal Ascot victory came after wins already this season in the Palace House Stakes at Newmarket and the Temple Stakes at Haydock where he defeated last year's Nunthorpe winner Mecca's Angel.
The mare was well backed to turn the tables here with recent rain in her favour but having been in the front rank for most of the contest she dropped away to beat only one home. Never too far away, it was 4/1 second favourite Profitable who moved to the front instead around a furlong out though he had to knuckle down to see off a determined challenge from 33/1-shot Cotai Glory in the closing stages and hold on by a neck. Another outsider Goken (50/1) got up late for third a further length away.
Winning trainer Cox said: "First time out I thought he might need the run because he's so laid back at home. He won the Palace House Stakes at Newmarket and I was concerned about soft ground for the Temple Stakes and he won that. That gave me confidence coming here today, and he travelled so strongly. Watching everything else fall away while he dug in has made me feel really pleased.
"I bought him as a yearling and he's been progressive all the way. He was so quick to start with that he was hitting the front too soon in races as a youngster and he didn't know what life was all about. He was a victim of his own ability, but when he got the hang of it and we got the hang of him it's been an upward curve.
"We gave him some fancy entries last year because we believed in him, but it didn't quite work out, but physically he's a man now.
"He's very special and I'm delighted for [owner] Alan Spence, for [jockey] Adam Kirby and for the horse's new connections [breeding rights to Profitable were last week sold to Sheikh Mohammed's Darley Stud]. Adam had a late night last night as his wife was expecting a baby [now born] and to win a Group One so soon after makes it a great day.
"Any horse that wins a Group One is special and I hope we can enjoy a little more success before he goes off to stud. We didn't enter him for the July Cup because I felt he was best over five furlongs, but the way he has toughed it out today on easy ground, we may need a rethink. We'll talk with Alan and see what's what."
The soft ground had a big impact on the final field, resulting in four non-runners from the 21 originally declared to run. The absentees included former dual winner Sole Power, last year's Queen Mary winner Acapulco and Goldream who won a firm-ground renewal of the King's Stand twelve months ago.
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