Strike Red takes back Sprint Trophy crown and underlines Group potential
Celandine ridden by Tom Marquand wins the Lowther Stakes at York
Strike Red has been touted as a potential Group horse after landing the Coral Sprint Trophy for the second time in three years at York.
The six-year-old, trained by Richard Fahey, won this race in 2022 when claiming a three-quarter length success over Hyperfocus under the hands of Billy Garritty.
That jockey was reunited with the son of Dark Angel in his favourable soft-ground conditions over six furlongs at the Knavesmire.
Garritty ensured his mount was prominent in the 21-runner field and positioned himself behind early front-runners Germanic and Sergeant Wilko on the inside rail.
He made his move just after the two-furlong marker and immediately stretched clear of his rivals.
The fast-finishing Room Service, who went off as the 11-2 favourite, closed the gap to three-quarters of a length, but Strike Red reclaimed his title at a price of 6-1.
Garritty has now ridden the last four of Strike Red’s eight career victories and he believes the bay gelding is capable of stepping up in class.
“He’s been magnificent for me and the yard,” Garritty said. “All credit to the governor (Fahey) and Robin (O’Ryan, assistant trainer), because he had a bad injury last year, an injury that really wasn’t seen on any Flat horses, more so jumpers – and this year, he’s been better than ever.
“Things haven’t worked out for him in a few races, but he was brought out easily enough and won easily.
“The way he moves through a race, I always tell the governor, he’s probably a Group horse. There he put it to bed pretty easily and there were top-end handicappers there and he found it quite easy.
“Based on that form, it’s something to look forward to. It was smooth, but when you are on the best horse, it is always smooth.”
