RACING/Chester report: Clive Brittain's return to the big time continued at Chester yesterday as Dutch Gold spread-eagled his rivals to win the Victor Chandler Chester Vase.
The 69-year-old trainer may be down on numbers compared to seasons gone by but he showed that the glory days are far from over for his Newmarket stables.
A tilt at the Derby beckons for Dutch Gold, although it remains to be seen whether that is the Epsom or Milan version of the Classic, or both. Brittain took this Group Three contest in 1995 with Luso, who went on to win the Italian Derby and add to the trainer's CV of big-race successes.
Other notable names on the roll of honour in the past quarter of a century include Henbit, Unfuwain and Shergar, who won the race by 10 lengths.
Dutch Gold's six-length success over Summerland didn't quite equal that winning margin but was still most impressive.
Frankie Dettori soon sent his mount into the early lead and gradually wound the pace up from the front, extending his advantage throughout the final three furlongs. Summerland stayed on at one pace to finish a further five lengths ahead of disappointing favourite Risk Taker, with the John Oxx-trained Cruzspiel, a Derby entry, a disappointing fourth under Johnny Murtagh.
"It has just been a case of trying to get the message through to him," said Brittain, who has only six three-year-old colts in training at present. "We always knew he would keep getting better with time and over further trips and Frankie rode a great race on him. He doesn't just ride with his arse, he uses his brain as well. It takes a brave horse to make all around here - it's a jockey's track because it is so tactical."
Summerland's trainer John Gosden was far from disappointed with the efforts of his Epsom entry in second place.
"I am very pleased, it was a falsely-run race and he is more of a big galloping type of horse," he said. He is best suited by a strongly-run mile and a half and we have got a good three weeks to think about things."
Parasol extended his unbeaten sequence to four this season with a comfortable victory in the Listed Reitling Watches and Waltons Of Chester Huxley Stakes. Jockey Frankie Dettori was completing a double on the 11 to 8 favourite. Dettori sent the David Loder-trained colt into the lead with just over a furlong to run and though the long-time leader Vintage Premium rallied gamely Parasol held him at bay by three-quarters of a length and a trip to Chicago is on the cards for the winner.
Loder said: "I think the Arlington Million in Chicago will suit him, but that is a long way away (August 16th) - in the meantime we have been slightly discussing whether we might step him up to a mile and a half at some stage and to Group Three company. I would not want to throw him in at the deep end in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes, but the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot might be a nice race for him, after perhaps a run in the Brigadier Gerard at Sandown - but there is nothing set in stone at this stage."
