Courage Mon Ami hits the comeback trail at Newbury

Gold Cup hero Courage Mon Ami makes his return to action in Newbury’s Sky Sports Racing Aston Park Stakes, with owners Wathnan Racing also fielding King’s Gambit.

John and Thady Gosden’s staying star helped establish the Qatari operation as a force in the ownership ranks when striking at Royal Ascot in 2023 and having missed the whole of 2024 with a catalogue of setbacks, Courage Mon Ami makes a long-awaited comeback after a 631-day absence.

“We’re absolutely delighted to have Courage Mon Ami back and he gave us such an amazing start to this project when winning the Gold Cup,” said the Wathnan’s racing adviser Richard Brown.

“He had a number of niggling issues last year and we’ve just given him every chance to get back. The trip will be short of his best, but he’s ready to run and it’s great to have him back on track.”

If the mile-and-a-half distance could prove too sharp for Courage Mon Ami, it appears right up the street of Harry Charlton’s King’s Gambit, who won the London Gold Cup on this card 12 months ago.

Since then he has hit the frame in an array of top contests, which resulted in the son of Saxon Warrior being snapped up by the Emir of Qatar’s team earlier this year.

“There were a lot of excuses last year and we followed him closely all through the season – every time he ran nothing really went perfectly for him,” continued Brown.

“He mixed it with some of the better middle-distance horses around and we would be hopeful he can be knocking on the door in those better middle-distance races this year, but obviously we’re going to have to see how he’s done from three to four.”

King’s Gambit had his first outing in the Wathnan silks in Qatar in February when not disgraced behind Charlie Appleby’s high-class globetrotter Rebel’s Romance and connections are now keen to see him back on home soil as he is partnered by Ryan Moore in this Group Three event.

“I don’t think the race set up perfectly for him in Qatar and he got a little bit warm beforehand and a little bit anxious, so we have gelded him since then,” continued Brown.

“Al Aasy has had a run this season and could be hard to beat but we hope to be competitive. He has run already this year, but he wouldn’t be fully would up I would think and this race has come at the right time to start the main part of his season.”

William Haggas’ aforementioned Al Aasy made a winning return to action over 10 furlongs in the Gordon Richards Stakes and now steps back up in distance at a venue where he has often thrived.

Angus Gold, racing manager for owners Shadwell, said: “I was very impressed with him at Sandown and the reason we ran him over that trip is that William had said the jockeys who had ridden him at home had said he had been a little bit fresh in his work.

“William just didn’t want him over-racing on his first start and thought we would start him over a distance short of his best.

“We didn’t expect to see him go and do that, so that was very satisfactory and it is so nice to see he has still got his enthusiasm as well as his ability.

“Now we’re back up in trip and we know he is in good form going to Newbury – I saw him a couple of nights ago and he looked absolutely fantastic – and hopefully he will give a good account of himself.”

Sunway had Tom Clover’s reopposing Tabletalk ahead of him when the duo filled the podium spots behind Divina Grace over track and trip last month, but trainer David Menuisier is hopeful his Irish Derby second and St Leger third has tightened up for that run.

“He seemed a bit ring rusty the other day and the conditions will probably be exactly the same this time around,” said Menuisier.

“He does seem a little bit sharper for the run but we will see. The opposition is probably a bit better than his comeback run, but he’s in good form and we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed he can run to his best.”