Mill Reef Stakes to be Run in Honour of Geoff Lewis

[Wandering Eyes]

This year's renewal of the G2 Mill Reef Stakes will be run in honour of the late Geoff Lewis, whose association with the great Mill Reef was the highlight of the Welshman's hugely successful career in the saddle.

Lewis, who died last month at the age of 89, partnered Mill Reef to win 12 of his 14 career starts, notably landing the Derby, Eclipse, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in an outstanding three-year-old campaign in 1971.

He later embarked on a training career after retiring from the saddle in 1979. From a relatively small stable in Epsom he enjoyed great success with horses such as the top sprinter Lake Coniston, whose victories included the July Cup and Duke Of York Stakes.

The Mill Reef Stakes, which was first run at Newbury Racecourse in 1972, takes place this year on Saturday, September 20. Following last week's scratching stage, 35 two-year-olds remain in contention for the six-furlong contest, which will be run as the Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes (In honour of Geoff Lewis).

Another possible runner is the Jim Boyle-trained Into The Sky, who looked a colt of significant potential when recently making a winning debut at Newbury. The son of Starman doesn't feature among the 35 juveniles currently entered in the Mill Reef, but Boyle reported on Tuesday that a supplementary entry is on the cards at a cost of £6,250.

“The most likely race for him now would be the Mill Reef at Newbury,” said the trainer. “He's come out of his race grand, we're very happy with him. Visually, it was extremely impressive and that was backed up by the time.

“You couldn't fail to be pleased with that. We're just looking forward to his next run and hoping he can back it up. We've never had a two-year-old of the sort of quality that we'd be looking to go to the Mill Reef with any degree of expectation.”

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