Tom Dascombe On His Ebor Chances And Plans For His Stable Stars

[Wandering Eyes]

SATURDAY marks the final day of York’s fabulous Ebor festival and there is the small matter of the Ebor handicap itself to look forward to – this year worth a record £500,000 in total prize-money.

Among those chasing the pot is trainer Tom Dascombe, who saddles recent runaway Group 3 winner Teodoro in the famous 1m6f prize.

We spoke to Dascombe about his chances of success and also got the lowdown on some of his other stable stars.

We have reached the final day of the Ebor festival. How difficult is it to win races there?

It’s tough to win there for sure – but it’s tough to win anywhere realistically. It’s a big meeting right in the middle of the summer and it’s just a case of trying to keep your good horses on the road and get them in the races that suit them best. It’s somewhere we all want to be and where we all want to be winning if we can.

Teodoro runs for you in the Ebor. How are things with him going into the big race?

He’s grand. He’s 9lb well-in on the handicap in this race as he runs off a mark of 105 but his official rating has gone up to 114. We don’t have any concern about the trip and we’re looking forward to running him.

TEODORO and Richard Kingscotte win The Rose of Lancaster Group 3 at Haydock Park 11/8/18

Teodoro was an impressive winner last time. Was it always the plan to come here or did it become an option after that victory?

This was always the plan. We threw him in the race at Haydock as he has to have fast ground, which it was at Haydock. We went for that because if it did end up being too soft at York we’d have had a horse who we couldn’t go to York with and couldn’t really go anywhere else with. Fortunately we managed to win the race and it’s a real boost coming into this race.

You have a number of high-profile owners, including former international footballer Michael Owen and Betfair co-founder Andrew Black. Does that add any extra pressure at all?

It helps generate interest in the yard and obviously we want to do well for them, and all our other owners as well. Laurence Bellman and Caroline Ingram, who own Teodoro, have had horses with me ever since the first day I started training. It would be terrific if he could win for them.

Proschema represents you in the Melrose Stakes at York. How do you rate his prospects?

He’s a beautiful horse and he’s be a good stallion in Declaration Of War; I think he’s going to do really well as a sire. He has a definite preference for a bit of cut in the ground, which is probably isn’t going to get, but he is capable on quicker ground. This will be his last run until the autumn when we will see if we can nick a nice handicap with him. I’m not saying he doesn’t have a chance on Saturday – he ran really well at Goodwood – but the slower ground in the autumn will suit him more.

PROSCHEMA with R Kingscote wins from left ARGENTELLO 2nd and right BLAZING SADDLES 3rd at Doncaster 24-3-18.

The owners of Proschema also have useful juvenile Great Scot. What is the plan for him?

We bought him back for his breeders at the sales for £2,500 and he’s been excellent in his three runs this season. He was desperately unlucky in a Listed race at Deauville last time as it didn’t quite pan out for him and he was beaten two short heads. It shows what he’s capable of though and hopefully he can gain some compensation next time. I’m not sure where that will be yet.

Arthur Kitt has been your leading two-year-old this season. Where will we see him next?

He runs next Saturday in the Solario Stakes at Sandown, all being well. Afterwards, depending on how we get on, we’ll make a plan with him in consultation with his owner Andrew Black.

Arthur Kitt – Richard Kingscote wins from Nate The Great – Daniel Tudhope in The Chesham Stakes

His latest run was when winning the Chesham at Royal Ascot. How good do you think he could be?

The form of the Chesham has worked out really well. I think immediately after the race everyone thought it was a poor race, but now in August people are thinking it’s a bit better race than they did at the time. We certainly think he’s a very talented horse.

What are the plans for Kachy after he bypassed the Nunthorpe Stakes on Friday?

He has disappointed us a bit this season. We can’t beat Battaash so we don’t see the point in keeping taking him on. So what we’ll do is give him a break now and bring him back for another campaign on the all-weather building up to the sprint final on All-Weather Champions Day on Good Friday next year.

And, finally, you and stable jockey Richard Kingscote have been a partnership for a long time. Why do you think you work so well together?

He does his job and I do mine! He a very straightforward, honest man and doesn’t blame the horses if he’s made a mistake. He makes it easy for everyone involved.

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