GEORGE BOUGHEY has Air To Air ready to fire as the young gun trainer takes aim at another big Ascot handicap.
Ambitious Boughey, 30, has only been training for three years but won the 1,000 Guineas in May and last month bagged his first Royal Ascot win.
He is hungry for more and believes Air To Air can take tomorrow’s Moet & Chandon International Stakes on one of Flat racing’s biggest days of the season.
The scopey four-year-old returned to action this season when sent off a well-backed 13-8 favourite at Yarmouth last month.
He has been put up a modest 4lb for that cosy win and still looks ahead of the handicapper.
The layers have quickly learned not to take any chances with Boughey’s runners and Air To Air has been cut to 8-1 for tomorrow’s seven-furlong test.
Boughey said: “It was great when Inver Park won the Buckingham Palace and, of course, Cachet’s Guineas win was fabulous for the team. Now we just have to keep going, keep up the momentum.
“It’s is always about the next good horse and the next big race.
William Hill: Bet £10 GET £30 in free bets – CLAIM HERE
Betfair – Bet £10 Get £30 – CLAIM HERE
Paddy Power: Bet £/€20 and get it back as Cash if it Loses – CLAIM HERE
Sky Bet – Bet anything and get £30 in Free Bets – CLAIM HERE
Ladbrokes – Bet £5 Get £20 – CLAIM HERE
Coral – Bet £5 Get £20 – CLAIM HERE
William Hill: 18+. Play Safe. New customers using Promo code H30 only, Min £10/€10 stake, min odds 1/2, free bets paid as 2 x £15/€15, free bets credited after settlement of first qualifying bet, free bets will expire 30 days after the qualifying bet is placed, payment method/player/country restrictions apply. Begambleaware.org
Betfair – Place a min £10 bet on the Sportsbook on odds of min 1/2 (1.5), get £30 in Free Bets. Rewards valid for 30 days. SMS verification required. Only deposits via cards will qualify. T&Cs apply. Please Gamble Responsibly 18+ begambleaware.org
Paddy Power: Bet £/€20 and get it back as Cash if it Loses – New customers only. Place your FIRST bet on any sportsbook market and if it loses we will refund your stake in CASH. Max refund for this offer is £/€20. Only deposits made using Cards or Apple Pay will qualify for this promotion. T&Cs apply. Paddy’s Rewards Club: Get a £/€10 free bet when you place 5x bets of £/€10+. T&Cs apply. 18+ Begambleaware.org
Sky Bet: NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY,FIRST SINGLE & E/W BET ONLY, 5p MINIMUM STAKE, 3 x £10 BET TOKENS. FREE BET STAKES NOT INCLUDED IN RETURNS. FREE BETS EXCLUDE VIRTUALS. FREE BETS ARE NON WITHDRAWABLE. NO FREE BET EXPIRY. ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS AND FURTHER T&CS APPLY. 18+ BEGAMBLEAWARE.ORG
Ladbrokes: 18+ New UK+IRE Customers only. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. Min first £/€5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 to get 4x £/€5 free bets. Free bets available to use on selected sportsbook markets only. Free bets valid for 7 days, stake not returned. Restrictions + T&Cs apply. Begambleaware.org
Coral: Eligible UK+IRE players. Paypal & some deposit & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4x £5 free bets. Free bets valid for 7 days, stake not returned. No cash-out, restrictions & T&Cs apply. 18+ T&Cs Apply. Begambleaware.org
“I’m looking forward to going back to Ascot. We have three nice chances on King George day.”
Air To Air is certainly one of them. He won a couple of races last season before appearing to go off the boil.
However Boughey has not been hard on the horse and says there were valid excuses for his season tapering off. Boughey, who trains in Newmarket said: “Air To Air lost a shoe coming out of the stalls in the Britannia. Then at Donny and Windsor the races were not run to suit him.
“I’ve always liked him and have had him marked down as one of the best in the yard.
“He’s a well-bred horse from a late-maturing family and he physically looks bigger and stronger this season. We have given him the time to grow into himself.
“He’s a good-moving sort who I am sure will show his best turn of foot on fast ground.”
Boughey had pencilled in Inver Park for tomorrow’s race but his Royal Ascot hero will instead go for an audacious double in the Stewards’ Cup in a week’s time.
Boughey said: “That’s the plan with Inver Park. He surprised me winning on that good to firm ground at Royal Ascot so he must be pretty versatile as I always thought he’s best with some give.
“Dropping back to six furlongs will not be a problem for him.”
As well as Air To Air Boughey also runs smart fillies Kinta and Oscula in tomorrow’s two opening Group 3 races.
He said: “Kinta has done everything right to win her first two races and there should be more to come. This is a step up in class but she is a nice filly.
“Oscula is very consistent and won a Group 3 in France last year.
“She goes to Ascot with a solid chance after running well at Chester.”
Boughey, the son of a Dorset farmer, only took out his own trainer’s licence in July 2019 after working as assistant to Hugo Palmer for six years at Newmarket.
In his first season, he had four horses and two winners. That rose to 85 last season.
And this year he took his tally to 68 with one runner and one winner at Yarmouth yesterday.
Boughey said: “We now have just over 100 horses in the yard, which is great. Racing is very much a numbers game.
“We work hard to find good horses and good owners. The horses who don’t make the grade we just move on. We bought ten horses at the recent July Sales so we don’t rest on our laurels and wait for horses to come to us. We go out there and find them at the sales and the breeze-ups.
“The majority of horses we run are those we have bought at the sales.”
As for stable star Cachet, she is on a mid-season break with a view to her coming back in the autumn for the Breeders’ Cup in America. Boughey said: “She looks terrific and has done us proud.
“There is a toll to running in Group 1s and we just needed to give her a little break.”
Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. 18+. T&Cs apply. Begambleaware.org
A responsible gambler is someone who:
