Marking your card: Dias's story is a Royal Ascot special
Make Haste set to live up to it's name in Queen Mary Stakes
Wednesday, 19 June 2024
Diego Dias has two runners at Royal Ascot on Wednesday
When she came into the yard, she was just a Queen, she has an incredible racing mind and she's got an amazing turn of foot. - Diego Dias on Make Haste
From Punchestown to Leopardstown, Cheltenham to Royal Ascot, it just has to be Willie’s in the lucky last, writes James Toney.
Willie Mullins was the only Green Team trainer on the board in Tuesday's racing, as Belloccio and William Buick delivered in the Copper Horse Handicap Stakes, a tenth win at the meeting for the Master of Closutton.
But Wednesday could deliver some special stories to follow that.
But Diego Dias's journey from a town made rich in Brazil's 18th-century gold rush to Ireland and then gilt-edged Royal Ascot is already quite the tale.
And a win with the brilliantly named Make Haste could just be one for the screenwriters, perhaps toasted in Cachaça, not champagne.
Dias's small Curragh operation had only been licensed for four months when he secured an attention-grabbing winner at Glorious Goodwood last summer.
County Kildare couldn't be more different from Dias's hometown, but this adopted member of the Green Team is loving the opportunities it affords and the welcome he has received.
A victory with his brilliant stable star in the Queen Mary Stakes would put him on a new level - and reward the faith of owners who turned down a €900,000 offer for their pride and joy, such was their belief in the horse and Dias.
Gavin Ryan - who is still looking for his first Royal Ascot winner - admitted he was a passenger in Make Haste's only start, where she lived up to her name with a scorching win at Naas.
"It's very exciting, it's only my second year of training and we have a horse like her already, it's hard to believe sometimes," said Dias, whose industry reputation is now gaining mainstream attention.
"When she came into the yard, she was just a Queen, she has an incredible racing mind and she's got an amazing turn of foot. It's all systems go, she's ready and we can't wait. She's certainly a live chance and she deserves her spot as one of the favourites."
"I thought I'd stay just for a year but I fell in love with the place. I feel very at home here, it's a small town but I've been accepted by everyone," he added.
"I thought I’d stay for a year or two but I’m still here 20 years down the line and to be honest I have no plans to go back. I’m happy and settled and Irish racing is a pretty special thing to be part of."
Dias has a growing number of supporters prepared to invest in a trainer - just 42 - whose future looks bright, his natural horsemanship evident to anyone who spends time at his boutique operation.
"Diego can train, he knows what he is doing and when you have a guy who also sits on them as well, you get a fair insight," said Matt Eves, a co-owner of Make Haste, who first glimpsed the training talent of Dias five years ago.
"He has got some future ahead of him, he’s only got a few in training but he's achieving things not many other trainers are doing."
The quirky five-time Group One winner has already bagged nearly €5m in prize money, but Aidan O'Brien will be the first to admit there have been some deep valleys in a career of soaring peaks.
"We've had the Prince of Wales's in mind for him all season and he's come on well in the last few weeks," said O'Brien. "This nice ground is perfect for him too and we're very happy."
But Birdman was all business in his only two starts, winning at Navan and Cork, and Shane Foley is excited about what could be a second career winner at the meeting.
"He goes on good ground and would go on quicker ground too," said Harrington, who has watched the improving Ascot forecast with keen interest. "We thought he would take the jump in class in his stride and that's what he's done. He's a great big baby. He's only a frame of a horse and still very much a work in progress."
Dylan Browne McMonagle views him as his best chance for a first winner at the meeting and thinks he'll improve from a lacklustre show at the Curragh last month, his first outing in nearly eight months. O'Brien likes a well-travelled horse and is plotting a series of US targets after this Ascot engagement.
This is often a wide-open renewal, but the eight-year-old winner of last year's Irish Cambridgeshire will be suited by a return to a mile on ground he will relish.
Willie Mullins was the only Green Team trainer on the board in Tuesday's racing, as Belloccio and William Buick delivered in the Copper Horse Handicap Stakes, a tenth win at the meeting for the Master of Closutton.
But Wednesday could deliver some special stories to follow that.
“It’s a lot easier coming to Ascot work-wise!”@WillieMullinsNH gets the #GreenTeam off the ground at #RoyalAscot as Belloccio triumphs in the Copper Horse Handicap Stakes 🐎 #EveryRacingMoment | @Franmberry pic.twitter.com/rJ9KgzohwP
— Horse Racing Ireland (@HRIRacing) June 18, 2024
Dias looks to reward owners' faith with first Ascot winner
Minas Gerais is not just half a world away from Royal Ascot, it's virtually on another planet.But Diego Dias's journey from a town made rich in Brazil's 18th-century gold rush to Ireland and then gilt-edged Royal Ascot is already quite the tale.
And a win with the brilliantly named Make Haste could just be one for the screenwriters, perhaps toasted in Cachaça, not champagne.
Dias's small Curragh operation had only been licensed for four months when he secured an attention-grabbing winner at Glorious Goodwood last summer.
County Kildare couldn't be more different from Dias's hometown, but this adopted member of the Green Team is loving the opportunities it affords and the welcome he has received.
A victory with his brilliant stable star in the Queen Mary Stakes would put him on a new level - and reward the faith of owners who turned down a €900,000 offer for their pride and joy, such was their belief in the horse and Dias.
Gavin Ryan - who is still looking for his first Royal Ascot winner - admitted he was a passenger in Make Haste's only start, where she lived up to her name with a scorching win at Naas.
"It's very exciting, it's only my second year of training and we have a horse like her already, it's hard to believe sometimes," said Dias, whose industry reputation is now gaining mainstream attention.
"When she came into the yard, she was just a Queen, she has an incredible racing mind and she's got an amazing turn of foot. It's all systems go, she's ready and we can't wait. She's certainly a live chance and she deserves her spot as one of the favourites."
Dias - whose father was a trainer - was a work jockey in Goiânia and Rio, riding 175 winners, before moving his life to Ireland to work for trainer Joe Quinn.Make Haste & Gavin Ryan after an impressive debut win @NaasRacecourse pic.twitter.com/J2q2JikGuo
— Irishracing.com Live (@IrishRacing365) May 11, 2024
"I thought I'd stay just for a year but I fell in love with the place. I feel very at home here, it's a small town but I've been accepted by everyone," he added.
"I thought I’d stay for a year or two but I’m still here 20 years down the line and to be honest I have no plans to go back. I’m happy and settled and Irish racing is a pretty special thing to be part of."
Dias has a growing number of supporters prepared to invest in a trainer - just 42 - whose future looks bright, his natural horsemanship evident to anyone who spends time at his boutique operation.
"Diego can train, he knows what he is doing and when you have a guy who also sits on them as well, you get a fair insight," said Matt Eves, a co-owner of Make Haste, who first glimpsed the training talent of Dias five years ago.
"He has got some future ahead of him, he’s only got a few in training but he's achieving things not many other trainers are doing."
Double Derby star looks for sixth Group One for O'Brien
Dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin is the headline act of Royal Ascot's second day - as he prepares to take on some of Europe's top middle distance stars in the showpiece Prince Of Wales’s Stakes.The quirky five-time Group One winner has already bagged nearly €5m in prize money, but Aidan O'Brien will be the first to admit there have been some deep valleys in a career of soaring peaks.
"We've had the Prince of Wales's in mind for him all season and he's come on well in the last few weeks," said O'Brien. "This nice ground is perfect for him too and we're very happy."
Birdman ready to fly for Foley
Jessica Harrington's Birdman is ready to serve up the challenge to Aidan O'Brien's two market leaders in the Queen's Vase. Harrington's four Royal Ascot wins put her 81 behind the Ballydoyle maestro - who fires the well-supported Illinois and Highbury at a race he has won eight times.12 months ago Colin Keane guided Villanova Queen to victory at #RoyalAscot 🐎
— Horse Racing Ireland (@HRIRacing) June 18, 2024
She runs again tomorrow in the 5.40 Kensington Palace Stakes with Shane Foley 🇮🇪#GreenTeam | @Jessica_Racing pic.twitter.com/XPFx0IDW3f
But Birdman was all business in his only two starts, winning at Navan and Cork, and Shane Foley is excited about what could be a second career winner at the meeting.
"He goes on good ground and would go on quicker ground too," said Harrington, who has watched the improving Ascot forecast with keen interest. "We thought he would take the jump in class in his stride and that's what he's done. He's a great big baby. He's only a frame of a horse and still very much a work in progress."
Going Rogue: New trainer but hopefully same result
Rogue Millennium was a Royal Ascot winner for British trainer Tom Clover last year and will start favourite in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes for new handler Joseph O'Brien.Dylan Browne McMonagle views him as his best chance for a first winner at the meeting and thinks he'll improve from a lacklustre show at the Curragh last month, his first outing in nearly eight months. O'Brien likes a well-travelled horse and is plotting a series of US targets after this Ascot engagement.
Maestro Weld could make quick return to winners' enclosure
Dermot Weld trained the first of his career 18 Royal Ascot winners 51 years ago. Last year's Coronation Stakes success with the brilliant Tahiyra was his first win in eight years, but Coeur d'Or could secure a quick return to the winners' enclosure in the big-runner Royal Hunt Cup.This is often a wide-open renewal, but the eight-year-old winner of last year's Irish Cambridgeshire will be suited by a return to a mile on ground he will relish.