Punters May Find New Freedom at Royal Ascot - 05-23-08

May 23 - Up-and-coming British horse race trainer, David Lanigan, is looking to crown his first season as a trainer by entering his Brazilian 7-year-old import, New Freedom, in this year's prestigious 2008 Royal Ascot, provided all goes well in the next few weeks.

New Freedom, formerly under the care of Arabian horse trainer, Dhruba Selvaratnam, was Group-placed in Brazil before competing in Dubai last winter, where he proved his stamina by winning a handicap as well as earning fifth place in the Dubai Golden Shaheen.

Said the Lanigan, 'We were considering the idea of running New Freedom at Epson's Vodafone Dash, but will most probably run him in a listed race or handicap at York or Kempton later this month and in early June. However, he'll definitely be on the ticket in Wokingham and, depending on how he runs, we'll consider stepping him up in grade.'

Based in Newmarket, Lanigan explained that New Freedom has just had some time off after his stint in Dubai, which means there are high hopes that he'll pick up a few good races along the way to put him in good form for Royal Ascot.

'New Freedom is a sprinter and while his form in Brazil proved that he can ran well on soft ground, we feel that he needs to pick up the pace,' he said.

Lanigan recently completed an apprenticeship with champion race horse trainer, Henry Cecil, and as such has attracted the attention of various high-profile thoroughbred race horse owners.

'Currently around 95 percent of our horses comprise two-year-olds, and I am more than aware that if you want them to perform, you cannot rush them. For this reason we are hoping that they will make better three-year-olds,' said Lanigan.