Clive Cox expecting solid run from Nando Parrado in Hungerford Stakes at Newbury

Lambourn trainer Clive Cox is confident that Nando Parrado will run a big race in the BetVictor Hungerford Stakes at Newbury on Saturday.

The three-year-old last made an appearance in the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot in June and is primed and ready for this weekend’s Group 2 race.

However, Nando Parrado’s biggest win came in 2020 when he won the Group 2 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot – priced at an incredible 150/1.

Speaking at his Beachdown Stables earlier this week, Cox said: “I am very happy with him, he has trained well and he won’t mind the recent rainfall because there will be a little ease in the ground.

“He had a very exciting two-year-old win the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot last year and he followed it up with Group placings in the Darley Prix Morny and the Lagardere.

“He has the ability,” said Cox. “Things haven’t gone perfectly well with our early season races and I hope we can, from here on, make a fist of things and put on a good performance on Saturday.”

Newbury will entertain crowds on Friday and Saturday this week and it’ll be the first time they will welcome an unlimited crowd since February 2020.

With the return of crowds, Cox explained how good it felt to get back to some normality.

“We have been going racing all the way through, but having the atmosphere of a crowd is huge and I think that people are pleased to see the excitement and the atmosphere back.

“The whole buzz of racing and being a part of it is just wonderful.”

Over the weekend, the trainer oversaw Tis Marvellous win the Shergar Cup Dash at Ascot, finishing just ahead of Desert Safari.

Speaking about his win, Cox said: “He is a seven year old now and he was a Group 2 winning two-year-old and he broke the track record in the Robert Papin, so he has been a star all the way through.

“It gives me a lot of pride, those older horses who have an appetite for racing and it makes us feel very privileged to be training them.

“When they try like it goes to show how much the horses love the racing as well.”

Cox is also part of the new Racing League as he’s in Team Swish, with fellow Lambourn trainers Charlie Hills, Jamie Osborne and Ed Walker.

The team are currently sixth in the standings after two rounds and he believes it’s a good idea for everyone involved with racing.

“I think it is a very good initiative and I am pleased they have put it on.

“It has attractive prize money, which is great and very important and I think the whole team situation are sampling excitement and I believe people are enjoying it, which is great.”