Hello & Welcome along to this a day later than normal 'Weekend Review'.
Last Saturday saw British Champions Day take centre stage it was run in very soft testing conditions certainly on the round track & Swinley bottom looked almost heavy in places, the straight track according to the times was said to be not as bad but they still finished strung out like washing with the majority unable to cope with the ground.
As I have previously said it really cannot be called 'Champions Day' if half the horses are inconvenienced by the going. True Champions do of course go on any ground but On Saturday we only had 1 true Champion running Godolphin's Fabulously talented but fragile Farhh who won the feature event in great style holding the old warrior Cirrus Des Aigles at bay & an apparently rejuvenated Ruler Of The World.
Angus Gold racing manager for 'Sheikh Hamdan' was even more critical of Ascot's ground & said
"We got blessed the first year with that beautiful weather, & then last year it was bad & then this year it was bad. It will happen in England at this time of year, particularly on a track like Ascot."
"Considering they hadn't had significant rain for two or three days I was amazed how wet it was when I walked the track before racing. I couldn't believe how bad it was. It's very difficult because you can't in all honesty talk of them as Championship races when they are run on such special ground."
"I have heard all the arguments about Ireland & France not liking it if we moved Champions Day, but it's such a pity because a great day's racing like that wants to be fought on even terms"
"A lot of the others were completely inconvenienced too, & that's the vagaries of our weather, If we want to regard it as proper championship racing then we're going to have to think of something"
As for the racing I watched from the comfort of my home as I did not fancy the sporadic rain showers, cold or watching racing that I just wasn't in love
with.
The peculiarly named 'Long Distance Cup' produced a right royal turn up as the Queen's previously unbeaten course & Gold Cup winner Estimate was well beaten with Ryan Moore saying the ground was the issue.
The race produced a pulsating finish with that man Murtagh getting the 7yo Royal Diamond up to deny a rejuvenated Harris Tweed. Royal Diamond is a decent animal but a Champion?...Clearly not. Harris Tweed trying the trip for the first time ran well but again is well below the standard. Surely a real indication of how bad the ground was came with the running of Ahzeemah who in 19 previous starts had never finished outside the top 4 on varying conditions yet on Saturday he finished 9th.
The Champions Sprint which had looked an awful race of paper was at least won by 1 of the 2 class horses in the race in the shape of a horse I love dearly 'Slade Power' having him backed him for this last year thinking he was nailed only for him to get injured I was going to leave him alone Saturday as I believed Maarek to be home & hosed but at the 7/1 I had to with Slade...he was always going to win travelling supremely well & gained a deserved Group 2 success.
The fillies & mares was another shock as the soft ground loving 99 rated handicapper Seal Of Approval ran away with the upgraded Group 1 event..says it all really...not a Group 1...she of course has only been beaten twice & was an unlucky faller last time so she has shown guts to come back from that. I will also take nothing away from George Baker gaining a first Group 1 & its a real tonic for her trainer 'The Skeleton Man' but I'm fairly confident they would both agree she is no Champion. She just handled the conditions better than the rest & has had a relatively light campaign compared to her opponents.
Olympic Glory ran out a facile winner of the QEII pulling clear of the hugely improved Top Notch Tonto with Kingsbarns returning to something like his best in 3rd however the gaps to the other runners were yawning it looked like the finish to a Welsh National not a Group 1 mile event which tells you its own story.
Olympic Glory is clearly talented but the fact that his name is on the illustrious roll of honour disappoints me as in my eyes he is just a genuine soft - heavy ground performer who got lucky that this race was run on ground that suits him best, his 3 best wins have come on bad ground now. I know he was a fast finishing 2nd on Good to the sensational Moonlight Cloud but he was flattered by that run. He is a soft ground performer & nothing else so if he goes to a Breeders Cup which I can't see he will be ineffective & outclassed in my eyes.
For Top Notch Tonto's connections I couldn't be more pleased the gamble paid off he has improved beyond all recognition while it was heartening to see Kingsbarns travel the way he did & finish his race off he will hopefully fulfil his potential as a 4yr old.
All day to wait for a true Champion but it was worth the wait as Godolphin played a tactical masterclass with Barzalona on Hunter's Light setting light fractions for De Sousa & Farhh to go down in a blaze of glory. De Sousa had Farhh always close to his teammate & went for home well over 1f out quickening to lead, Old boy Cirrus & Ruler Of The World came after him but in truth never looked like passing Farhh who held on gamely even extending a little towards the line.
Farhh now gets to enjoy his retirement which is the right thing to do for such a fragile horse, oh what could he have been if he could have taken as much racing as he did last season more often in his career. In many eyes & in mine it was Saeed Bin Suroor's greatest training achievement to bring a horse back from 5 months off, on ground he had never raced on & at one point during the summer looking like he may never race again. Saeed gets a bad press in some circles & with the racing public but he is a truly nice guy, always willing to speak about his horses to whoever asks.
Of the vanquished Cirrus ran a belter but was just outdone by a better horse he still beat the Derby winner Ruler Of The World who in all honesty surprised me but having seen the race a few times since I think he got an inspired ride by Moore, close to slow pace & using the horses ability to handle the ground made a huge difference as the rest either weren't good enough or in the case of my friend Mukhadram, hated the ground & his tactics. All season he had been a front runner yet a tardy break on Sat saw him struggling at times in last place, down the back he was clearly hating the ground & by the time the straight came he had nothing to give so it is to his credit that he managed 5th only being beaten 7 lengths & a neck. He I hope stays in training as a 5 year old as he can only get stronger & a Group 1 is not far away, on breeding I wonder if a Dubai World Cup maybe on his radar.
In the last race on the card I was delighted that Breton Rock managed to return to winning ways, he is a 7f specialist & with low mileage he might move up a grade when soft ground is available to him as it clearly important. I also backed him so was delighted with the 12/1 return.
Another horse I flagged up on Saturday was at Cheltenham in the shape of David Pipe's young staying novice hurdler Kings Palace (seen below after a bumper win at Plumpton) who toyed with the opposition before sauntering home by 18 lengths, he looks a novice of supreme potential & his slick hurdling will be an asset. At this stage the Albert Bartlett at the Festival looks an obvious target for him.
John's Spirit was backed as if defeat was out of the question in the 2m4f handicap chase & indeed it was as he travelled extremely well before winning easy, he is a young chaser to keep on the right side the type his trainer Jonjo O'Neill does so well with. Balthazar King won the days feature for a 3rd year running on his long road back towards another attempt at the Grand National while the humorously named Thomas Crapper got his trainer out of the shit providing Robin Dicken with his first winner for months.
In Australia The BMW Caulfield Cup was won by Fawkner (see race below) a grey owned by Lloyd Williams who had removed all his other horses from the race so this lad could get a run. Dandino was a fast finishing 2nd from his wide draw, after looking at his effort again I don't think now that he was that unlucky, he had a good position & seemed to not handle the bend that well before staying on from with a clear run down the outside. Jet Away has gone into many Australian notebooks after Saturday, he ran an extraordinary race pulling far to hard early before making his move on the home bend to lead & then unsurprisingly fading to 4th, I can't see why he's shortened as on his British form he barely got 1m2f so I can't see him getting the 2 miles.
The mares Dear Demi & Silent Achiever also ran good races, Dear Demi also had a bad draw but went straight for the rails after the start & got a good run up the inside to finish 3rd that race should put her spot on next time. Silent Achiever on first look may have appeared disappointing but she got a bad ride from her jockey Glen Boss who was duly suspended for it she was eventually beaten less than 3 lengths in 8th, the step up to 2 miles looks sure to suit & she is definite player in the Melbourne Cup.
Of course the race had a sad result for me & my Australian friend Brett as Waldpark dropped away tamely as though something was amiss to finish 2nd last. The horse has been reported to be very sick since suffering from breathing difficulties, as Brett put it "His lungs gave out" He is now out of the Melbourne Cup but will hopefully return next year. Bad luck & gutted for Brett & all involved in Australian Bloodstock.
Sunday saw The New One treat Rock On Ruby with contempt in a Listed Hurdle at Kempton, it was an impressive performance but lets not get to carried away as The New One is a younger horse easier to get fit whilst Rock On Ruby is now 8 & will be 9 for next year's Champion, fences may well beckon for him well that's what I would try. Another horse to impress on the card was Sea Lord who bolted up in the Listed Novices Hurdle he has improved markedly since his hurdling debut & may well be an outside bet for the top hurdle races, he was a Group 3 winner on the Flat at his best he handled the softer ground on Sunday. I could see him being put away for a Spring campaign after an attempt at a Christmas Hurdle now he has won round Kempton.
At 06:00am UK time on Attheraces tomorrow morning another Melbourne Cup lead up race takes place, The Geelong Cup featuring the Nicky Henderson trained Forgotten Voice (seen below working at Werribee) who clearly holds excellent claims on his first Australian start, he has apparently acclimatised well. If he wins he will pretty much be assured of a place in the big one itself which is a fantastic in its own right & who knows the horse that has made more comebacks than Lazarus could write another chapter in this ongoing story. In all honesty on form he should win tomorrow as the opposition is largely out of form so taking that into account he may not get the high enough rating to definitely cement his place in the big one but he should be close to it. I would imagine Moudre, Brigantin & Tanby may give him most to think about.
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