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Archipenko
Mount Nelson
Spirit One
Einstein
Steam Cat
Cloudy Knight
Sudan
SilverfootArchipenko is unstoppable, but a small field and the sharp unconventional track is always an interesting situation.
Plan is 2/1 favourite with Coral for the Secretariat Stakes.
Sadly Sudan scratched from the Million with a tendon injury on Friday morning. That will affect the pace of the race as he was pretty certain to be a front runner and with some of these needing further – including Einstein, the best of the American runners – it will be interesting to see who goes on (possibly Spirit One who is usually ridden aggressively in France).
The o’Brien pair went to the Polytrack for their one gallop this morning and pleased in a canter over a mile. Mount Nelson looks well and Plan has a gorgeous coat at the moment.
Johnny Murtagh is unsurprisingly bullish about his Mount Nelson but so are Mike de Kock and Kevin Shea for whom this race has been Archipenko’s big race plan since Dubai.
I’m going for Mount Nelson to just outstay Archie in a European 1-2 with Einstein boxing on for the Trifecta.
Plan has Tizdejavu to beat in the Secretariat whilst Dermot Weld’s Winchester may get into a place at a decent price in first time blinkers and under local star Rene Douglas. I don’t really fancy the French pair of Cicerole (Rouget) and Toque de Queda (Delzangles with Murtagh putting up a pound or two of overweight) in the Beverly D. Stakes.
Not sure who does win this I’m afraid although a hometown win for Chicago based Dreaming of Anna will be a huge result for the locals.I’m going for Mount Nelson to just outstay Archie in a European 1-2 with Einstein boxing on for the Trifecta.
Would love to hear more from this. Archipenko was Ballydoyle’s chief player in the Derby once upon a time.
If Spirit One puts on a fair dinkum tempo (unlikely now that Sudan is missing) then I would give Einstein a huge crack to stay.
I reckon the scratching of Sudan makes Archipenko a good bet at 5/2- reckon this will dry up today. Only if they go a rattling good gallop do I give the others a chance of outstaying him. Mount Nelson won a bad Eclipse and will prove to be division 2 of Aiden’s by year’s end.
Spirit One led from start to finish. Archipenko was blocked in by Mount Nelson and could not get in a challenge until Murtagh gave up when it was too late for Shea.Pity .Archipenko looked to be full of running.
First. Spirit One
Second. Archipenko
Third.Mount Nelson.
Very interesting tactical race.Archipenko’s trainer and jockey not best pleased with Murtagh’s riding tactics.
“That’s the most ungentlemanly piece of riding I’ve seen in a long time,” said an angry De Kock. “In my opinion, he rode his horse to keep us in rather than to actually win the race. There was no need for Johnny to keep us in like that.” “It was as if he was looking for our horse all the way round. I’m very disappointed in Johnny,” added De Kock.
Archipenko’s rider Kevin Shea added fuel to the fire. “He should’ve won, no doubt about it,” he suggested. “Johnny hindered me the whole way round and twice pushed me into the fence. He had me trapped all the way around, and then when it was time to go I begged him to let me go and he wouldn’t let me through.”
I never saw the arlington million last night but was in the bookies during the secretariat stakes when Winchester won. (aftertiming I know but) I fancied him purely on the basis that weld doesnt usually mess about when he travels that far with one and IMO 8-1 wasnt a bad price, I had pointed winchester out to one of the other lads, explaining the above reasoning. Throughout the race Winchester looked to going fairly well and I was hopeful of a place at least, before he had even taken over tizdejavu the other lad in the bookies was saying winchesters pissed that as the jockey was looking around him for possible challengers. The next few furlongs were absolutely amazing, a total demolition job. One of my favorite races Ive seen this year. Well worth a watch for anyone who hasnt seen it, could he be worth a run in the irish champion? First time blinkers have at last made him live up to his beating of moonstone earlier in the season.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGSSaegxRDM
In a totally different style of race (pacewise) to the eclipse Mount Nelson was well and trully put in his place by spirit one and archipenko. It was set up tactically to play to the strengths of spirit one but mount nelson was tactically in a good position all the way round and was with the winner turning for home but just didnt have the speed to go with him and eventually losing second place to archipenko who may have been a bit unlucky as he didnt get a clear run when he wanted it. IMO MNs eclipse rating of 123 has fallen at the first fence and realistically he will probably be retired soon with his eclipse win probably the only group1 he is likely to pick up this year.
Thought Archipenko’s connections complaineth too much.
Got boxed in in a small field event that not even all got into.
Good race riding by Murtagh who has done this kind of thing earlier in the season- Shea should have been more aware.
Far from guaranteed they’d have beaten the winner even with an earlier runThe Dermot Weld overseas theory – now you’ve emphasised it, by golly it is true! He rarely messes about on long distance trips and as an Aussie, I should know best.
Mount Nelson has done his job – for Coolmore’s sake. The Eclipse Stakes means he has won at 2 and at 4 and that will make sure he is valuable to stand next season. Maybe as a stud prospect, O’Brien could consider the Cox Plate if Magnier decides he will stand in the Hunter Valley? That exposure would further add a price if he runs well.
With regards to Archipenko – look, I see how Kevin Shea reckons if he had the lane he would’ve bolted in, but IMO I don’t. When a horse looks full of beans, on all cylinders firing away and trapped in a jam, they tend to stride a little more precariously, head is showing frustration etc etc
And when they get out, couple of punches to find the correct style and the horse floors it. Archipenko didn’t give me that impression, and it may have been that he hated the tactical style of the race. Not convinced he would have won, to be honest.
I’ll give Winchester a look over in a moment. And I’ll also need to investigate Profound Beauty, whom Weld is aiming for the Melbourne Cup with.
Nice win by Winchester! Kept very quiet in the box seat and has pounced with a furious turn-of-foot.
Being a US bred I think he enjoyed hitting his home of origin, and probably is one worth a shot in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
I really appreciate trainers who meticulously know. It creates some wonderful spectacles.
Mount Nelson won the Eclipse. So how many others were also put in their place at Arlington?Nobody believed that he was in the top flight of Coolmore only in the top flight of British Racing.The year is not over yet so it may be premature to put horses in places.
Was how the Racing Post described the Secretariate. Dermot is well known for placing his best horses in the worst of company.(not a bad philosophy for some ) He has tried to win this race 10 times according to Gerry Bailey the commentator; so his record may not be all it seems in these overseas races.
Bulwark, together with Weld’s record of big-race wins overseas, I was also prompted by the fact that Winchester was owned by his mega-rich American patron, "Bertie" Firestone.
After his first win as a 3 year-old over Moonstone, at Leopardstown, apparently Weld was overjoyed and greaty enthused by the fact that Firestone had been with him for more than 30 years, suggesting that the horse was "a bit special"; and, in fact, talked about aiming him at the Irish Derby.
However, for whatever reason, he wasn’t fancied (40/1) for that and didn’t distinguish himself in the least, so it looked a plausible scenario that this win had been plotted from at least the time of his first win.
Nick Mordern’s comment after Spirit One (the top 2 year-old in France in 2006) had been beaten a head by Mount Nelson in the Group I Criterium International, was that he would stay better than Mount Nelson next year, and was more a mile and half horse.
Given that the turf track is only a mile round and would normally seem to favour front-runners, it seemed that if he strengthened up by his third season and could use that stamina to stretch the others, he surely would have had a good chance of beating Mount Nelson, and maybe Archipenko; so the price was, imo, extraordinary. I didn’t have the money in a bookie’s account or the bank (couldn’t risk overdraft-excess charges, what with their virtual-time, online statements) so couldn’t do the forecast for him to come second to Archie.
I thought of putting that reasoning up here before the race, but wondered how I’d feel if it lost. A Loss of nerve, after a frustrating afternoon during which I’d missed a few fair bets, because I hadn’t recorded a bet on Multidimensional and forgotten it, so hadn’t realised I had money available. The one winner I’d had initially and remembered I’d done was Kalahari Gold later in the afternoon.
Some people will object to this after-timing, but, granted that luck invariably has to play some part, I expect there will be others who like to check with other people’s thought-processes, when they’ve slotted into place.
You’re surely right, technically, but it must have been very upsetting for Archipenko’s jockey. I mean you can understand his frustration, since in many races, when the horse obstructing your path palpably wasn’t making ground, the jockey, Murtagh for that matter might have ceded.
But this race was too big for Murtagh and his connections for that degree of workaday decency to come into play, I think.
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