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Yes it looked messy. But Delacroix probably did very well to come from that position. Did they sprint too fast early in the straight? Did Ombudsman quicken into the lead when the pace was at its strongest?
Or was Ombudsman a little below Ascot form? Sweated a bit (which is unlike him) and… Although the trainer is in by no means poor form, is nowhere near the exceptional form he was at Ascot.
Maxine tried to play silly-buggers on Sosie. Trying to get positional advantage in a slower run race… But simply out-sprinted. Needs more of a test of stamina at 10f. Possibly wanting a bit softer too
Camille lost a shoe, but probably run to his best.
Ruling Court couldn’t get through but ran a lot better than last time. Would’ve run to form with a clear run (certainly stays) but would not have beaten the first two.
If the first two meet at York I’d make Ombudsman favourite.
If only Delacroix would’ve run to that form at Epsom – badly hampered early – would’ve won.
Value Is Everything“Or was Ombudsman a little below Ascot form?”
Yes. Quickish turnaround from last run and got worked up and still nearly won.
From what the jockey and trainer said on ITV I can see Delacroix going back to a mile.
The more I know the less I understand.
Think Ombudsman’s team should get him a pacemaker for York – he wasted a fair bit of energy up early doors and as a result he pulled himself much closer to the pace than he was at Ascot and as they got rolling pretty much as they turned in, it made him a little bit of a sitting duck late on but fair play to Delacroix as he was the only one to pick him up when his stamina kicked in at the end.
I wouldn’t but so sure that the result will be confirmed the next time they meet as I think Ombudsman has the superior change of gear and if played at the right time I don’t think Delacroix could match it as he seems to take time to hit top gear………I was kind of surprised that they didn’t go from the front on him today to be honest.
Quite possible RTB,
Coolmore are struggling to find a top class miler this year.
Whereas they have too many middle distance horses, albeit not many at 10f.Value Is EverythingI believe it was always the plan to race Ombudsman closer to the pace today, LD. Didn’t want to get too far back in a slowly run race.
Value Is EverythingNot sure they wanted to be that close though as William did seem to try and hold him in midfield early on but the horse appeared to have other ideas and took him closer – that might have been as a result of getting a bit warmer than he did (on a hotter day at Royal Ascot) in the prelims.
He has still run a very good race considering all that and given the relatively quick turnaround from Royal Ascot and the fact that his racing career began only a little over a calendar year ago, so there could still be more improvement to come especially as he gains more experience through racing, bearing in mind that Delacroix has had two more races than him even though he is almost a year younger.
Thinking of them clashing in races like the Juddmonte and both Champion Stakes through the rest of the year would be a thing to savour (especially if Field of Gold turns up against them too).
Just back from Sandown, and watched the replay on RTV. Interesting to watch the post-race interviews, especially with Ryan Moore suggesting that the horse could be a miler. His closing sectionals certainly show that he displayed some rapid acceleration and then tired less than the others in the final furlong, so there may be merit to the hypothesis.
However, the cynic in me is inclined to think that it’s more a case of “drop back to a mile if Fields Of Gold steps up in trip” at play. I also suspect he doesn’t really believe he would beat Ombudsman again.
Yes, Ryan doesn’t play the usual Coolmore marketing games, but surely he wants to get as many Group Ones as possible… He must know that the milers are generally average this year and this horse could clean up if Fields Of Gold is out of the way.
We know Delacroix can accelerate off a slower pace because he did it in his trials for the Derby. Impossible to know over a mile and a half in a Derby he’d still do that, feels a bit of a stretch to say he’d have won that day to me, he was never really put in the race after being hampered. It was a complete contrast to what Ombudsman had in the POW where I still think he was a bit flattered. They are all in a bit of a heap here today too, not sure any of them are that good and FOG could clean up at whichever distance he fancies probably.
Odds-on that Coolmore announce Delacroix’ next target after Juddmonte announce where Fields Of Gold goes after the Sussex.
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