- This topic has 46 replies, 23 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 11 months ago by
.
- Posts
Thought Queally could have done a bit better but all credit to St Nich thought he was beaten when Midday went past, great ride by Moore!
Brilliant ride by Ryan Moore, very poor ride by Queally.
Queally did not learn from the Nassau last year, when she idled badly after going clear. Only going on again once Stacelita came alongside. Unfortunately here St Nich came wide (probably well thought out by Moore / coolmore).
Also, why go for home so soon when we know Midday has so much speed at lesser trips?Might have been the same result had things panned out differently, but we will never know.
Agreed, Ginge.
Have taken a slight break from these pages, but feel compelled to address the ride given by Queally on Midday this afternoon.
If you take into consideration the respective attributes of Midday and St Nicholas Abbey, and the way the race unfolded, Queally made a massive error of judgement.
Midday has proven ability over ten furlongs, and twelve furlongs is arguably as far as she wants to go, whereas the Irish colt has won over further and has even been touted as a possible Ascot Gold Cup candidate.
Midday was travelling better than anything turning into the straight and there was no need for Queally to commit at the three furlong marker, particularly when his mounts biggest rival had already come under pressure.
A horse can only maintain maximum effort over a certain distance and it was asking a helluva lot of Midday to maintain her effort over three fulongs, particularly with the uphill finish during the final furlong.
I doubt she was idling, although she has done so in the past. Midday tired markedly when she hit the rising ground inside the final furlong and St Nicholas Abbey merely outstayed her.
Had Queally held onto Midday for an extra furlong and then commited, the result would have been different, in my opinion.
Ryan Moore did nothing out of the ordinary and there was nothing ‘brilliant’ about his ride. There was nothing tactical about St Nicholas Abbey coming wide. Aerial footage gave the impression that St Nicholas Abbey was drifting towards the finish.
Queally has come in for a lot of criticism and I have defended him on more than one occasion, but he lost that race today and the look on Henry Cecil’s face after the race told its own story.
Messy Race.
St Nicholas Abbey was keen and the race was run at a crawl. He had every invitation to close up shop but i was very surprised how much tenacity he had in the finish. Was very impressive to win from where he was and he didn’t handle the the corner on Epsom Downs.
I thought Queally went to soon but lets face it, once midday went by i thought the race was over.
Messy Race.
St Nicholas Abbey was keen and the race was run at a crawl. He had every invitation to close up shop but i was very surprised how much tenacity he had in the finish. Was very impressive to win from where he was and he didn’t handle the the corner on Epsom Downs.
I thought Queally went to soon but lets face it, once midday went by i thought the race was over.
I certainly didn’t think the race was over, having what happened in the Nassau in the forefront of my mind. I was there that day and the idling was definate. I do think it was a purposeful move to challenge Midday wide today.
In the Vermaille, after the Nassau, Queally was at pains to challenge later.
Albeit, Midday does not always idle, she didn’t in the Middleton.
Value Is EverythingA bit gutted for midday, but have to say, SNA really knows how to finish a race, fairplay.
Good performance from St Nicholas Abbey under a very determined ride from Ryan Moore.
I thought Johnny Murtagh hit the nail on the head when reviewing the race. His insightful and most telling comment was he thought Tom (Queally) probably went for home too soon on Midday.
I agree.
Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning
The fact that the 3rd horse was making ground on Midday during the latter stages of the race doesn’t make Queally look good.
Brilliant ride by Ryan Moore, very poor ride by Queally.
Queally did not learn from the Nassau last year, when she idled badly after going clear. Only going on again once Stacelita came alongside. Unfortunately here St Nich came wide (probably well thought out by Moore / coolmore).
Also, why go for home so soon when we know Midday has so much speed at lesser trips?Might have been the same result had things panned out differently, but we will never know.
Totally agree, and yes I backed Midday so I am guilty of pocket talk.
Queally’s tactics have concerned me for some considerable time – his ride in the 2,000 was strange to say the least though the horse got him out of jail but at what price to the horse remains to be seen.
You are spot on in mentioning the Nassau, these were exactly my thoughts post race. Also he had kicked early on Timepiece in an earlier race so there was evidence to suggest hold up horses were being favoured (the Oaks winner made all but only after setting a funereal pace).
Queally gave Twice Over a poor ride in the Dubai World Cup, although he wasn’t alone that night when all the jockeys were outridden and outsmarted by Mirco Demuro’s mesmerising tactical manoeuvre.
I feel sorry for Midday becaue she deserves to score at Group 1 level against the colts, and I do believe it is only a matter of time before she does.
I wonder how long Cecil will put up with Queally’s mistakes?
Gingertipster and Ivanjica: it seems that Henry Cecil is not so critical of Tom Queally in this quote from the Racing Post.
Cecil said of Midday: "St Nicholas Abbey did not come down the hill so Tom [Queally] had to take advantage and go on. He did exactly the right thing. Midday will still improve for the run and she was beaten by a good horse, they’re both good horses."
Since he has mentioned Queally’s mistakes in the past (eg. Prince of Wales Stakes 2010), I guess he meant what he said, which is what I would expect of him anyway.
MV,
Normally I would agree with Mr. cecil, when your main rival is not handling the hill it is best to kick on. But when kicking on and making it a bigger test of stamina plays to your rivals strength and less so yours. And as Richard Hoiles pointed out as soon as Midday hit the front so far out, her propensity to idle in front: It was not not the best thing to do, with somewhat predictable results. I wish I’d been on betfair with my finger on the lay button.
Value Is EverythingGood rides by Moore and Queally, Queally kicking on noticing St Nicholas Abbey wasn’t coping with the track and tried to steal it. Moore cajoled, pushed, nudged away and wouldn’t give up and got St Nicholas Abbey home. Should be bags more from both, and expect both to win another group one each at the very least. Could be both aimed for Breeders Cup I think (Filly and Mare turf and Turf).
I think Queally’s ride was good if you view in isolation, as Cecil and some commentators have done os, his opportunistic kicking for home when it was evident St Nicholas Abbey was failing to handle the Epsom switchback.
However viewing the race as a whole, and as Gingertipster already pointed out, Queally overlooked the perfromance of the mare at Goodwood last season when it was palpable that she needed holding up to avoid the idling that nearly cost her the race that day.
In my opinion if Queally would have shown far more courage if he had held onto the mare but kept pressure on St Nicholas Abbey until the furlong pole and then pounced. The chances are Moore would not have been given the valuable opportunity handed to him by Queally to get St Nicholas Abbey back on an even keel enabling him to launch that telling counter punch on the outside.
Whatever the debate, it is a matter of fact that this is the earliest the mare has been asked to lead in all of her Grade 1 races, and she was defeated having looked like a nailed on winner at one stage.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.