- This topic has 15 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 11 months ago by
.
- Posts
Does anyone know if he will be supplemented for the Derby ?
The trainer said that the French Derby is most likely to be his next race. He also explained that the horse banged himself coming out of the stalls and became unbalanced when he was turned over at odds on the time before.
The quote was as follows:-
“It is best to forget his last race, as he banged himself coming out of the gates and lost his balance and never travelled,” trainer Jean-Claude Rouget commented. “He still ran a good race, but we saw the real Mekhtaal today. He’s a very nice sort and will most probably go straight to the G1 Prix du Jockey Club [at Chantilly June 5].
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
Am i seeing things? this must be the bet of the year this Prix Du Jockey Club field looks poor and with the ground heavy surely he will smash these in to next week
Foundation Fav? 
with Cloths of Stars and Mekhtaal my favourite horse STS could have a good weekend!
Connections have said good ground would be better for Mekhtaal. His best performance came on that surface last time out.
The Dante form of Foundation didn’t get much of a leg up today. Wings Of Desire ran OK but no more than that, while Deauville was posted missing.
I think Mekhtaal is excellent value at 6/1 and I am surprised the Group 2 winner is only one point bigger than Handicap winner Imperial Aviator.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
I cant have soft ground an excuse if he gets beat he has won on soft and his family love it from his dam to his sire to his half siblings who have won on heavy – soft
Aiglonne (Dam) won on Soft and heavy at G3 Level.
Sea the stars (Sire) won his median race by 2 and half on soft heavy.
Half brother Etna (FR) won twice on soft and once over 10.5
Half brother Ciceron won 3 times easily on Soft and 3 times on Good to soft
Half brother Crosswind Debut win on soft
half brother Democrate median win group 2 on good to soft
I’ve had a decent bet on him to be honest if he turned up today at epsom Imo he would hosed up hopefully it is 2 derbys for sea the stars this weekend.
there no worry;s about the ground for him … being so lightly raced his very unexposed imo he will love it
There is a big difference between winning on soft at a low level and winning on it at group 1 level.
Horses can get away with sheer class at lower level but often need optimum conditions underfoot when competing at the highest level.
The trainer and Racing Manager have said Mekhtaal is better on a sound surface and his best form is on that surface.
Today’s ground is a mystery. The Racing Post say it’s Very Soft, while At The Races tell us the ground is good. These idiots get on my nerves, one of them is wildly wrong here and it’s so unprofessional to report something as vital as this to punters when it’s incorrect.
I bet ante-post in the main so I just have to take what’s coming on the day but punters deserve better than this rubbish information.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
I can’t believe what I just saw.
That is either jockey incompetence of the highest level or tactical suicide.
Punters deserve better than that and enquiries should be made about such a complete 180 degree change of running.
Foundation was garbage. I said after the Craven that I didn’t think he had trained on and I do seem to be vindicated on that.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
It should be like Australia where they have to declare there change in tactics i’m in complete shock really
That is either jockey incompetence of the highest level or tactical suicide.
If you’re going to commit tactical suicide he should of at least have been brave enough to go down the inside instead of a wide route the whole way. Shocking ride and just about sums up my punting season. I don’t bet enough to blink an eye lid personally but punters have been given a bum deal there.
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
I didn’t see the race so I can’t judge the ride (I will take your words for it) but there was enough evidence for me to stay away from this one with a high draw and his connections expressing that they would prefer better ground.
I should have given it a knock on the head as I had six on the list who I thought could win and picked one of them on gut feeling (Raseed) given that Freddy Head hadn’t won this race before. I twinned that in with good ol’ Dermot’s Derby winner yesterday and believed it was written in the stars today. Bloody stars!! All made worse with the first 3 home being on my list of six.
I had put my bet on before the draw was made, took a bit of a chance that the thing was bent and all the English and Irish trained horses would get the car park.
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
I normally never bother commenting on the incompetence of a ride as that’s all part of the game for me, however this one is truly spectacular.
There is seemingly no effort from the jockey to get Mekhtaal into any sort of challenging position and even when the horse does pick up over 200m out, he is quite modestly pushed past a few beaten horses. Had this happened in a Class 6 handicap over here, I’m sure he would have been in some trouble regarding failing to obtain/schooling in public.
As it occurred during the Prix du Jockey-Club, it’s hard to know what to make of it!
Mike
I normally never bother commenting on the incompetence of a ride as that’s all part of the game for me, however this one is truly spectacular.
There is seemingly no effort from the jockey to get Mekhtaal into any sort of challenging position and even when the horse does pick up over 200m out, he is quite modestly pushed past a few beaten horses. Had this happened in a Class 6 handicap over here, I’m sure he would have been in some trouble regarding failing to obtain/schooling in public.
As it occurred during the Prix du Jockey-Club, it’s hard to know what to make of it!
Mike
Some people see every other ride where their horse has lost as jockey error. Often it’s clearly just sour grapes, sometimes it’s bad luck or a split second decision where the jockey made the wrong call.
In the case of Mekhtaal though, it was a clear reversal of tactics that had worked so well in the trial for the French Derby.
Mekhtaal looked to be an improving son of Sea The Stars and when he had been beaten previously he cracked his head on the stalls and come out dazed and unbalanced. The trainer said he ran quite well in the circumstances that day but that it was nothing like the real Mekhtaal.
The horse proved that to be the case next time and not many horses win group 2 Classic trials by six lengths, controlling matters from the front and kicking to win with plenty in hand.
What makes it worse is the stable’s clear second string coming in winning the race, and the original poor value favourite (in my opinion) Foundation, running like a scabby donkey in last place.
The Racing Post gave Mekhtaal as running 9lbs below his previous race form in the Prix Du Jockey Club but I reckon it was a bit more than that myself.
On his previous start Mekhtaal blew away Royal Julius from the front by a cosy six and a half lengths. In the French Derby however, he was half a length behind the same horse. That was a form turn around of seven lengths and it’s plain for all to see how it came about.
Royal Julius was beaten five and three quarter lengths by Almanzor in the Prix Du Jockey Club. Apply the original form of Mekhtaal versus Royal Julius and Mekhtaal wins the race by 3/4 of a length. That’s not an exact science of course but it is a form line and Mekhtaal was as open as any to further improvement coming in.
There should be questions asked about this sort of variation of winning tactics. How can punters have confidence if winning front runners are held up next time, or held up horses blaze off from the front next, having come from the back to win easily previously?
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.