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It may not be a big race in terms of money won but otherwise it could be the biggest race of the year. We saw the return of SNA in super style. All other 4yos or better better beware.
He was just lovely, really pleased. Hope they do not try and run him over 10f again as 12f+ will be his dominion i hope
Actually his
return
was fairly poor when 3rd to Unaccompanied and Cilium at the Curragh in early April.
And he didn’t really beat much today. Not to say he won’t go on to fulfill some of the promise shown, but to claim this could be the biggest race of the year is a little delusional. Do you know what happened at Newmarket last Saturday?
So not for the last time a sprinter won the Two Thousand Guineas. Big deal,wait till he meets the real milers, not just the babies. Montjeu versus Galileo. St. Nicholas Abbey will get his chance to meet last years Derby winner and we will see which is best.What a hot spot for Ryan.
Ole – I accept hardly the biggest race of the season but surely one of the most satisfying for long time fans of this horse?
Aidan could have given up and sold the horse like they did with Archipenko, Eagle Mountain, Golden Sword, Joshua Tree, Beethoven et al. He is an amazing judge of a horse and he must have seen something in this one to give it a few chances.
It certainly made me happy to see the horse flying over the finish line and proceed to run away with Ryan!
Must say I thought it was great to see although he`s one I`d still take on at a really short price.
Top class performance by him always thought he had this performance he is a middle distance horse when 100 percent fit.And he showed he got that speed as well.
St Nicholas Abbey was being touted as a potential triple crown winner after his impressive victory in the Racing Post Trophy.
I opposed him at Newmarket the following season, insisting that he would struggle for speed against the likes of Dick Turpin and Canford Cliffs.
He beat colts who were bred and / or appeared to want further in the Racing Post Trophy, and I always maintained that he would ultimately excel over middle distances.
He was far from disgraced at Newmarket. In a race that developed into a sprint, he was beaten three and a half lengths into sixth behind Makfi, Dick Turpin, Canford Cliffs and Xtension, who have since claimed some of the most coveted eight furlong events in the world.
The ability has never been questioned. Aiden O’Brien once went as far as to say ‘we all felt that he could walk on water’.
He didn’t beat a great field today, but was arguably more visually impressive than Harbinger, who landed the corresponding race twelve months ago. Harbinger was rated 116; one pound superior to St Nicholas Abbey. The Irish colt defeated the 111-rated Allied Powers by 9L. Harbinger was one and a half lengths superior to the 117-rated Age Of Aquarius.
The former Michael Stoute inmate would progress beyond recognition to destroy a decent field in the King George, and St Nicholas Abbey has the talent to compete with the best over such a trip.
I dont think ‘St Nick’ would be too inconvenienced by a step back to ten furlongs, but his return to form has coincided with a step up in trip and it would perhaps be wise to continue over a similar trip in the near future.
With Fame And Glory tackling further and So You Think looking more than comfortable over ten furlongs, St Nicholas Abbey could be Ballydoyle’s top twelve furlong performer this season and the Coronation Cup is an obvious short-term target.
Longterm, he could be an ideal candidate for a big international event like the Melbourne Cup. He wasn’t stopping at the end of yesterdays contest, acts on fast ground, has the necessary technical speed and a potent turn of foot. It has often been said that you need a top class twelve furlongs horse to win the ‘race that stops a nation’ and St Nicholas Abbey is just that, in my opinion. Of course, the chances of him being aimed at such a contest are thin, with the Arc a more realistic end of season target.
There was a lot to like about his Ormonde success and clearly there is more to come.
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