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I think it’s great that he’s likely to be kept in training. I wouldn’t have thought many would keep him in training after winning a derby and arc as a 3yo, even with his light campaigning since his maiden.
Questions were asked last year by some (on here included) whether sea the stars would beat st nicholas abbey if kept in training. That was a laughable comparison but at least we won’t have to wonder next year.
Props to the owner.
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You may have to swallow your words Phil. As we seen with Workforce good horses do bounce back and you have no idea what lies ahead for St Nicholas Abbey. One race could put him right back at the top of the tree.
I’ve now backed Workforce in both his big wins but I am far from excited about him and I doubt if he’ll find it easy if he’s around next year.
AOB seemed to be holding all the aces at the begining of the season even after St Nick flopped.
Rip Van Winkle and Fame and Glory were set to take all in front of them but both have ben major let downs. Most likley because both had reaaly hard 3yo careers both finishing with bad defeats.
So we have ended up with a pretty poor lot making Workforce’s job a lot easier.
By next year the lightly raced St Nicholas Abbey could be back firing on all cylinders and these 2yo’s Frankel, Saamidd, Dream Ahead and now Wootton asset look the best crop in the last gawd knows how long.
As I said in another post I’d take the money and run
Has it definitely been declared that he’s staying in training?very surprising (in a good way) if true.
I thought todays performance added to my opinion of him as in the Derby he destroyed the field but today had to work very hard and was very gutsy and very well ridden by Moore (you’d know i hadn’t backed it).Teddy Grimthorpe said: "I will have to talk to Prince Khalid and Sir Michael, but I think there is a good chance he will stay in training at four."
http://www.attheraces.com/article.aspx? … b=&day=Sun
Its not confirmed yet obviously be Lord Grim is normally quite reserved in what he announces ‘We’ll have to ask the Prince’ etc. etc.
Teddy Grimthorpe, Abdullah’s racing manager, said of that exciting prospect: "It’s always a good thing for racing for a Derby and Arc winner to stay in training but the horse will be the primary decider."
http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-ra … 74696/top/
Ok, I’m nearly as confused as Lord Grim seems to be!
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I did only say it was likely, which it is.
I still think it’s great for racing. No ifs and buts on who be better from different generations and we get to see a Arc/Derby winner again next year.
I’m probably best off out of the ‘should a Derby/Arc winner stay in training’ discussion as a 3 year old having a Classic season & then going straight off to stud is one of the things I truly cannot stand about flat racing.
To my eyes, a three year old is still a baby & it seems a shame that we often never know how they would’ve developed.
If it were me, I’d introduce a rule where the offspring of a horse aren’t eligible to run unless the sire has had a four year old season (injury excepted)
I’d actually go further & offer the best three year olds a big chunk of money (say the top eight, £1million each) to run in a series over the course of a season. Different distances, maybe even a handicap or two. See how good the best really are & tempt certain owners into keeping their best in training for another year by making it finiancially worth their while in advance.
I’m probably best off out of the ‘should a Derby/Arc winner stay in training’ discussion as a 3 year old having a Classic season & then going straight off to stud is one of the things I truly cannot stand about flat racing.
To my eyes, a three year old is still a baby & it seems a shame that we often never know how they would’ve developed.As much as I agree that having a great horse sent off to perform as a stud at the early stages of his career is somewhat of a waste, if all potential studs stayed on track for 5 years and more, where would breeders find good gene pools to work with? Imagine yourself Workforce landing a horrible performance next year, losing his value, costing his owner more than he bargained for and completely abolishing his chance to become a stud horse.
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I have to agree I think Mr Grimthorpe is talking throgh a hole in has backside when he says the horse will decide.
SMS will surely sit down with Mr Abdullah and discuss the what races they would target and what the likelyhood of him winning would be. They will take a long hard look at the the likely opposition which probably means they wont decide until after the Dewhurst and possibly the Racing Post trophy.
They won’t be the opposition until relatively late in the season though Fist.
I’d say the likelihood of Workforce staying in training or not would depend on whether connections feel he has the toe to win a Group 1 over 10f. If they feel it may be beyond him, i wouldn’t think he’d be back for the Coronation Cup, King George, and Arc. Unfortunately.
Maybe The Tatts Gold Cup, Coronation Cup, Eclipse, before prepping for an Arc repeat?
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The Arc double? emulating Ribot would be special enough but I don’t think any Epsom Derby winner has ever won the Arc as a 4yo.
I’m not into trends but that could have a lot to do with them simply not staying in training because it’s too big a financial gamble.
Last year we all kept asking about Sea the Stars what did he beat? Well we might ask the same about Workforce this year.The European three year olds are pretty ordinary. It took one from Japan to bring us all back down to earth.
The Arc double? emulating Ribot would be special enough but I don’t think any Epsom Derby winner has ever won the Arc as a 4yo.
I’m not into trends but that could have a lot to do with them simply not staying in training because it’s too big a financial gamble.
Would another Arc mean that much more in breeding terms? I would think Juddmonte might want a 10f Group 1 on the CV. The Tatts Gold Cup isn’t the strongest Group 1 around by any stretch and would plug that particular gap.
The other thing regarding the 4yo Derby winner Fist could well be the WFA, which many believe is bias towards 3yo over the trip by Arc time of year.
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Yup Fame and Glory picked up some easy Group 1 wins and when you have a top class horse early season it’s not that hard to do.
Even if Frankel is as good as is thought he may not get 1m4f which would leave the door open for Workforce to go for the king George and a 2nd Arc. Be quite something if he could as Timeform’s 128 hardly inspires confidence that he’d have the ability in a good year.
One big plus is SMS who would keep them all in training until they were 10 if he could.
However he has to make a business decision and not one from the heart.
Wonder if there’s a book on Betfair on this?
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