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If this is true it stinks of protectionism.
You might argue it makes business sense, SYT for the Eclipse, Astrology/Imperial Monarch for Irish Derby, St Nic for the King George, they are all more than capable of winning those races.
At the moment we are in the midst of having perhaps the greatest thoroughbred any of us have ever seen. If, as seems likely HRC campaigns Frankel over 10F this season then it would be reasonable to assume that the Juddmonte will be on his agenda. As SYT’s European campaign would have ended by then, Ballydoyle would have nothing (that I can think of) other than Camelot who you would give any conceivable chance to of beating Frankel.
The Juddmonte even fits snugly in the pattern to give a nice break before the St.Leger, if the Triple Crown is their goal. If Frankel turns up and Camelot stays away, barring injury/virus excuses, then I, and the vast majority of the racing public I suspect would see this as running scared.
However, you defended the decision not to try Frankel over further than a mile in his classic year. You cannot have it both ways.
Owners and trainers have the right to campaign their horses as they see fit. Idle gossip wins nothing on the racecourse.
But Cecil clearly didn’t believe that Frankel would get the trips over greater distances whereas Camelot clearly does get a mile and a quarter. There’s no comparison.
Surely that would be a long lay off for him? You could be forgiven for thinking that race fitness will be key to a Leger success.
Frankel’s Guineas win really was something to behold. Even the most seasoned stable lads in the town declared it extraordinary. No horse has ever demolished a group 1 field like that at Newmarket before. Normally races at the Rowley Mile don’t catch fire until the famous bushes. In Frankel’s Guineas it was done and dusted by the time he reached that landmark. If he never ran again he would be heralded in racing as more than just ‘a great’ An epic horse would be a better description.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u307/ChristopherPHammond/f1.jpg
Of course I’d dearly like him to step up to 10 furlongs just to see the domination he will most likely have at that distance. If he gets the trip nothing will get near him for my money.
I couldn’t see Camelot troubling him either over 8/10 furlongs, but that may be wishful thinking on my part. This is clearly a top class colt. I have wished for a triple crown winner for as long as I’ve been watching racing. If Camelot attains that nobody can dismiss his greatness. Some people on here seem to think he’s as good as in the winners enclosure at Doncaster already. I think the leger will be a tough ask for him. If he goes and wins there he’ll be amongst the best horses I’ve seen. It is a tantalising season in front of us.
I doubt the F v C match will take place but what a prospect to contemplate.
The Tamron is good value at the price Gareth. Depends how seriously you plan to take it –
most photo manuals will tell you that the glass (i.e. the lens) you put in front of the camera is the vital bit.
As I mentioned the Tamron’s main drawback is a slightly slow auto-focus but for the money it is a great buy.
I’ve found the D3100 is fine, I prefer Nikon to Canon as the cameras have a bit more weight about them (or seem to) which I like (having, like Drone, carted about a Nikon SLR for many years carting about the D3100 has a familiar feel to it).
And then we all stick an everyday UV filter in front of our expensive lenses and negate the quality of the glass anyway.
If Frankel gets a mile and a half Camelot doesn’t see the way he went IMO, if he doesn’t get the trip it is a moot point. You may as well cite horses that can beat Frankel over fences.
Let them meet each other half way over 10f and we’ll all see which is the better horse.
At odds against for Frankel I’d be looking to sell my house to fund the bet!
Very nice pictures Cormack, well done.
I’m a keen amateur photographer myself. Despite having lived in Newmarket for almost forty years I’ve only really ever dabbled at the racing pics though. (Most of my stuff is wildlife or angling related.)
I’m going to make a concerted effort to shoot some racing photos in future though. I began making a point of photographing the horses down at the start for the Guineas a couple of years back and it has been good fun. Use a D200 myself.
I guess you can only imagine they’re all running scared of Camelot.
BTW There’s another very obvious tip in that picture of the Boy’s Grave running at Epsom today.
Just nipped up to the Boy’s Grave. It’s been a bit blinged up since the last time I paid my respects but the predominant flowers were a big fresh bunch of white ones.
So it’s pretty clear cut I think. White flowers with green stems? Got to be Thought Worthy.
There’s your tip from the ‘other side’.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u307/ChristopherPHammond/bg2-1.jpg
It was one of the best bets of the day, given that there is only one Newmarket trained horse running in the race.
That thought did cross my mind.Just nipped up to the Boy’s Grave. It’s been a bit blinged up since the last time I paid my respects but the predominant flowers were a big fresh bunch of white ones.
So it’s pretty clear cut I think. White flowers with green stems? Got to be Thought Worthy.
There’s your tip from the ‘other side’.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u307/ChristopherPHammond/bg2-1.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u307/ChristopherPHammond/bg1a.jpg
I cant decide if Camelot won the Guineas a little cheekily or whether he only just got up. I’ve re-watched the race a few times and looking at him in running it is difficult to think he isn’t all out to get in front of FF.
I think he may well flop tomorrow. I’m always happy to see brilliant horses run, so if he does win doing handstands then I’ll be as impressed as anyone else.
In the absence of any real fancy other than the O’brien horse then I’ve elected to have a bit each way on Rugged Cross at a whopping 66/1. The draw isn’t great but it’s not a huge field. I could see him running into a place.
Good luck everybody.
I’ve taken a while to come around to the idea but I’ve finally come down against Camelot tomorrow. I’m going to try and hunt out some value.
I cant decide how good his guineas win was, but for my money the jockey hasn’t the experience to get around Epsom trouble free anyway.
Second again! That’s the second in all three classics at some tasty each way prices. Surely must be owed a win in tomorrow’s feature race….
Geez, I’m an Aussie & I stayed up to watch Frankel the other night. He’s an excitement machine. Nothing like watching top class horses run!
I can understand frustration but not boredom. We’ve been going through that with Black Caviar too. A lot of her top competition refuse to race against her anymore thus her last couple of wins have been against far inferior horses. I hope that you guys don’t suffer the same fate with Frankel but it is heading that way….
Nicely put.
I think we all want to see Frankel step up a few furlongs in distance. To me the thought of what I consider to be the greatest flat horse I’ve ever seen retiring without us the racing public ever knowing for certain whether he would get 10 or 12 furlongs is almost unthinkable. On the other hand if Sir Henry appeases the baying racing fans by trying him out over further and he gets beaten by the trip I’ll be pretty gutted too.
To be honest if he did turn out to be capable of 12 furlongs I’d be a bit disappointed anyway. After the Guineas last year I was certain his style of running up with the pace and his awesome stride were perfectly suited to the Epsom classic. I could see him swallowing up the field with that relentless gallop as they rounded Tattenham corner. Another Shergar or Slip Anchor I thought. Made for the Derby! And I was sure Sir Henry had been mistaken in not entering him into the Derby.
Having watched his progress since though I’m less convinced. He just looks too keen in the early parts of his races to me for a middle distance horse. Also despite some pretty disrespectful posts on here regarding Sir Henry, I personally am happy to accept his judgement. You wouldn’t ask Loch Song or Cadeaux Genereux etc to prove their brilliance by taking on horses over a mile or further, why should we expect Frankel to face certain defeat by running over distances he might not get?
