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Still think a KG run is asking a bit much of a 3yr old who has already won a Dante, Derby & Eclipse, also I am not sure that Ascot’s short straight (compared to Newmarket, York, Epsom & Sandown) would suit him given the fact that it takes him a long time to hit full flight.
Also not surprising that his owner (neither a wealthy Arab or part of Coolmore) isn’t keen on a 4 yr old campaign as for a relatively smaller breeding operation being able to offer a (potentially) unbeaten Derby winner to perspective clients will ensure that they are generating the maximum amount of revenue that they can. Makes simply economic sense really.
Looked liked he would be in a bit of trouble between 3F – 2F but then simply outstayed the second in the last 2F – Gosden just interviewed & stated that he is not entered in the Arc but made mentioned that ground would be the issue but that they have 72hr declarations so they can see how the ground is before making a decision, he also stated that the horse would tell him whether the King George would be a possibility or not.
He has run once a month since April and for me, I would now give him a break & come back in August for Juddmonte & Irish Champion in September and then decide on the Arc or Champion Stakes at Ascot.
Looking through the honour roll for the KG you can see that of the 26 runnings from 1970 to 1995, 18 were won by 3 yr olds – but the following 19 runnings to 2014 there were only 4 3yr old winners.
The record in the Eclipse is actually worse with 10 winning 3 yr olds from 1970 – 1995 dropping to only 5 winning from 1996 – 2014.
This is probably partly due to the globalisation of horse racing, improved overseas travelling for horses, the arrival of Godolphin around 1994 (who either kept their 3yr olds in training as older horses or actually specifically bought older horses) there was also a move away from the traditional 3 yr old campaign; which would always include a clash against the older generation in either the Eclipse and/or King George.
3 yr olds the likes of Nijinsky, Mill Reef, Grundy, The Minstrel, Troy, Shergar, Sadler’s Wells, Dancing Brave, Reference Point, Nashwan, Generous, Galileo & Sea The Stars all won at least one of those races and some (Mill Reef, Dancing Brave & Nashwan) won both.
When you are on the best horse in the race, it is surprising just how much trouble you can get yourself into on a hold up horse at Sandown especially in a small field – just asked Fallon about the poor ride he gave Bosra Sham in ’97.
Dettori shouldn’t over think things, just bounce GH out and make the running to suit himself – the old addage of ‘the best place to be in a slowly run race is in front’ surely applies here.
The only thing that would worry me with these tactics is that in the first 1F of the Derby he pulled extremely hard, so Dettori may prefer not to risk it – if he doesn’t go from the front then I would suggest that whoever rides The Grey Gatsby should.
Given the prevailing fast ground, you would have to question whether Tullius will also line up as well given that all of his best form is on much softer ground. Even if they do all run, I can’t believe Coral are too thrilled about this turnout, they must be praying GH puts in a Frankelesque performance to draw attention away from the fact.
Stoute blamed the fast ground immediately after the race for Telescope’s Royal Ascot flop (although that contradicts his record as 3 of his 5 wins have been on Good to Firm – the other two being on Good). Given the current weather conditions, I don’t see the ground being any different for the KG and if the ground really is the issue that Stoute says it is would he even run him?
To me Telescope has always been a high class G2 horse that when upped into G1 races always finds one or two too good for him. Take Taghrooda out of last years race and you could easily mistake it for a top class G2 event. The only way he wins a KG is if the top horses bypass the race altogether, they employ a pacemaker for him and the ground is heavily watered if the current weather continues. Personally, connections should be looking to plunder some of Germany’s G1 races like Grosser Preis Von Baden (which automatically qualifies you for the Breeders Cup Turf) as historically they generally do not take as much winning.
It is a shame that this once great mid season all aged clash now struggles badly to attract the classic generation (a grand total of 22 3 yr olds have run in the race since 2000 of which only 7 were actual Classic winners & only Galileo in 2000, Alamshaar in 2003 and Taghrooda last year actually won the race – the other three that came up short were Kris Kin, Trading Leather & Workforce). The only other 3 yr old to win in that same time period was Nathaniel in 2011.
I think the problems are that apart from the Derby & Arc, 12F races are very unfashionable as breeders are looking for any Derby winners to have performed at the highest level over 8-10F as well plus it is simply a case of the KG being run around the best time for trainers to give their classic 3 yr olds a rest in order to bring them back for an Autumn campaign (whilst the older horses either start appearing from around Royal Ascot time & go on to the Eclipse/KG or are saved primarily for the big year end races).
You only have to look at the long list of G1 races at 10-12F from early August onwards (Juddmonte International, Yorkshire Oaks, Nassau Stakes, Irish Champion Stakes, Prix Neil, Prix Vermeille, Prix Foy, British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes, Champion Stakes, Arc, Breeders Cup, Hong Kong etc) to see that a horses (especially on a classic campaign) need a break to last the whole season, so more often than not the KG and (to a lesser extent the Eclipse) are races that can be bypassed.
I personally can’t see GH running in the KG at all (it would be his 5th straight race this year – a lot to ask of a 3yr old) and I think the only chance of him running again over 12F would be in the Arc. However, with soft ground being most likely at Longchamp come October time, I think those conditions would be more up Jack Hobbs alley than GH (who has only run once on ground worse than Good on his debut when it was Good to Soft).
I would expect GH to be given a break after the Eclipse and then probably go down the Juddmonte, Irish Champion & Champion Stakes route unless Longchamp’s ground is no worse than Good to Soft on Arc day.
Sorry for the length of this post & for going slightly off topic
Being a one off occasion, by and large I can tone out the traditional presenters fawning acts (with the great exception of that tool Rishi Persad and his inane and painful interviewing technique, especially of the winning jockeys in asking the obvious – so how does it feel to win a race at Royal Ascot then etc).
If you have the RUK then you get much more in depth banter/discussion about actual form and race opinion but then being a dedicated racing channel allows them to do that (although this years Royal Ascot adverts were grating and jumping to another televised race is unfortunately a necessary evil). On the downside, having to listen to that double act of Angus McNae & James Willoughby and their sickening love affair with US racing and sectional timing has me immediately reaching for the mute button……but that as they say is another story.
Good choice but for me I would have to say Moore on Clondaw Warrior just edged it over Frankie on Undrafted and Soumillon on Ervedya.
I seem to remember Eddery mentioning that he was expecting the Dante winner Claude Monet (whom he tracked down the hill & turning for home) to lead him a lot further up the straight than he actually did – also by the time Eddery asked him to go, they were so tight together he wasn’t really able to administering his trade mark right hand drive with the whip until the very last few strides when it was too late.
That being said, I still think that it was more a result of El Gran Senor being outstayed by Secreto rather than getting a bad ride & had they both met again in the Irish Derby, imho I think the result would probably have been the same.The Sea Pigeon Story
by Bill Curling – this was the first horse racing book that I ever bought in 1982 and to this day he still remains my favourite racehorse of all time.
The Horses of My Life
by Richard Dunwoody – a fascinating insight from his perspective on the horses that he will be forever linked with. A career sadly cut too short by injury.
Lester: The Autobiography of Lester Piggott
– riding his first winner at the age of 12, a 46 yr riding career with his last British ride being on his 59th birthday – a living legend simple as.
Vincent O’Brien’s Great Horses
by Ivor Herber & Jacqueline O’Brien – from 3 time Gold Cup winner Cottage Rake to El Gran Senor, surely the greatest and most versatile trainer of all time.
Lester Piggot: The Pictorial Biography
by Julian Wilson – it is a good read as it is not just a picture book as the title may lead you to believe.
