ALL VIEWS ARE MY OWN.
Before we get into the details of last week’s classics where there was plenty to mull over, was anyone else “lucky” enough to witness the draw for the stalls for the Derby? Now I have been lucky enough to travel the racing World and seen how others do it, and I’ll admit they can be a bit too showy, sometimes lasting for longer than ideal – but I respect different cultures and sit there with a smile on my face regardless. Ours didn’t take that long, and I only had to suffer it on television, but a smile was still impossible, with a cringe the better description and a desire for the world to open up and swallow me – what would anyone new to racing think? Set up on what looked like trestle tables, and with a statue of the great Galileo on one side – and Wetherspoons on the other, I applaud the idea of taking it out into Epsom town – but surely a bit more glitz and glamour was needed? Special guests included Frankie Foster (ex-Love Island) and the Mayor of Epsom, but with the numbers seemingly hastily written in felt-tip on ping pong balls, it was all a bit of a shambles. Now I do understand racings finances are overstretched at present, thanks in part to the knock-on effect of affordability checks, but if a job’s worth doing it is worth doing well, and this was frankly laughable and must never be repeated – hardly a showcase for what was once the best race in the World.
On a brighter note, what did everyone else think of the Derby result, with City of Troy bouncing back to form (I won’t say his best) to win by close to three lengths, the 10th Derby winner for Aidan O’Brien. I cannot and will not take anything away from the immense training performance to bring a horse back from a poor run in the 2000 Guineas to win over a mile and a half, but I do not know what goes on behind closed doors (or on the gallops), though I can spot a sublime riding performance when I see one. Never panicking from the one stall, he bided his time and considered pulling him out at one stage before seeing his pathway restricted before seeing a gap on the rails that he quickly shot through to go clear of the field. I may be wrong (probably am), but I though they when the colt looked to be wandering a little Ryan moved him across to use the loose horse as a lead, and that is as shrewd a thing as I have seen in a very long time. Unlike everyone else I won’t be going overboard on how good he is just yet, with so many poor Derbys in recent years to call upon, and a time over 3 seconds slower than average, but for now we have a potential superstar on our hands, fingers crossed.
One thing I did note, and I do not consider myself particularly politically correct (wrong generation), but was there some sexism at play? Dermot Weld’s Ezeliya was just as impressive when winning the Oaks on Friday afternoon, but where were all the column inches? Racing in the famous colours of HH The Aga Khan (green and red), the homebred daughter of Dubawi travelled well throughout before hitting the front about a furlong out to win going away from her field by three lengths. Considering that was just her fourth start and she looked a bit green close home, she is clearly a top-class filly, and deserves every accolade we can throw at her – filly or not.
Rounding off the Derby meeting for now, and it was more than a little disappointing to see the crowds were down once more, so should we switch the race back to a Wednesday – or is it too late? I remember the days when we used to take the day off work, organise a trip with mates where plenty of beer was quaffed, and everyone had a great day out – somehow, that seems to have disappeared. It is now just another race on an already busy raceday (were there more or less meetings back then I wonder?), and in direct competition to any other sports that are on at the start of the British summer (cricket, tennis etc at a guess), whereas on a Wednesday, it was a “special” day, perhaps not up to Melbourne Cup standards, but something to celebrate. Whether the time has now passed and racing is no longer of interest it “the masses” is open to debate, but it is on the decline in the Saturday slot so why not give it a go once more?
Next up we have the dreaded Levy – not something I really understand, but basically the funding for the sport we love. Once more bookmakers and racing failed to reach an agreement with (surprise surprise), racing wanting more that the latest offer – and the bookies unwilling to budge. The sticking point appears to be a levy on bets placed on International racing by British based punters which the bookmakers see as a line in the sand – but how about we rewind a little? Racing, through breeders, owners, trainers, and racecourses OWN the “product”, and if we don’t like the offer on the table - tell them to go whistle (this is a family blog). Could we even consider driving a wedge between the bookmakers – tell them only those paying the money/percentage requested can have the product and the rest can go without? I for one would happily find a couple of hundred quid to buy shares in The Tote if that was the case, on the assumption that they will pay the fees, and although I am free market overall, if we can push more business to those putting money back into the sport and sod the others, all well and good? I suspect (and what do I know), that some bookmakers may then break ranks (they love to tell us racing is a bad product for them but if that is the truth why are they even negotiating?), leaving those paying then correct sum covering racing, and the rest reverting to other sports and the dreaded casinos and slots. It does seem to me, and plenty of others, that racing sold it’s soul some time ago and that bookmakers now run the show – somehow, we have to grab that back and remind people who really pays for the sport.
Lastly some good news – albeit it over a week out of date. Anyone who follows National Hunt racing will remember the great Istabraq and if you don’t want to feel old, look away now! He celebrated his 32nd birthday recently and still looks a picture (https://www.facebook.com/ilovelimerick/videos/1262359971794679/) and it also gives me a chance to remind you of his career. A son of Sadlers Wells out of a Secretariat mare, he was bred by Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Shadwell Stud and started off on the Flat, winning a Salisbury maiden on his fifth start, and an Ayr handicap before heading to Aidan O’Brien for a new career at the winter game, running in the colours of J P McManus. He went on to win 23 of his 29 starts over hurdles, 12 of them at Grade One level including three consecutive Champion Hurdles at Cheltenham, winning a total of £1,053,385 in won and place prize money, and cementing himself a place in the hearts of racing fans the world over. Pulled up on his last start when slightly lame in the 2002 Champion Hurdle and retired soon after, he has been as spoilt as any horse ever for the last 22 years, enjoying his thoroughly deserved retirement.
Fancy a listen instead for a change – and the views of Ron Robinson of Post Racing fame – click here https://theworldofsport.co.uk/2024/06/07/istabraq-city-of-troy-and-sean-has-a-peach-of-a-tip-for-saturday/
Saturday Racing
Haydock 1.50pm
A five-furlong Listed race to kick things off for us this Saturday, and one that has seen 10 different winning trainers in the last decade – not the best of starts! With an age range of four to nine, we haven’t seen a winner at a double figure price since 2015 which is something to consider, while four winning favourites have come home in front. Live In The Dream heads the early markets this year for Adam West and has become a fairytale horse that has attracted plenty of interest from non racing folk, a positive in itself. Bought for only £24,000 as a yearling, the five-year-old has now won £507,637 in prize money, and there is undoubtedly more to add to that figure. The highlight of his career so far is a length success in the Group One Nunthorpe Stakes at York last summer, and he was notably weak in the betting when a half length second on his return over course and distance last month. If he comes on for that as expected then he ought to win this and do so impressively before a rewarding summer.
Beverley 2.05pm
A five-furlong sprint for two-year-olds gives us something a little different to work with, and with 11 of the last 12 winners coming out of stalls 1-9, that seems a good place to start. 11 also came home in the first four on their last start, 11 were priced at 8/1 or shorter at the off, and all 12 were in the first five in the betting. Only one was making their racecourse debut, suggesting experience counts (not exactly unexpected), and none had raced in the last seven days. Add those facts together, sadly using current odds (who knows what they will be at the off?) and we have a shortlist of Maw Lam and Powerful Lady – if only life was that simple eh? The first named won a shade cleverly despite a poor start at odds of 14/1 on her only run to date at Thirsk, and is trained by Adrian Nicholls who has a reputation for being able to train a sprinter, and rightly so. Her odds that day suggest there was plenty of improvement to come, and if that is the case, she should give us a very good run for our money.
Haydock 3.00pm
A mile and a half or thereabouts for the Group Three Pinnacle Stakes next, and a race won by William Haggas for the last two years with Sea La Rosa and Sea Silk Road, both daughters of Sea The Stars, and both four-year-olds, who have won seven of the last 10 runnings, with the others three going to five-year-olds. It is rare to see a Group race so wide open with the markets having Sapphire Seas as the early 5/1 favourite for Charlie Appleby and Pat Dobbs after his York fourth in a better race. She can obviously go well here if she gets the trip at the first attempt, but there are others with equal arguments to be made. Sea Theme has to be of interest for the Haggas team as another daughter of Sea The Stars and she can have a rewarding season with the likelihood of improvement to come, but a chance is taken on Lady Boba each way at a better price. We do have to take her fitness on trust ahead of her first start since an easy win at Fontainebleau last November in Listed class, and with only five career starts, there may be more to come in 2024. More importantly, in a race where the majority of the fancied contenders are stepping up in trip, she has won over a mile and a half at Ffos Las, and has no stamina questions to answer.
Haydock 3.35pm
The seven furlongs of the John Of Gaunt Stakes is seen by many, including me, as a specialist distance, too far for the sprinters and too short for the specialist milers. All the last 10 winners came out of a single digit stall, but that may be down to the number of contenders as much as any draw bias to be fair. Jumby won this last year and is back for more, but he is yet to peak this season with a ninth in Saudi Arabia and an 18th at Ascot, while Pogo won it in 2022 but is in better form with a neck second over course and distance last month on his CV. At odds around the 7/1 mark I am willing to put him up as an each way option if only because he has three wins on the forecast going, four over this trip, and a one out of two record at the track – but this is not a race that appeals to me as a betting medium, and I will only be betting in pennies for the fun of it.
Sean’s Suggestions:
Stunning Peach 12.35pm Sha Tin (Hong Kong) Saturday - ex Joseph O’Brien colt with Group One form in Europe including a neck second to Los Angeles in France, and expected to be spot on for his third start since arriving in Hong Kong.
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