It has been an interesting week or two for me personally as I have travelled to see racing taken far less seriously elsewhere in Europe – but I need to add I always have used the tag line “making racing fun again”, so how can I oppose people having a good time – I can’t. More of that in a second weekend article but before then we can all start to get a little bit excited about the new racing season from Hong Kong that I believe begins on the 1stof September , presumably from Sha Tin (as that’s a Sunday). Anyone who knows me will be aware I like to “bang the drum” for the International scene and with an influx of well-known British and Irish horses for the season ahead we could be in for even more excitement than usual. Top of the list in some eyes will be the ex John Gosden Private Secretary who won three in a row including the Listed Cocked Hat Stakes before finishing fourth to Juddmonte Stakes winner Japan at Royal Ascot, marking him it as one worth keeping an eye on though be warned, they do often change names before racing in Hong Kong so a search for him by his UK handle may yet prove fruitless.
The one I think will be best suited to their running style is Decrypt, the winner of two of his four races for Paddy Twomey in Ireland and most recently a three and a half-length third to Phoenix Of Spain in the Irish 2000 Guineas. He will be in the care of Frankie Lor which is no bad thing, and I am rather hoping he will reach the standard needed for an attack on the big races on International day in December, in which case I will have every excuse to interview the trainer.
Anyone unsure about this sport needs to be aware it really is a tears and smiles rollercoaster of a ride, and this week was (sadly) just about the best (and worst) example, all in one. Enable proved to us all she is the best mare for many a year when winning he Yorkshire Oaks while Stradivarius took the Yorkshire Cup and landed another million pound bonus, but on the other side of the coin we lost both multiple Group One winner Roaring Lion (colic) and Champion Hurdler winner Espoir D’Allen (freak injury), making the overall balance one of the saddest days for a long time – for me this is about the horses with the betting and gambling a very distant second.
Enough of my waffling on I suppose, and we need to get on with the racing this weekend and perhaps a winner or two (unlike last week), and with York on Saturday where else could I possibly be? Starting at the beginning with the Group Three Strensall Stakes at 1.50pm the odds against about Wissahickon is a little bit too tempting. The winner of five races in a row and eight of his eleven overall, the son of Tapit seemed to be going places before a shock second at Lingfield when seven lengths adrift of Matterhorn at odds of one to three. That was back in April and he hasn’t been seen since, but I see that as a good thing and would take a guess that something was amiss that day and that John Gosden has given him as long as needed to recover. The drop back to a mile has to been as a concern with his last seven successes over further but he is thought to be even better than this class and I for one will be taking that risk.
For those who have known me a while, I am becoming a bigger fan of P J McDonald week on week (my friend is his agent), and he can hopefully land us the double here courtesy of the very classy Laurens. For a horse bought for a relatively cheap £220,000, the daughter of Siyouni has already won close to eight times that with eight successes including six at Group One level suggesting the lesser company in the City Of York Stakes should easily be within her remit. The drop back to seven furlongs for the first time since her two-year-old days is admittedly a surprise, but she can front run when needed, and she may well try to lead them all a merry dance this afternoon.
Horses To Follow:
Decrypt – see above for the full reasoning but be warned, he may well run under a different name and will be racing in Hong Kong this coming season.
Sean’s Suggestions:
Wissahickon1.50pm York Saturday
Laurens 3.00pm York Saturday
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