Eight years on from the G1 2000 Guineas success of Dawn Approach (Ire), Jim Bolger's Poetic Flare (Ire) proved every bit as tough and resilient as his sire was dominant when outbattling Master of the Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in a thrilling renewal of the QIPCO-sponsored Newmarket Classic on Saturday. Positioned close enough to the furious tempo set by Naval Crown (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) from the outset, the 16-1 shot was at the fore alongside the eventual runner-up as they reeled in that pacemaker a furlong from home with Lucky Vega (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) in close attendance. Headed and seemingly held by Godolphin's first-string soon after, the Coolcullen bay who earned this bid in Leopardstown's Listed 2000 Guineas Trial S. dug deep for Kevin Manning to prevail on the bobber by a short head. Lucky Vega was only a neck away in third as the low-drawn horses came out on top of a true battle royal. “He's done nothing wrong all along and is a proper horse,” 54-year-old Manning said. “He was a little bit keen with me today and caught me on a long rein, but it was a huge performance. Going into the 'dip' I was getting there too soon, but I had no choice and had to keep going. He was idling that little bit going to the line and is a pleasure to ride–he's bomb-proof.”
Long renowned as a man who looks to compose his own concertos within the turf's music, Jim Bolger had every intention of making Dawn Approach New Approach's first winner from his first runner as he sent him to post for the opening five-furlong juvenile maiden of the Irish flat season in 2012. It duly happened and so when Poetic Flare was introduced on the initial day of the soon-to-be interrupted 2020 flat season at Naas last March the hint was there if anyone was looking closely. Giving that form substance was Ballydoyle's smart Lipizzaner (Uncle Mo) in second, but while Royal Ascot and a summer of Pattern races for the 2-year-olds rolled by Poetic Flare waited at home with his owner-breeder-trainer allowing ample time for the maturing process. His next step would have been unorthodox for many stables, but when Bolger targets the G1 Dewhurst S. in which he has enjoyed so much success it is always a noteworthy move. In the event, the still-raw homebred was just short of a true peak in this venue's juvenile monument but within a week of finishing 10th there had garnered Leopardstown's G3 Killavullan S. in what amounted to a remarkable bounce.
Unproven beyond seven furlongs, having turned back allcomers in the Apr. 11 2000 Guineas Trial also at Leopardstown, Poetic Flare nevertheless had no frailty in the stamina department on pedigree and was one of the race's potential big improvers upped to a more suitable trip. Bolger had been bullish in the lead-up, but with Ballydoyle putting forward a trio of closely-matched class acts and Godolphin so well-represented along with the likes of TDN Rising Stars Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) and Mutasaabeq (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), he was to prove another gift to value-backers at 16-1. Newmarket was just about at its fastest on Saturday and so when Naval Crown got rolling in front on the famed chalk heathland it was necessary to lay as close as possible without the needle entering the red. That balancing act was achieved to maximum effect by Manning, whose decades of experience and guile told him to stay firmly in the draft while tempering his mount's clear enthusiasm to the right degree. The unflinching speed at the head of the arrow drained the race's late gamble and 9-2 favourite Battleground (War Front), as well as Mutasaabeq, while Thunder Moon failed to enter the reckoning at any stage and Wembley (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) only briefly flattered.
Naval Crown had beaten Master of the Seas in the Feb. 25 Listed Meydan Classic and it was that form that told here, with William Buick's mount the race's only serious closer from behind. As he had before flattening out in the G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National S. at The Curragh in September, Master of the Seas produced a telling surge of acceleration down the outside which would have won any Guineas without a character of the kind of Poetic Flare. Unfortunately for Appleby and Buick, who had also looked to have the last edition in the bag as Pinatubo (Ire) (Shamardal) loomed, the withering effort of this year's contender also fell fractionally short.
“He's a solid horse and basically has everything,” Manning added of the ultra-game winner. “He had given us all the right vibes at home and his run in the Dewhurst was very good considering the time he had been off beforehand. He was very impressive at Leopardstown and I did feel he had come forward from that. I made no secret that I thought he'd be at the business end, as he did it very easy in the Guineas Trial and stretched away in the last furlong so I thought a mile would suit. All his homework had been excellent and although he'll probably get a mile and a quarter, I don't see a reason to go beyond a mile. These races are so hard-won and everyone wants to win them, so they make the long days and hard work that bit easier.”
Bolger was ensconced at home, but the 79-year-old was clear as to the import of the occasion. “It's a big day for us, right up there with the best we've had,” he declared. “He wasn't ready for the Dewhurst last year–I thought he was a little bit fitter than he was and I was hoping he'd run a big race and get the experience of running at that level, but he ran out of wind about a furlong and a half down. We were very pleased with the run and didn't lose faith in him. It very much carries on that Dawn Approach line and I have two half-sisters of Poetic Flare as well.”
Dawn Approach went to the Derby after his Guineas, but Poetic Flare is not heading in that direction according to his trainer. “Kevin did say that he thought he'd stay 10 furlongs, but at the moment I'm not thinking about going anywhere except the mile,” he continued. “He has buckets of speed and I even entered him in the Commonwealth Cup in the unlikely event that he didn't stay, as he's that quick and you always have some doubts about whether the very quick ones will stay or not. The [June 15 G1] St James's Palace [at Royal Ascot] would definitely be on the cards.”
Charlie Appleby said of the runner-up, “He's run a great race and backed up his performance in the Craven. He travelled lovely through the race and two furlongs down I thought 'we're in with a real shout here'. He's picked up well up the hill, but so has Jim Bolger's horse and well done to him and his team. Ascot will be the most likely target for him, but I'll speak to connections. Naval Crown ran a hell of a race. I was always confident he'd run a big race, stepping back up to the mile.”
Jessie Harrington said of Lucky Vega, “I'm delighted with him. He ran a great race and proved he stays. He's a relaxed horse and just a little bit fresh. Shane [Foley] said he didn't come down the hill very well, but he stayed well and he said he was coming back at them with every stride. He's in the [G1] Irish Guineas [at The Curragh May 22] and the St James's Palace, so they are nice options to have. I've also got Cadillac, who is meant to be going to the Irish Guineas. We might have to run them against each other later in the year, although Cadillac might get further–he's from more of a staying family.”
One of the race's more excusable anti-climaxes was the seventh-placed Mutasaabeq and his rider Jim Crowley gave an insight into the attritional nature of the race afterwards. “He was a little bit disappointing, as I thought he would travel better into the race but it was a sound pace and a real war, a truly-run Guineas and he came off the bridle sooner than I expected,” he explained. “It was only his third start and he hasn't run a bad race, as it was a big jump up for him. He's obviously a very good horse, but you have to be a superstar to win on your third start. We gave it a go and it's back to the drawing board, but there are plenty of nice races for him.”
Poetic Flare is the second black-type winner for Maria Lee (Ire) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}) after the dual listed scorer and dual group 3-placed Glamorous Approach (Ire) by New Approach, who had the stamina to win the 10-furlong Zetland as a 2-year-old. She is a full-sister to Bring Back Matron (Ire), who in turn produced the Listed Eyrefield S. winner Dubai Sand (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) while the third dam Saviour (Majestic Light) is a full-sister to the GI Blue Grass S. hero War and a half to fellow grade I winners Judge Angelucci (Honest Pleasure) and Peace (Naskra). Saviour produced the Listed Derrinstown Stud 1000 Guineas Trial S. winner Speirbhean (Ire) (Danehill), who is in the Bolger Hall of Fame as the dam of one of his very finest in the aforementioned champion Teofilo. Denied his chance in this Classic by cruel fate, he is a half-brother to Godolphin's G2 Cape Verdi scorer Poetic Charm (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and her G3 Derrinstown Stud 1000 Guineas Trial-winning full-sister Bean Feasa (GB). Maria Lee's 2-year-old Frazil (Ire) is a full-brother to Poetic Flare, while she also has a yearling filly by U S Navy Flag.
Saturday, Newmarket, Britain
QIPCO 2000 GUINEAS S.-G1, £400,315, Newmarket, 5-1, 3yo, c/f, 8fT, 1:35.69, g/f.
1–POETIC FLARE (IRE), 126, c, 3, by Dawn Approach (Ire)
1st Dam: Maria Lee (Ire), by Rock of Gibraltar (Ire)
2nd Dam: Elida (Ire), by Royal Academy
3rd Dam: Saviour, by Majestic Light
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Mrs J S Bolger; B/T-Jim Bolger (IRE); J-Kevin Manning. £227,019. Lifetime Record: GSW-Ire, 5-4-0-0, $388,518. *1/2 to Glamorous Approach (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}), SW & MGSP-Ire, SW-Eng, $224,182. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Master of the Seas (Ire), 126, c, 3, Dubawi (Ire)–Firth of Lorne (Ire), by Danehill. O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby. £86,068.
3–Lucky Vega (Ire), 126, c, 3, Lope de Vega (Ire)–Queen of Carthage, by Cape Cross (Ire). (€110,000 Wlg '18 GOFNOV; €175,000 Ylg '19 GOFOR). O-Zhang Yuesheng; B-Kilcarn Stud (IRE); T-Jessica Harrington. £43,074.
Margins: NO, NK, 2HF. Odds: 16.00, 6.00, 12.00.
Also Ran: Naval Crown (GB), Chindit (Ire), One Ruler (Ire), Mutasaabeq (GB), Van Gogh, Legion of Honour (GB), Mystery Smiles (Ire), Wembley (Ire), Devilwala (Ire), Battleground, Thunder Moon (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO.
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