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Racing Review of the Year: Part I

The Classic Generation

At the start of June, with France and Germany having already crept cautiously back into play after the COVID full-stop, Britain joined in with the beginning of a flourish of catch-up fare. In under a week of racing, we had a new star to gaze at, and time experts were in awe of Bjorn Nielsen’s English King (Fr) (Camelot {GB}). While he looked super-slick in the Listed Lingfield Derby Trial, he was to be given the justifiably dreaded number one draw at Epsom and gave up any chance in the first handful of yards in the blue riband itself. His tardiness was punished by a performance of front-running power rarely seen in the Derby from Serpentine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), whose rise from obscurity to the sacred heights was astonishing even given that he emanated from Aidan O’Brien’s Ballydoyle stable. Neither English King nor Serpentine were able to finish in the first three again, while the other main players at Epsom also disappeared almost without trace, giving the Coronavirus renewal a shabby look in general.

Arguably the best horse to come out of the Classic was Mogul (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), whose finest hours came in the international tests of the G1 Grand Prix de Paris and G1 Hong Kong Vase. Beaten convincingly by Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) in York’s G2 Great Voltigeur S., the classiest member of the millionaire offspring of Shastye (Ire) (Danehill) shot up the rankings on Sunday and it will be fascinating to witness the clashes between the prides of Ballydoyle and Willie Muir’s Lambourn base in 2021. If the Derby was a disappointing affair, the G1 2000 Guineas, held four weeks earlier, at least stood up where the juvenile form was concerned as Qatar Racing’s Kameko (Kitten’s Joy) held off the ill-fated Wichita (Ire) (No Nay Never) and 2019 champion Pinatubo (Ire) (Shamardal) at Newmarket. Pinatubo came up short again next time in Royal Ascot’s G1 St James’s Palace S. behind Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) before landing the G1 Prix Jean Prat and finishing runner-up in the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp to another high-class son of Kingman in Persian King (Ire). None of the first three home in the Guineas will be with us next term for varying reasons and that situation was confounded with the recent announcement that the G1 St Leger hero Galileo Chrome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) has also been retired.

Aidan O’Brien will have much to look forward to over the winter, however, as Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) will be back after a brief but electrifying campaign which saw her become the latest and possibly the easiest 1000 Guineas-Epsom Oaks double act. Denied a run in the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe as the ground began to deteriorate rapidly across Europe from the end of September, she was spared the ordeal faced by the likes of Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) at ParisLongchamp. It was Gestut Schlenderhan’s G1 Deutsches Derby hero In Swoop (Ire) (Adlerflug {Ger}) who ended up in the mix of the year’s best European Classic winners as he earned second in the Arc.

In France, the John Gosden-trained Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) upstaged the G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains winner Victor Ludorum (GB) (Shamardal) in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club on the day that Fancy Blue (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) denied the G1 Coronation S. winner Alpine Star (Ire) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) and the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Peaceful (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in a strong edition of the G1 Prix de Diane. The Niarchos Family’s Alpine Star, who had the misfortune to run up against Palace Pier in the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois, and Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal) in the G1 Prix de l’Opera, where the G1 Prix Jean Romanet and GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf heroine Audarya (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) was back in third, could prove to be the most intriguing of all the French Classic players to emerge next season.

Of Ireland’s Classic winners, there is a sense that they operated below the usual level in 2020. Khalid Abdullah’s G1 Irish 2000 Guineas winner Siskin (First Defence), the aforementioned Peaceful, the Oaks heroine Even So (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and Derby scorer Santiago (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}) all failed to win again. That underlines a general weakness in Classic form throughout the year, with all the customary patterns and staging posts disturbed or wiped out by the Spring lockdown. The last-named was unable to subdue his compatriot Galileo Chrome in the Leger, but he is being trained with the staying “Cup” races in mind in 2021 and looks tailor-made for the division Aidan O’Brien has reaped such rich dividends in.

The Older Horses

This was supposed to be the year of Enable, as Juddmonte’s monarch returned to her stomping ground, but it actually turned out to be the year of Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). In the mould of former Godolphin greats such as Dubai Millennium (GB), Daylami (Ire) and Fantastic Light, he established himself centrally in the firmament with an astounding front-running performance in the G1 Coronation Cup, which was switched to Newmarket just days after the British Flat season had launched. While his subsequent successes in the G1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown and G1 Juddmonte International at York may have achieved loftier ratings, the world champion of 2020 was never more visually impressive than on his European comeback. It will be a long time before the Coronation Cup is either graced by such a presence or is staged at the Suffolk venue which contrasts so greatly with Epsom and so the uniqueness of this event will live long. Enable ended up rated six pounds below him, which seemed perfectly fair given that her campaign was highlighted by a win in a three-runner G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S.

That the old jewel in British racing’s crown could deteriorate to such an extent gives major cause for concern, even allowing for the strangeness of the year and a mix of circumstance. Ascot’s QIPCO Champions Day was also blighted, this time by the weather as the worst of October’s promise of dour conditions came to light. While respected commentators questioned the views of connections of well-beaten fancied horses that the ground was desperate, the eclipse of Stradivarius, Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Palace Pier cast a shadow over the current edition. Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) was one of a quartet of geldings to plunder the group prizes open to them and that surely was not ideal at a meeting designed to showcase the breed. Stradivarius, whose tame exit from the action in the G2 QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup gave cause for concern, will be back at the track in June hoping for better ground as he bids for a fourth Gold Cup.

Champions Day saw the continued rise of Hollie Doyle, who was nominated for the coveted BBC Sports Personality of the Year award and already the recipient of the Sports Journalists’ Association Sportswoman of the Year among others. At this stage, she is almost guaranteed to become the first female champion jockey in her native country with her momentum set to continue at a relentless pace. A Classic win in 2021 too, perhaps? Cieren Fallon, Jr., who took the G1 July Cup on Oxted (GB) (Mayson {GB}), is another young rider on the rise with his style so reminiscent of his oh-so-talented father.

Other headline acts in 2020 were Shadwell’s high-class miler Mohaather (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), who won a G1 Sussex S. which stands up to any recent renewal, the same operation’s imperturbable sprinter Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Peter Brant’s Arc hero Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). Battaash will be back again next term, bidding to add to his remarkable tally of four Group 1s and four editions of the G2 King George S. in which he is nigh-on unbeatable. Saeed Suhail’s G1 Haydock Sprint Cup hero Dream of Dreams (Ire) (Dream Ahead) will also be back

After the retirement of Magical was announced on Dec. 22, Ireland now has another star mare in His Highness The Aga Khan’s Tarnawa. Her trio of victories in the G1 Prix Vermeille, G1 Prix de l’Opera and GI Breeders’ Cup Turf mark her as special, and her lethal turn of foot will be a major asset as she looks to add to her haul next year. The Arc, which was arguably within her sights this year, will surely be in 2021, and if Dermot Weld can keep her at this level she could be the one to provide him with that missing monument. Time will tell whether the much-discussed three-pound mares’ allowance stands, but while it does the likes of Tarnawa and Love will always have a distinct edge in top competition.

Dark Horses

The ‘lurkers’ who just failed to make it in 2020 but could be big presences next year include Shadwell’s G3 Geoffrey Freer S. winner Hukum (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), Kirsten Rausing’s G1 Yorkshire Oaks runner-up Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}), David Ward’s promising sprinter Starman (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) and Godolphin’s 2000 Guineas fourth Military March (GB) (New Approach {Ire}). Also, a Sir Michael Stoute special perhaps? Saeed Suhail’s impressive novice winner My Frankel (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who heads into a 4-year-old campaign lightly-raced and unexposed. Sounds like a few we’ve known in the past.

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Pyledriver’s ‘Unbelievable’ Progression Has Value Purchase In Top Form For St. Leger

Martin Dwyer and his father-in-law, William Muir, believe Pyledriver has all the attributes needed to provide them with a fairytale triumph in the £350,000 (about US$414,000) Pertemps St Leger at Doncaster on Saturday.

The final Classic of the year, first run in 1776 and part of the QIPCO British Champions Series, has attracted a final field of 12. It features three challengers from the yard of serial Irish Champion Trainer, Aidan O'Brien, who is seeking a 39th British Classic success and has already landed this year's Investec Derby, Investec Oaks and QIPCO 1000 Guineas.

O'Brien's principal challenger, Santiago, the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby winner, will be ridden by Frankie Dettori, whose tally of 258 Group 1 triumphs includes six St Leger victories. By contrast, Muir is still searching for his first win at the highest level, having been training a similar amount of time as O'Brien, while Dwyer's last Group 1 victory in Britain was 14 years ago aboard Sir Percy in the 2006 Derby.

Dwyer, 45, said: “If I'm totally honest, for the last four or five years I thought my days of riding horses as good as Pyledriver were gone. To get another bite at the cherry is fantastic and hopefully I can make it count. They've all got me to beat. Touch wood, if things go well he will win.

“He's definitely up there among the best horses I've ridden. He's been a bit of a slow-burner but his progression has been unbelievable. William and his team have done a tremendous job.”

Pyledriver has been known by those closest to him as “Dave” from the day he was foaled and is owned by brothers Guy and Huw Leach, plus their long-time friend Roger Devlin. He changed hands for only 10,000gns as a yearling; something Muir puts down to his sire [Harbour Watch] becoming unfashionable. He sees parallels in his own Lambourn yard, where 26 horses reside.

“It's all fashion, nobody even looked at him – and he's gorgeous to look at with a great stride,” Muir said. “We're not a fashionable yard, everyone wants somebody younger. It's just one of those things. If this horse could go and win on Saturday it would be fantastic for the whole team and everyone around it.”

Pyledriver announced himself on the big stage when an emphatic winner of the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot in June and put a luckless run in the Investec Derby behind him when a commanding winner of the Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes at York last month, when conceding 3lb to each of his seven rivals.

Dwyer said: “He surprised me a bit at Ascot with how easily he won but even there he was like a teenager and now he's become a man. He destroyed the field at York and has just flourished all year.

“It's a great story, this year more than ever because it's been difficult times. Over the past five to ten years all the good horses have seemed to be in the same hands. It's got harder and harder. He's shown you can have a horse for £10,000 and compete at the top level – the dream is alive. It's just what racing has needed at this time.”

Big-money offers for Pyledriver, exceeding seven figures, have been rejected. Muir said: “If the offers had been accepted I don't think he would have stayed in this country – places like Australia and Hong Kong wanted him really badly. If one person had owned him, you couldn't have said no to the kind of offers we got – it was life-changing money – but there's three of them, and they wanted to keep him.”

Pyledriver's stamina is untested beyond a mile and a half but Dwyer said: “He wasn't stopping at York. He hit the line strong and I don't think it [the trip] will be a problem. He's got gears and the speed for a mile and a quarter but as long as he relaxes, as he does, then I don't think it will be an issue.”

Muir accepts his pedigree gives mixed messages but says: “Do I think he will stay? Yes, as I think he has the right attitude. He's got such a relaxed way about him. I'm in a good place because the owners have said 'what's the worst thing that can happen? If we get beat we can come back in trip.' It's a horse race, he's in fantastic form and if he stays he will be very hard to beat.”

Pyledriver will stay in training next year and Muir says his final run of this season will be in the QIPCO Champion Stakes on QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on October 17.

Santiago won the Irish Derby just eight days after landing the Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot at the main expense of Berkshire Rocco. On his latest start, he finished third to Stradivarius in the Qatar Goodwood Cup when things did not go quite to plan.

O'Brien said: “Goodwood didn't work as we would have liked. We usually like to take our time on him but he hit the gates on Ryan [Moore] and he couldn't really get him back. He was sitting in that second position and Ryan felt he was probably in a gear too high all the way. Because of that he went from travelling very well to having to drop him and ask him to go and race very quick. He really didn't get his breath to go again.

“We had to give him a little bit of an easy time after it because obviously when things don't go smooth for a horse they usually have a harder race but he seems in good form again.”

O'Brien and Dettori have teamed up for St Leger glory once before, striking with front-running Scorpion in 2005. The prospect of Dwyer and Dettori fighting out the finish on the market leaders is quite something and Dwyer said: “We've been friends for many years and I've always looked up to him. Frankie's a superstar and riding better than ever. It's a joy to watch him and I've learnt lots from him over the years. His positioning is just unbelievable and he always seems to be in the right place at the right time. That's what wins big races.”

O'Brien also runs Dawn Patrol, who was third in the Irish Derby, and Mythical while his son, Joseph, will field the progressive Galileo Chrome, who has won each of his three starts this year. There is one other Irish challenger in the shape of the Andrew Slattery-trained Sunchart.

Owner Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum is enjoying a fabulous year but his silks have never been carried to victory in the St Leger. He bids to put that right with the Owen Burrows-trained Hukum, who won the King George V Stakes at Royal Ascot on his return before following up in the Group 3 Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Geoffrey Freer Stakes at Newbury.

Front-running Subjectivist lines up on the back of a 15-length romp in the Group 3 Ladbrokes March Stakes at Goodwood. He had previously finished third in the Group 3 John Pearce Racing Gordon Stakes at the same venue, with English King behind in fourth. English King had previously been a landing fancy for the Investec Derby, at Epsom, where he finished a staying-on fifth, with Mohican Heights, absent since, back in twelfth. Ed Walker, the trainer of English King, has said his colt remains more likely to run in France on Sunday.

The field is completed by the Richard Spencer-trained Tyson Fury, who belied odds of 20/1 when winning a novice stakes on his debut over 1m4f at Doncaster in early July.

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Serpentine On Song For French Return

G1 Investec Derby winner Serpentine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is on course for his first outing since that Classic upset in the Sept. 13 G1 Grand Prix de Paris, with the option of joining stablemate and likely favourite Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe thereafter.

“He had two quick runs leading up to the Derby–he’d only run the week before–and after the Derby he was a little bit quiet and a little bit tired and needed a little bit of time, but we always thought he was a very smart middle-distance horse,” said trainer Aidan O’Brien. “He has a busy next 10 days, so it will be interesting how it goes, but if we run him it will be a run to get him started and back, and then see where we go after that. But obviously a race like the Arc or something like that would be possible. Either way, we are hoping we will have him for next year.”

O’Brien revealed “everything is well” with the aforementioned Love in the wake of her most recent win in the G1 Yorkshire Oaks.

“We had it spaced out that there was a six-week gap from York to France, and that’s what we were very happy with,” the trainer said. “We got a chance to give her a couple of easy weeks, and then her programme would start building up again, and she’s back into her programme already–she’s very fresh. She’s doing nice canters at the moment, which she has to do to keep her right, because she gets very well and fresh in herself. Wayne [Lordan] rides her in all her work and he’s very happy with her.”

With Serpentine headed to Paris next week and a strong squad anticipated on the home front for Irish Champions Weekend, O’Brien’s riding squad will be well spread. The trainer noted he will be utilising some local riders for Doncaster’s St Leger meeting on the same weekend, including possibly Frankie Dettori for G1 Irish Derby victor Santiago (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}) in the Leger itself.

“We have spoken to Frankie, and he’s going to be there for the Leger, which is great for us, so hopefully he will ride some of ours,” O’Brien said. “We haven’t really discussed it, but I’d imagine that [using British-based riders] is what will happen because we’ll probably have a lot of runners here and we’ll need the lads here. The problem is if the lads go there they can’t do anything for the next two weeks after it.

“I’d imagine we’ll probably need them at home for that weekend, and we have Frankie and William [Buick], James [Doyle], Adam [Kirby] and Oisin [Murphy]–they’ve all ridden for us, and we’re delighted they’ve agreed to do that whenever we have needed them. I think we’ll be OK that way.”

Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), meanwhile, is set to be among the headliners of the home team as she attempts to defend her title in the G1 Irish Champion S. She comes off a second to Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G1 Juddmonte International and could be joined by the likes of Japan (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) at Leopardstown.

“We’d be delighted if [Ghaiyyath] did come over,” O’Brien said. “It was Magical’s first run back for an autumn campaign. We’d be looking forward to the race and it would be great for everyone if he did come. She ran in York and Ryan [Moore] was very happy with her and thought she might progress for it. She’s a hardy lady and gives her all. There is every chance she’d run a very big race.”

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Next Targets Set for Serpentine, Santiago

Trainer Aidan O’Brien has announced plans for two of his 3-year-old stars of 2020, G1 Investec Derby upsetter Serpentine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and G1 Irish Derby hero Santiago (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}).

Serpentine will make his next start in the G1 Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris at ParisLongchamp on Arc Trial day Sept. 13.

“The lads [owners Coolmore] wanted to keep him at a mile and a half, with a view that he could go for the Arc or something like that,” O’Brien said. The Grand Prix de Paris replaces the G2 Prix Niel, the customary 3-year-old course-and-distance prep for the Arc, which has been suspended this year.

Santiago, who gave O’Brien his 14th Irish Derby success late last month, will take on Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the G1 Goodwood Cup over two miles and will be in receipt of 15 pounds.

“It was always the plan to come here after Ascot, and we took in the Irish Derby on the way,” said O’Brien. “He seems to have come out of the Irish Derby well–we’re very happy with him at the moment.

“We always thought the Goodwood Cup was a race that would suit him. He’s a horse we always thought would stay very well– that’s why he ran him first time out this year at Ascot over a mile and six (furlongs).

“He’s a very straightforward horse to handle and to train and he’s very clean-winded. He’s a very exciting horse, and we always viewed him as possibly a Cup horse for next year, so this is all good experience for him really.

“If everything goes well, he’ll probably go straight from here to the [G1] St Leger, because there isn’t really anything for him in between.”

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