The steady return of high-class flat action to the European turf heightened to a crescendo last week, with enthusiasts of that realm treated to a plethora of quality racing not only across the UK, Ireland and France, but also in Australia, where European-bred and -sired horses shone bright on the second day of The Championships.
While significant pointers were staged for the middle-distance and sprinting divisions, all eyes were on the Classic trials, with now under two weeks until the Newmarket editions. And while a handful of black-type races shook up the betting markets, it was the winners of non-stakes races that made some of the biggest moves in the odds for the 2000 and 1000 Guineas.
On the opening card of the Craven meeting at Newmarket last Tuesday, third-generation Shadwell homebred Mutasaabeq (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) followed up a first-out maiden win over course and distance last October for Charlie Hills with a stirring six-length conditions score going seven furlongs. The son of the 2009 G1 1000 Guineas winner Ghanaati (Giant's Causeway) needs to be supplemented to the 2000 Guineas, but should he line up Mutasaabeq would be a poignant potential winner for the late Sheikh Hamdan, he being a great-grandson of Height Of Fashion, one of the first fillies purchased by Sheikh Hamdan-from The Queen, who herself celebrated an important win with Tactical (GB) (Toronado {Ire}) at the meeting-and one who would go on to reward him so richly across the decades.
The victory of Mutasaabeq likely turned the heads of followers of racing transatlantically; the name was first carried to prominence last summer by a Shadwell-owned colt trained by Todd Pletcher in the U.S. who was third in the GI Hopeful S. before switching to the turf to win the GII Bourbon S. at Keeneland. The American Mutasaabeq was last seen winning the Listed Mucho Macho Man S. going a mile on the turf at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 2, and while he is currently on the sidelines with a minor shin injury, it is very much within the realm of possibility that we will see two high-class Mutasaabeq's running on each side of the Atlantic later this year. Is it possible that we could even see a Mutasaabeq match-up-maybe in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile? The British-bred Mutasaabeq currently rates an 8-1 fourth choice for the 2000 Guineas.
The Richard Hannon-trained Snow Lantern (GB) (Frankel {GB}) saw her odds for the 1000 Guineas halved to 8-1 following a mile Newbury maiden win at second asking, in which she joined the 'TDN Rising Star' ranks. It was Richard Hannon Snr's name on the license when Snow Lantern's dam, Sky Lantern (Ire) (Red Clubs {Ire}), won the 2013 1000 Guineas, but Hannon Jnr was no doubt in the thick of it and he didn't hide his admiration for Sky Lantern's third foal in the aftermath of the race, indicating he would persuade owner/breeder Rockcliffe Stud to push on to the Guineas, where she will have to contend not only with the one-raced favourite Santa Barbara (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) but also with the likes of 2-year-old champion Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}) and Alcohol Free (Ire) (No Nay Never), who backed up her G1 Cheveley Park S. win with a short-head score in the G3 Dubai Duty Free S. on the same Newbury card on which Snow Lantern was successful. That card-shifted to Sunday from Saturday to accommodate the funeral services for the Duke Of Edinburgh-also included a victory by Snow Lantern's stablemate Chindit (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in the featured G3 Greenham S. Chindit had impressed last year with three consecutive wins to begin his career before coming undone over the soft going when ninth in the G1 Dewhurst S., and after he accelerated in the dying strides to collar Mehmento (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) and The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince Of Lir {Ire}) on Sunday, Hannon noted that Chindit has recently begun relaxing in his work after initially training like a sprinter through the winter.
Frankel's Classic Fillies
It was 10 years ago last weekend that Snow Lantern's sire Frankel kicked off a legendary 3-year-old campaign with a four-length score in the G3 Greenham S., and the results for the ascendant Juddmonte sire continued to roll in last week. Another of his recent 'TDN Rising Stars', Sibila Spain (Ire), backed up a nine-length maiden victory with a clear-cut conditions score at Lyon-Parilly last Thursday and seems firmly on course for a tilt at the G1 Prix de Diane. She has the chance to follow in the footsteps of Hungry Heart (Aus) as an Oaks winner, with that Yulong Investments homebred (out of the Pivotal {GB} mare Harlech {GB}) having become a first Classic winner Down Under for Frankel with a win in Saturday's G1 Australian Oaks. Hungry Heart, in fact, closed out a double for Frankel on The Championships card at Randwick; his 2-year-old gelded Australian-bred son Converge (Aus) won the Listed The Agency Real Estate Mile on his fourth start for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott. The colt races as a homebred for Bott's father, Tony Bott of Evergreen Stud. Converge's dam, Conversely (Ire) (Shamardal), was plucked from the Godolphin draft at Goffs February in 2017 as an unraced 3-year-old for €6,000 and covered by Frankel before traveling Down Under.
With the likes of Juddmonte homebred filly Wensleydale (GB) also in the reckoning for the French Classics after becoming a 'TDN Rising Star' on Apr. 6, Frankel could be sitting on a huge spring.
The Beast Of Britain Crowned Again
For those watching from afar in Britain the highlight of The Championships card had to be the win of the evergreen 7-year-old Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) over his archrival Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) in the A$4-million G1 Queen Elizabeth S. Sheikh Ahmed's gelding had traveled Down Under to beat Verry Elleegant in both the G1 Ranvet S. and the Queen Elizabeth last Australian autumn prior to returning north to win the G1 Champion S. and finish second in the G1 Prince of Wales's S., and while Addeybb and Tom Marquand had been overturned by the mare in the latest edition of the Ranvet on Mar. 27, trainer William Haggas had gone on the record as saying he thought the chestnut would be sharper for the outing and, on Marquand's advice, added half blinkers to Addeybb's arsenal. Marquand made two decisive moves mid-race-first to position Abbeybb in closer order after traveling in the second half of the field, and then gunning him up to sit second at about halfway-and Addeybb responded by grabbing the lead at the 400 and very bravely boxing on to win by three quarters of a length. Addeybb could have been reasonably labeled as a soft-ground specialist previously, but his rousing win over a track rated Good 4 sets him up as a legitimate key player for all the top middle-distance contests this summer, and it was particularly exciting the way he refused to fold in the lane despite having some very good horses breathing down his neck.
Credit, too, must go to the supremely talented Verry Elleegant, who stuck around for second after a nightmare run in which she severely over-raced, was taken back through the field for cover then had to sprint widest of all. The longevity of Australian mares, and Addeybb's ineligibility to breed, mean that another set of match ups isn't out of the realm of possibility; in fact, there were reports in the Australian media on Monday that Verry Elleegant's co-owner Brae Sokolski called Haggas on Sunday proposing a match race between the two horses in two weeks' time, with each owner putting up A$5-million, winner take all. With Marquand already on his way back to Britain and Addeybb not far behind him, Haggas reportedly declined.
Addeybb was a key factor in an electric start to the turf season for Haggas. The Newmarket trainer took both black-type contests on the second day of the Craven meeting last Wednesday-My Oberon (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G3 Earl Of Sefton S. and Sacred (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) in the G3 Nell Gwyn S.-and made it a treble with Sheikh Hamdan's 3-year-old Mohaafeth (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in a 2000-metre handicap, while Al Aasy (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) was the eye-catching winner of the 2400-metre G3 John Porter S. on Newbury's Greenham card. Sacred made a seamless preparation for the 1000 Guineas, traveling near the rear of the pack and slicing through rivals late to score comfortably, and Haggas said in the aftermath that it is all systems go for May 2. Running a bang-up race in second was Jane Chapple-Hyam's G3 Oh So Sharp S. winner Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), though she may not have been the most exciting 3-year-old filly to emerge from her trainer's yard at the Craven meeting. The next day, Chapple-Hyam sent out Sir Edmund Loder's homebred Bellosa (Ire) (Awtaad {Ire}) to a seven-length debut maiden win going seven furlongs over the Rowley Mile, though the bay looks set for a gradual rise through the ranks, targeting listed company next rather than returning for the Guineas.
A Sea Of Talent
The Craven meeting also provided some clarity to the ranking of Godolphin's Guineas colts, which are a substantial squad. Master Of The Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) returned to the course over which he won the G2 July S. last year to slash his 2000 Guineas odds to 10-1 after accelerating late to cut down stablemate La Barrosa (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) by three quarters of a length. Master Of The Seas has been far from a straightforward project for trainer Charlie Appleby, his exuberance getting the better of him in both the G1 National S. last year, when he was fourth, and when second to stablemate Naval Crown (GB) (Dubawi {Ire})-who was second in the Craven meeting's Listed European Free H.–on seasonal debut in the Listed Meydan Classic on Feb. 25. Appleby has Master Of The Seas, Naval Crown and the 5-1 favourite and G3 Autumn S. winner One Ruler (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) still in the reckoning for the 2000 Guineas, while the G3 Tattersalls S. scorer La Barrosa holds an entry for the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas. La Barrosa appeared to struggle with the heavy going when trailing home in the G1 Criterium International last October, and the horse that finished one placing ahead of him that day, Policy Of Truth (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), also made a favourable return to the races on Sunday when beating the G1 Jean-Luc Lagardere scorer Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) in the G3 Prix de Fontainebleau for trainer Pia Brandt. Policy Of Truth completed a group-race double on the card for Maxime Guyon, who also took the fillies' Classic trial, the G3 Prix de la Grotte, aboard Christophe Ferland's Cirona (GB) (Maxios {GB}) in a blanket finish, though the fillies came home more than four seconds slower than the colts.
Broome Features In Coolmore Sweep
Ireland, too, had its fair share of quality racing over the past week. Saturday's card at The Curragh saw the Coolmore partners (in various different ownership combinations) sweep the first five races. Five-year-old Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) continued in his quest to re-ascend to Group 1 level with a win in the G3 Alleged S., while Lancaster House (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) put two disappointing efforts firmly behind him with a repeat victory in the seven-furlong G3 Gladness S. Wordsworth (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), second to the G1 Cazoo Derby favourite High Definition (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in his lone start last August, was a notable maiden winner upped to 2000 metres, being a full-brother to G1 St Leger and G1 Grand Prix de Paris scorer Kew Gardens (Ire). One of the more welcome victories of the week for team Coolmore, however, must have been the winning return of Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) in the Listed Heritage S. at Leopardstown on Wednesday. Lope Y Fernandez had not won since taking the G3 Round Tower S. at two, though he was placed in four Group 1s last year from six furlongs to a mile. Aidan O'Brien said post-race that Lope Y Fernandez would be campaigned as a miler this year, with the G1 Lockinge S. and G1 Queen Anne S. the key early targets.
Practicality, Not Flash, At Craven Sale
Last week provided an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the stars of the future not just on the racecourse but also in the sales ring, with Tattersalls raising the curtain on the breeze-up season with its Craven sale. The sector so ravaged by the onset of the pandemic last year got off to an encouraging start with the clearance rate, at 88%, the sale's highest in 21 years. The average (86,021gns) and median (68,000gns) have some way to go to reach pre-pandemic levels and indicate sellers have adjusted their expectations somewhat to move on stock after a tumultuous year, but the signs overall are encouraging and indicate a market on the mend.
The 360,000gns sale-topping filly–who was a $185,000 foal pinhooked by Tally-Ho Stud and the American-based Archie St George–continued the early bull run of Coolmore America first-season sire Practical Joke, who had also supplied the top lot at America's first juvenile sale of the season, OBS March–a $750,000 filly bought by Japan's Hideyuki Mori-and a $800,000 filly bought by the Coolmore partners at Fasig-Tipton's Gulfstream Sale. There were two by Practical Joke at the Craven Sale and the other, a colt pinhooked by Powerstown Stud, brought 140,000gns, having been a $75,000 yearling. Practical Joke is by the red-hot Into Mischief and won a pair of Grade Is at two before adding the seven-furlong GI H. Allen Jerkens S. at three, and he is one of the first elite sons of Into Mischief, following the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Goldencents, to have runners.
The Craven Sale once again provided excellent returns for numerous juveniles sourced from America; in addition to the Practical Joke colt, Tom Whitehead pinhooked a Union Rags colt bought for $115,000 for 185,000gns; Michael Cleere turned a $18,000 Hard Spun colt into 90,000gns and a $37,000 Street Boss colt was flipped for 110,000gns. Getting the European pinhookers to Kentucky last year was a herculean task for the sales houses in the midst of the pandemic, but these early results reaffirm that their efforts were worthwhile.
Other first-season sires to make their mark at the Craven Sale included Caravaggio (five sold for an average of 112,400gns), who started out at Coolmore in Ireland but now stands alongside Practical Joke at Ashford Stud in Kentucky and was the first of his sire crop to post a winner with the 'TDN Rising Star' Tenebrism (Ire) on Mar. 28; and Cotai Glory (GB), who had colts sell for 130,000gns and 110,000gns just hours after recording his first winner at Newmarket last Tuesday. Aclaim (Ire), likewise, had a colt sell for 150,000gns.
Making a resurgence at the Craven sale was Dabirsim (Fr), who had three juveniles sell for 140,000gns, 190,000gns and 240,000gns, with two of those being shrewd pinhooks by Robson Aguiar sourced from last year's Deauville Select Yearling Sale. Dabirsim's average of 190,000gns at Craven far outpointed the $14,165 average he achieved for six sold at last year's breeze-up sales, and it is worth remembering that this crop of 2-year-olds is the one bred immediately after Dabirsim produced the G3 Albany S. winner Different League (Fr) in his first season with runners and was bred on a career-high fee of €30,000.
Tragic Death Of Lorna Brooke
We were devastated to learn on Monday of the death of 37-year-old amateur rider Lorna Brooke, who had been placed in an induced coma after a fall at Taunton on Apr. 8. Just last week in this column, Emma Berry was celebrating the groundbreaking achievements of jockeys like Rachael Blackmore and Jamie Kah, and the contrast in tones to what we feel today is a stark reminder of just how fragile life is, and the risks that our riders take every day to do what they love. Our thoughts today are with Lorna's family and everyone who loved her.
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