Postponed the star of Ebor
FAVOURITE: O’BRIEN CHARGE SHORTENS INTO 4-1 TO WIN PRIX DE L’ARC DE TRIOMPHE ʂ Daughters of Frankel to meet again in Grade 1 Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket.
We are entering the silly season where Grade races pop up faster than did medals for GB in the Olympics at Rio, and last week provided us with a fistful of clues for the late summer bonanza, from America, France, Ireland and the UK.
York, dubbed ‘The Royal Ascot of the North’ in Britain, did not disappoint with four fabulous days at their Ebor meeting, highlighted by a superb success from Postponed, the world’s highestrated middle-distance turf horse.
Postponed, who was unable to defend his King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes crown at Ascot in July because of a respiratory infection, bounced back as good as new on the Knavesmire, putting to bed the theory that he would not be as effective at 2100m as he is over the 2400m.
He has already won the Sheema Classic in Dubai and Coronation Cup at Epsom this year, and, while connections of both dual Derby winner Harzand and the irrepressible Coolmore filly Minding stand in his way, it was no surprise that bookmakers quickly shortened Postponed’s odds to 4-1 favourite for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, which has been switched to Chantilly, the home of the French Derby, for this year only due to the rebuilding of Longchamp.
The drop in trip at York, plus the sickness in the yard of his trainer, Roger Varian, had many of us searching for the worrybeads, but the fact is Postponed, who is such an uncomplicated horse, never looked like getting beaten in the £950,000 feature.
Postponed has rock-solid credentials, possessing a bombproof temperament, the ideal blend of speed and stamina and the ability to cope with fast or easy ground, and Varian is not interested in a prep-race, confirming that the next time his stable-star leaves Newmarket will be when he takes to the skies for France on the first Sunday in October.
For once Aidan O’Brien was playing the supporting role at York, though Ireland’s champion trainer looks set to capture Britain’s title as well this season, having taken his prize money tally past a record £5m when Idaho, placed in both the English and Irish Derby, enhanced his St Leger claims with an impressive victory in the Grade 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes.
Some have doubted whether Idaho would have the stamina for the world’s oldest classic which is run over 2900m at Doncaster on 10 September, but he was never going better than he was at the line at York, having hit a flat spot half-way up the straight, and he strengthened as favourite, though I was very taken with Muntahaa’s victory in a Listed handicap at Chester last Saturday and represents a good Eachway alternative.
O’Brien topped up the Idaho celebrations when landing the 1-2 in the Grade 1 Yorkshire Oaks, but, while his consistent but luckless filly Found again started favourite, it was stablemate Seventh Heaven, the Irish Oaks heroine, who proved the stronger in the last 200m.
However, O’Brien was not surprised at the result. He said: “Found was coming back from a break and Seventh Heaven probably had the edge in fitness. This race would have put Found spot on for the Irish Champion, but I was delighted with Seventh Heaven, who is a big, powerful filly who will make an even better four-year-old, though she hasn’t finished yet this season and we are looking at the Breeders Cup in California, where the fast ground will be ideal.”
On the breeding side no firstseason stallion has made a more explosive start than Frankel, arguably as good as we have seen in Europe in the modern era.
Since going to stud Frankel has come out of the blocks like Usain Bolt, and he already has 15 winners on the board from his first crop, the latest celebration being last week’s Grade 2 triumph from Queen Kindly in the Lowther Stakes, in which she left the other Frankel, Fair Eva, who started odds-on, trailing in her wake as she blitzed home.
Both Queen Kindly, who might struggle to stay beyond 1200m, and Fair Eva are heading for the Grade 1 Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket next month, but they might be pushed to peg back the flying American filly Lady Aurelia, who, having broken a few stop-watches when clocking an amazing winning time in the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot, showed that was no fluke when repeating the dose in the Grade 1 Prix Morny ay Deauville on Sunday.
Lady Aurelia, who showed her customary electric early pace but was paddling in the last 200m on her first try at 1200m and only won by 0.75 lengths, was ultimately less spectacular than she had been at the Royal meeting, but the filly’s Californian trainer Wes Ward said he had given her a break since Ascot, taking the view she might get away with this one slightly below par.
Frankie Dettori, who rode, Lady Aurelia, was not disappointed and said: “Deauville has had a lot of racing and the ground was rough. On a decent surface she would have won three lengths, she’ll be back on her A-game at Newmarket, and then Wes and I can dream of the Breeders Cup.”
The big two-year-old race in Ireland last weekend was the Grade 1 National Stakes at The Curragh, where O’Brien’s Chesham Stakes hero Churchill took another step towards stardom when making it 3-3.
O’Brien describes Churchill as “a big sleepy fellow who does just enough”, but, while he might not have the charisma of stablemate Caravaggio, he could be Coolmore’s number one for next year’s 2000 Guineas as 1600m will be no problem for him.
Across the Pond we again took our hats off last week-end to the remarkable Californian Chrome. The US superstar has already amazed me in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Dubai World Cup, but the way in which he blew away the classy Beholder and Dortmund in the Pacific Classic was awesome.
California Chrome can run from the front or pick up his rivals from behind, he is equally effective on grass as on dirt. He is a horse with the full package and the Breeders Cup Classic, for which he is now 5-4 favourite, looks his for the taking.
In Britain racing this week has an “after the lord mayor’s show” feeling, but I can recommend an interest on TOORMORE in the Grade 2 Celebration Mile at Goodwood on Saturday.
Toormore was champion twoyear-old in Europe two season ago, but, though he did win a Grade 1 as a juvenile, he has often been found wanting at the top table.
However, there is no doubt that Toormore is a proper Grade 2 horse, so back in his right grade the colt, in the frame in both the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot and Sussex here at Goodwood, can put promising three-year-olds, Thikriyaat and Zonderland, in their place.