World class Lion blows away rivals
JUDDMONTE INTERNATIONAL STAKES
Amediocre Flat season crying out for a defining display received it in style as roaring Lion dismissed the classiest line- up assembled on a British racecourse this summer in York’s Juddmonte international.
He won by three and a quarter lengths against a field which boasted seven rivals with 11 Group one victories between them.
They included 2,000 Guineas winner Saxon Warrior, irish derby victor Latrobe and dubai World cup winner Thunder Snow. Also in the field was odds- on favourite Poet’s Word, currently rated the world’s second best horse behind Australian super-mare Winx after wins in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and King George Vi & Queen elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.
But none could live with roaring Lion.
runner-up Poet’s Word did not enjoy the cleanest of runs but it would be folly to suggest it made the difference between winning and losing as jockey oisin murphy powered home the John Gosden-trained 3-1 winner in the final furlong.
When roaring Lion landed the dante Stakes at York back in may to set up a challenge for the derby, Gosden felt that immaturity was hampering the development of the colt, owned by Sheik Fahad Al Thani.
it had cost him the racing Post Trophy as a two-year-old at doncaster, when Saxon Warrior snatched victory. Any chance behind the same horse in the 2,000 Guineas once more evaporated as he again hung left-handed.
But after a non-staying third in the mile-and-a-half derby behind masar, roaring Lion has run straight as an arrow to win both the eclipse Stakes at Sandown and the international Stakes. No longer a playboy, more a boy wonder.
‘it was a difficult spring but the Guineas woke him up,’ Gosden said: ‘Today he has shown a clean pair of heels. He has just got better and better and this was not a fluke.’
murphy added: ‘He has all the attributes of a world-class horse. He looks the part and feels the part and now he is doing it on the track.’
Gosden has the option of running the grey in the irish champion Stakes at Leopardstown on September 15 and Ascot’s champion Stakes on october 20. definitely not on the agenda is the two-furlong longer Arc but that must be an option for Poet’s Word.
When jockey christophe Soumillon brought the field over the stand’s rail on pacemaking Thunder Snow, James doyle’s mount went from pole position on the leader’s shoulder to hemmed in on the rail and lost momentum.
Trainer Sir michael Stoute reflected: ‘Turning in, i thought we were in the best position but it turned out to be the worst.’
Third place was snatched by david menuisier’s 50-1 shot Thundering Blue, more than justifying the £75,000 paid to add the horse to the race as he won £115,000.
Having finished a neck behind roaring Lion in the eclipse, Aidan o’Brien’s Saxon Warrior was beaten five lengths in fourth. The colt, so impressive when winning the 2,000 Guineas, has been beaten in all four races since.
His reputation is not in tatters but it is badly tarnished. maybe a drop back to a mile is needed. old persian, trained by charlie Appleby, is 6-1 for the St Leger after beating melbourne cup-bound stablemate cross counter a head in the Great Voltigeur Stakes.
But the favourite for the final classic of the season at doncaster on September 15 is o’Brien’s Kew Gardens, who was beaten less than two lengths trying to concede 5lb. charlie hills-trained Phoenix of Spain is as short as 20-1 for next year’s 2,000 Guineas after winning the Acomb Stakes.