Revenge is so sweet as Roy proves the boy
A CLASSIC may have escaped the clutches of Barney Roy but he clinched the next best thing with victory in the St James’s Palace Stakes on a day to remember for Godolphin and Sheikh Mohammed at Royal Ascot.
After coming up short by a length in the 2,000 Guineas, the son of Excelebration exacted his revenge over his Newmarket conqueror Churchill in the manner of the top-class performer he has long been thought to be by trainer Richard Hannon.
Having found the undulations of the Rowley Mile not to his liking, the James Doyleridden colt looked more at ease on a much flatter surface, the 5-2 shot travelling kindly in midfield during the early stages of the mile contest.
As Lancaster Bomber, stablemate of the odds-on Churchill, pressed on early down the straight, the market principals were wound up for their efforts, the eventual winner coming under a maximum drive over a quarter of a mile from home.
While Barney Roy responded to pressure, Churchill’s hopes of a fifth top-level victory in succession were soon over, the 1-2 favourite having no more to give from a furlong or so out.
Going through the gears late on, Barney Roy swooped past Lancaster Bomber close to the line to defeat the Aidan O’Brien runner by a length in a course-record time, Thunder Snow a further head back in third.
The winner, who formed the middle leg of a treble for Godolphin which was initiated by the victory of Ribchester in the Queen Anne and completed by Sound And Silence in the Windsor Castle, was cut to 7-2 for next month’s Eclipse Stakes at Sandown by Paddy Power.
Hannon said: “He is the horse we always thought he was. We went to the Guineas to prove he is a good horse and he did that. He was slightly unlucky there and he has won very well today.
“He has a lovely long stride and he uses that. He takes time to get going and no doubt he will get further.
“I thought this track would suit him as the dips at Newmarket just caught him out.
“Today was his fourth run and I thought that was a pretty good performance for a horse only having his fourth run.
“This horse had very sore shins for a long time. We agreed after the 2,000 Guineas we would bring him here as a fresh horse and I think he has been paid back for that.”