Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ROAR POWER
ROARING LION silenced Poet’s Word to lift the Group 1 Juddmonte International at York.
James Doyle suffered traffic problems aboard 8-5 favourite Poet’s Word, but winning trainer John Gosden insisted there was no element of luck about
Roaring Lion’s emphatic three-and-a-quarter-length supremacy under Oisin Murphy.
Unsaddling the 3-1 shot after the 10-furlong test, Gosden (above) said: “He was the last one off the bridle again, which is always a good sign — there was no fluke today.”
Roaring Lion suffered defeats in the Craven, 2,000 Guineas and Derby earlier in the summer — he won York’s Dante Stakes in May and last month’s Coral-eclipse. And Gosden added: “The curve was upward all the way — this is a much better horse than ran at Sandown. I was expecting a big performance and we got one!”
A frustrated Sir Michael Stoute said of Poet’s Word: “James said it got very messy and he had to switch direction — we thought we were in a good position turning in and then we were in the worst position.
“The winner had gone when we were getting reorganised.”
Charlie Appleby’s Old Persian will head to the William Hill St Leger at Doncaster next month after Doyle fended off Melbourne Cup-bound stablemate Cross Counter in the Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes.