Kingman sets up royal showdown
KINGMAN set up one of the heavyweight showdowns of next month’s Royal Ascot by sluicing through the mud at The Curragh for a five-length win in the Irish 2,000 Guineas.
Now trainer John Gosden has set his sights on avenging the only defeat of his colt’s career, at the hands of Richard Hannon’s Night of Thunder in the English 2,000 Guineas earlier this month, with a rematch in the Group One St James’s Palace Stakes.
Night of Thunder held a half-length advantage when the pair clashed at Newmarket but the tactical nature of that race — the field split into two groups racing on opposite sides of the Rowley Mile — left huge question marks about which was really the better horse.
That was not an issue at The Curragh. Gosden won the Irish 2,000 Guineas for the first time while James Doyle, No 1 jockey to owner Khaled Abdullah, also landed his first classic on the 4-5 favourite Kingman. Hannon’s Shifting Power was second.
Gosden said: ‘It is great fun because of Richard, who I am very fond of. We’ve got some rivalry now as the score is 1-1 and Kingman will go for the St James’s Palace.’
Kingman is proven on soft ground but only got the all-clear to run shortly before the race. With the ground turning heavy after persistent rain, Aidan O’Brien pulled out his main contender War Command.
Gosden said: ‘I walked the track and it was very debatable. This mile takes some getting in these conditions and he [Doyle] rode him beautifully. He is a very talented horse.’
Doyle has found The Curragh a happy hunting ground. The Guineas was his third Group One success at the track. But it took no great riding masterclass to emerge on top on Kingman in a race dominated by the fancied horses.
Richard Hughes led from the start on Shifting Power while Dermot Weld’s Mustajeeb, ultimately beaten a further two lengths in third, was always close to the pace under Pat Smullen. But Kingman settled the issue in a matter of strides at the furlong pole.
The focus at The Curragh this afternoon turns to the fillies in the 1,000 Guineas but the testing ground has led trainer John Oxx to withdraw favourite My Titania.
However, leading British hope and new 3-1 market leader Lightning Thunder is set to line up for trainer Olly Stevens despite the conditions. David Redvers, racing manager to part-owner Sheik Fahad, said: ‘The likelihood is that she will run.’