Performance of the week: Many will scream Frankel and there
can be no doubting he’s one of the great horses following his Queen Anne romp
(while there are plenty of others that should get a good mention too), but Newfangled
did more wrong than right and was still able to not just win, but completely
dominate the Albany Stakes on soft ground into a strong headwind. Having been
keen in the stalls beforehand, she buzzed out of the gates and was soon leading
and keen throughought the first three furlongs, but that proved to be no
problems when 6 lengths clear approaching 2 lengths out and she was never being
caught in the end. More about her future below, but she was as impressive as
any winner at the meeting overall, nevermind the 2 year old division.
Flop of the week: As with the performance of the week, there
are several contenders, but Fame & Glory (as much as it hurts me to write
this) was limp in his Gold Cup defence, even taking into account the slow pace
and poor positioning used as an excuse. He’s thrown in some stinkers over the
past two years but this was a woeful effort and it’s just hope he comes back to
his best, as today was nothing like the Fame & Glory that we know.
Ride of the week: One of the hardest to pick for many a
year. William Buick has several good shouts, notably his excellently timed ride
on Gatewood in the Wolferton, but Kieren Fallon’s effort on Most Improved was a
hawk back to the old days and surely the difference between victory and defeat.
With a horror draw in stall 15, he had to track over sharply across from the
round mile but did so expertly and took advantage of several sloppy starts from
others to get the plum draw and an excellent position behind Wrote, who he used
as a slipstream to take into the straight before he kicked on strongly. Having
gotten Most Improved onto the rail before settling him, he always had enough
left to hold of the challenges of Foxtrot Romeo, Gregorian, and then Hermival
in the latter stages.
Training performance of the week: Another one with loads of
shouts, but Mark Johnston getting Fennell Bay to top form in time for the King
Edward having run I soft ground just a few days earlier is testament to the
typically tough nature of his horses and he deserves a huge amount of credit
for having him fit and well enough to edge the tightest of finishes.
Trainer of the week: Only one man for this – John Gosden. In
an era where so many trainers are famed for their specific skills, the broad
range of Gosden’s winners was refreshing to see, from progressive handicappers
in Gatewood and Camborne to classy (if not tricky) fillies such as Fallen For
You (while also getting Starscope to come second in a 1-2 for him), while
Thought Worthy ran right up to his Derby form when a close third in the King
Edward Stakes (not to mention getting Greorian to run third in the St James’s
Palace Stakes). A masterclass on a much happier note for the man who had to
defend racing in such dark hours in last year’s King George.
Rider of the week: I make no apology for once again giving
praise to William Buick, who deserved the leading jockey title over the 5 days
but had to make do with second on countback thanks to the machinery of Ryan
Moore. He was a passenger on Newfangled but brilliant on Gatewood, timing his
challenge in the nick of time before nailing the long-time leader Mijhar In the
shadows of the post, while the coolness with which he brought Camborne through
to win is also commendable, having gotten the best out of him despite his very
keen pulling tendencies throughought the race.
High of the week: The euphoria surrounding the build up
towards Black Caviar’s win in the Diamond Jubilee was a terrific spectacle and
the cheer when it was realised that she’d just scraped home emphasized the love
that true racing fans have for the game. The hype behind the horse hadn’t been
justified, but the hype behind the race had been more than fulfilled and then
some and it’s a shame that many people forgot that in the instant aftermath of
the event, which could easily have been a blowout of epic proportions had Luke
Nolen’s insolence (no other word for it, as talented a jockey as he is) been
properly punished.
Low of the week: From a tipping perspective, there were
quite a few, not least Zuider Zee’s agonizing failure to
stay in the Queen Alexandra Stakes, where the one third place he missed out on
(made even more agonising by the fact that Aiken and Compton failed to get the
3rds that would have won him the title) which took away what would
have been a great win for William Buick in the top jockey market. Apart from
that, it has to be The Nile’s awful injury in the St James’s Palace. The only
slight silver lining could be that William Buick and John Gosden went onto have
an incredible week.
Eyecatcher of the week: When I asked around there was only one
general answer – Farhh – but the one that really took my eye would be Kirthill.
Largely unconsidered for the Wolferton, he never made any real inroads towards
the end but he never looked like dropping away and the quality of the horses
infront of him, coupled with the fact that his best form had previously come on
ground described as good to firm, made it a commendable performance from the
Luca Cumani trained colt and he can land another big handicap before the
season’s out when the rain stays away, or in lesser company.
No comments:
Post a Comment