This week I’ve had the pleasure of spending the first of two weeks in Newmarket. It’s a surreal place with horse racing at the centre and the forefront of everything that happens here. In a morning drive you’ll be stopped by a never-ending stream of horses, you go to the pub and locals talk Kodiac, Galileo and Dubawi and the place carries a vibrant air of importance.
I am on the BHA run Graduate Programme, a terrific course and I would recommend it to all young racing fans, no matter their link to the industry. I’ve had countless talks from all aspects of the industry, and quite frankly British horse racing is humongous and an extremely exciting place to be working.
One of my endeavours saw me “attempt” to ride a mechanical horse, it wasn’t pleasant to watch I can assure you. It’s a ferocious feel on your legs and quite frankly I felt a wobbling sensation trickling down my legs for hours afterwards – I’ll remember this when criticising race tactics by jockeys in the future.
But last week belonged to Latrobe, last week’s Irish Derby victor. A horse with plenty of talent, and a worthy winner albeit not in too strong a classic. For Joseph O’Brien it’s another huge win, at age 25 he has already achieved so much and quite frankly you have to have the upmost respect for him. Training is a tough, hard, competitive and unique industry, it’s great to see a young fresh face at the forefront at the sport.
It’s Eclipse day and I am delighted to make my first visit to Sandown. This is always one of my favourite races of the year, as it’s the first time that the classic crop and the older generation meet and once again a hugely exciting field head down to South West London. It’s an absolute cracker, and I can’t wait to see it unfold.
Who do you fancy to come out on top between the two in the #CoralEclipse on Saturday?
12:20 Sandown (Charge)
We haven’t quite seen Different League build on her exceptional promise she showed when beating Alpha Centuari in the Albany at Royal Ascot last year. But I think she’s coming into her prime, and if ever she’ll get a winning opportunity then it’s now. Her sixth place finish in the King’s Stand wasn’t too bad a run, and you can make excuses for her that day too, there may be plenty more to come from her this season.
12:35 Haydock
It’s extremely hard to look past a very progressive Godolphin horse in Ghostwatch. The manner in which he kicked clear on this type of ground at Sandown was hugely impressive and I think they’ll be plenty more to come from him here. With conditions in his favour, I’d expect him to continue taking a huge step forward.
12:55 Sandown (Challenge)
There’s two I can make strong each-way case for in this sphere, and firstly I’ve been keeping an extremely close eye on Tigre Du Terre and it’ll be interesting to see how he shapes up in a completely different type of race. He was second in a French listed race last time, and a fair bit of his two-year-old form is very encouraging. He’ll love these conditions and it’ll be interesting to see how he gets on.
Pouvoir Magique is another who I am quite keen on, I fancied him on his penultimate start but was really taken by the way he flew home on the fast ground and a 6lb higher mark may still leave him very nicely treated in the weights.
1:10 Haydock (Lancashire Oaks)
I have kept a very close eye on David Simcock’s Mrs Sippy and I think she’ll go very far this season. It’s only her fourth career start having breaking her maiden on her penultimate start, before a second place effort behind the smart Sea Of Class. She will need to take another big step forward to beat some of these, but I would expect her to this year and if anyone will help with that it’s the masterful Silvestre De Sousa.
1:30 Sandown (Distaff)
This is a pretty weak race with some unexposed horses in there, and you could make cases for plenty of these. Narella comes here as a very exciting young horse, and if she can return to her best on her seasonal bow then she’ll most likely prove extremely difficult to beat. The form of her first two wins sets a very high form standard. Desert Diamond is another whose worth watching.
1:45 Haydock (Old Newton)
There’s a few of these I am quite keen on, but the one I’ll go for is Golden Wolf. He’s a horse I think will only continue improving and the form of his recent seconds is highly encouraging. He remains really well-handicapped here and I hope he can exploit that mark in a race that looks to be ran perfectly for him. If he’s good enough, I think he’ll win. Across The Stars is a classy act on his day, a good second choice.
2:10 Sandown (Eclipse)
This looks a fantastic renewal, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that today can be the big day for Roaring Lion. He’s always looked like an exceptionally classy horse, and the form of his Derby third stacks up very highly here. The trip, track and ground are spot on for him, and I hope he can finally land a top level prize in what looks an exciting Group One.
