Racing
Michael Duffy
PHEW! Thank God that’s over. Months waiting for Royal Ascot to come, yet by the time 22/1 shot Dark Missile won the Wokingham Stakes for Andrew Balding on Saturday, we couldn’t wait for the dastardly festival to go away.
Punters were minced during a week when the formbook was as reliable as the clouds that hung low above the refurbished track.
Cockney Rebel and George Washington – the last two winners of the Newmarket 2,000 Guineas – were the bankers on day one but things didn’t quite work out that way. Cockney Rebel drifted across the track to finish out of the placings in the St James Palace Stakes. Something looked wrong, and subsequent tests discovered that he suffered a stress fracture to his pelvis – luckily it’s an injury that shouldn’t keep him off the track for too long.
Gorgeous George remains an enigma. Understandably racing keenly early on when he couldn’t find cover, last year’s top miler couldn’t find his best stride when the race got serious and it was only in the final 100 yards that he really got going.
He was only beaten half a length fourth in the end behind Ramonti, but this was a performance almost a stone below his best.
So punters were chasing their tail after day one and things didn’t improve. The banker on day two was US Ranger but he was well beaten into second in the Jersey Stakes. All My Loving was overturned for Ballydoyle on day three when Yeats justified his short price in fine style in the Gold Cup.
Indian Ink upset the odds in the Coronation Stakes on Friday and Saturday’s action saw warm jollies Scorpion and Miss Andretti bite the dust.
A bookies benefit then but sure we’ll get our dough back by Galway, won’t we?
While it was a nightmare few days for some, it was a dream festival for others. There are times in his career when Wexford man Jimmy Fortune has been passed over for high profile rides in favour of more fashionable jockeys but last week belonged to him.
Five victories including a cherished victory aboard Nannina in the Windsor Forest Stakes saw him crowned the festival’s top jockey. And no one begrudged him the award.
IF you’re ever been to Ballybrit for the summer race festival, you’ve probably sampled a creamy bun in one of the restaurants or supped a pint of the black stuff in the Guinness & Oyster Bar. A company called Lydon House Catering employ a team of over 1,000 people to fulfil their catering contract at the track which makes our latest entry in the Galway Portfolio even more ironic.
The unexposed Lydon House was backed from 14/1 into 9/2 to win his first handicap chase at Ballinrobe last week. Exceedingly well-handicapped on just 78 (he did win four point-to-points in his time) Lydon House travelled and jumped well except for making a terrible mistake four from home where he was virtually down on his knees.
At a track as sharp as Ballinrobe, a staying chaser will do well to get back into contention. It proved to be a task beyond him and although he just plugged on to finish third, he’s one to keep in mind. A certain future winner.
Selections
Wednesday
7.30 - Vincenzio Galilei, Naas
Friday
7.35 - Oakley Heffert, Newmarket
Saturday
3.45 - Munaddam, Newmarket
3.45 - Timrawa, The Curragh
4.45 - Alfie Flits, The Curragh
Sunday
3.10 - Hatta Fort, The Curragh
3.50 - Eagle Mountain, The Curragh
One To Watch
You’resothrilling was a warm favourite to win the Albany Stakes for Aidan O’Brien on Friday. An own-sister to the ‘Iron Horse’, Giants Causeway, she encountered minor interference in running second to Mick Channon’s Nijoom Dubai.
Some bookmakers over-reacted and cut her to 10/1 for next season’s 1,000 Guineas but she’s still available at 14s elsewhere. I’m told that she hadn’t the perfect preparation for Royal Ascot so much better is expected. She’s a Group 3 winner already and, as Giants Causeway himself needed to be stepped up to seven furlongs to win a Pattern race as a two-year-old, it suggests there’s plenty more to come from this handsome filly. Who knows, she might be as good as her brother?
