Michael Duffy
TACTICS isn’t something usually associated with horse races. Run fastest. Jump best. Surely it’s as simple as that?
Not any more it seems. Last Saturday’s Coral Eclipse at Sandown promised much - specifically, it promised the clash of two champions of different generations. The Derby winner, Authorized, dropping down in trip, against last year’s champion miler, George Washington, racing two furlongs further on turf than ever before.
But the sub-plots were even more fascinating. The long running feud between Coolmore and Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley Stud has been well documented. Unfortunately for the Sheikh - aside from King mambo - it has been Coolmore stallions that have dominated the big races in Europe over the past couple of years.
Saddlers Wells and Danehill have set standards that might never be emulated, and although the former is in advancing years and the latter passed away last year, sons of both have picked up the mantle.
So despite the fact that Authorized took last month’s Derby in impressive fashion, proving far too good for any of Aidan O’Brien’s eight contenders, it wasn’t all bad news for Coolmore. Authorized was sired by Montjeu, one of their top performers.
The surprise move came in the days after the race when representatives from Sheikh Mohammed bought Authorized’s stud rights - a signal that ‘enough was enough’, even if they were to buy the son of a Coolmore stallion the rot had to be stopped.
It added to the importance of the weekend’s race and - though neither camp would never publicly admit it - neither Coolmore nor Sheikh Mohammed wanted to be caught out tactically. O’Brien ran four, including George Washington; the Sheikh supplemented Champery, at a five-figure cost, to ensure the race was run at a decent pace.
And if that was the tactical match-up then Ballydoyle won on a technicality. Champery and Joe Fanning stormed off at a rate of knots but Fran Berry and Colm O’Donoghue quickly sent Yellowstone and Archipenko after him.
Then, when Champery looked like guaranteeing a serious clip, the Coolmore jocks simultaneously slammed on the brakes. No rule was broken as they impeded no other horse, but what it meant was that Champery, the pacemaker, was isolated, alone and ignored.
Any hopes Frankie Dettori and Authorized had of coming there off a strong pace swinging, were bust. In the end the Derby winner was given a very hard race to finish only second and trainer Peter Chapple-Hyam couldn’t hide his disappointment afterwards.
Of course Ballydoyle may have succeeded in denying Authorized a win with that clever move early in the race, but they didn’t pick up the spoils either.
Former champion jockey John Francome walked the course beforehand with current champion Ryan Moore and both agreed that the best ground could be found on the stands rail.
Both men were proven right with a balls-of-steel ride from Moore winning the race for the admirable Notnowcato. He raced the final quarter mile in splendid isolation and stayed on in determined fashion for a dramatic win.
Francome was critical of the rest of the jockeys afterwards on Channel 4, slamming them for not walking all of the course - but maybe he failed to give Ballydoyle credit for negating Authorized’s pacemaker.
We might see it all again this weekend where the big race of the week will be the (Darley-sponsored) Irish Oaks. Aidan O’Brien’s Peeping Fawn looks the likely favourite though much of the talk this week will surround a possible supplementary entry for Sheikh Mohammed’s Royal Ascot winner, Silkwood. She looked a formidable filly when winning the Ribblesdale.
That said, Peeping Fawn’s impressive victory in the Pretty Polly late last month was high class form, and if she can take her races well, she can build on her Epsom second and go one better for Kieren Fallon.
ONE FOR GALWAY
Salt Lake has been a frustrating sort to follow. Eddie O’Grady’s gelding finally got off the mark at Bellewstown last week and he wasn’t winning out of turn. In fact, as many of you will painfully know, he was a beaten favourite in his FOUR previous races over hurdles. But there’s obviously some talent there, and less then twelve months ago he finished second to Bob’s Pride at Listowel. That horse is now rated over two stone superior and while Salt Lake isn’t in the same league, he can be competitive at Ballybrit off his current mark for his Galway-based owners.
