Hi all,
Enable The Best Filly John Gosden Has  Trained
Enable’s win in the Saturday’ s Group 1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes stamped her as the middle distance horse in Europe as the three-year-old beat the older horses in decisive fashion. Granted last years winner Highland Reel, who finished 4th, didn’t like the ground and the runner up Ulysses found a combination of ground & 1m 4f, just too much in this company. The Coral Eclipse winner was given a patient ride to get the trip but couldn’t match the change of gear the winner produced two furlongs out and never looked likely to catch the filly. It’s almost impossible for the older horses to give the weight away to a top class filly like Enable and so it proved. The winner goes to the Arc a short priced favourite and given the weight allowance she will receive there it’s hard to see any of the older horses beating her if she comes into the race in the same form she showed at Ascot. The only three-year-old colt who looks to have a chance in the Arc is French 2000 Guineas & Prix du Jockey Club (French Derbyinner) Brametot who still has to give 3lb to a filly, whose trainer John Gosden has described “as the best filly he has trained”, and prove he gets the Arc trip.
This Weeks Eyecatcher’s
There are three horses that should be added to your trackers this week. I will also be adding two more on winnable handicap marks exclusively for Eyecatcher Pro subscribers
Friday 28th June
Ascot
UAE King – Roger Varian – The three-year-old came into this 2m handicap having won at Haydock and Sandown and was up 6lb for the latter of those wins. He ran like a horse still learning about racing, just 5 career runs, and his relative inexperience showed as his jockey asked him for his effort two furlongs out. Once he started to hit top gear there was nothing to stop the colt as he was too strong for his rivals inside the final furlong and won by 4 ½ lengths at the finish. He probably wasn’t helped by the modest gallop in the middle of the race but he still managed to overcome it. He looks a real stayer in the making and it wouldn’t surprise me to see the colt line up here for next years Ascot Gold Cup. The Doncaster Cup was talked about as a possible target for the son of Frankel but his next race could be the Melrose Handicap at the Ebor Meeting. That would mean a drop back to 1m 6f which shouldn’t be a problem, if he gets a decent pace, with the long straight at York set to suit him well. Along with Defoe, he gives his connections a strong hand in the staying division.
Red Galileo – Saeed Bin Suroor – The six-year-old had returned to action after 467 days off the track when winning a 1m 6f handicap at Meydan back in January on his first start for connections, since his switch from the Ed Dunlop yard (had finished 5th (100/1) in the 2014 Epsom Derby). The gelding returned from a short break to run well in the 1m 4f Duke Of Edinburgh Handicap at Royal Ascot on his previous start and was a bit unlucky not to add to his career wins here, as his jockey went for a run on the far rail but didn’t get it and by the time he was switched from the inner, his chance had gone. Still, he stayed on well enough to grab second on the line. A step back up in trip to 1m 6f will suit the gelding with the Ebor Handicap a possible target. Claiming jockeys do well in that race and it will be interesting to see if 5lb claimer David Egan keeps the ride for that race. He will be nudged up a couple of pounds for this run but should remain on a competitive mark whatever his fate at York.
York
Pomme De Terre – Michael Dods – Came into this York 6f Class 4 handicap just 1lb higher than his for his C&D win last season. He hasn’t got into the winner’s enclosure in four runs this season but is getting closer with each race and the form figures of his last three races are now 332, the gelding hasn’t been beaten more than Âľ length in all three races. He raced prominently in a race run at a strong gallop and looked to have gone clear of his field inside the final furlong but was just cut down in the final 50 yards. Form figures of 12 at York, he has also run well at Ayr in the past so a race like the Bronze Cup could be a possible target for the 5-year-old. Big fields hold no terrors for the horse with two of his three career wins coming in field sizes 12+. The rain that fell before & during racing helped his cause as he looks at his best with juice in the ground. His optimum conditions are 6f, with soft in the going description and a field size 12+ – 2 wins from 5 runs +19 3 placed under such criteria. His trainer will be disappointed if the horse can’t win a handicap this year especially if he is held onto for a bit longer than he was in this race.
Saturday 29th June
York
Von Blucher – Rebecca Menzies – Connections bought the gelding for 95,000 gns over the winter which is a big figure for the yard and they will be a shade disappointed that he hasn’t managed to get into the winner’s enclosure after 4 starts. His first two runs were fairly low key efforts but he ran a big race when a 3 ÂĽ length 6th in the Bunbury Cup at Newmarket. The rain that fell before racing didn’t suit the four-year-old, as his best form has come on decent or faster going. He was ridden more prominently than he had been at Newmarket and indeed looked the most likely winner when taking up the running two furlongs out but on this sort of ground just wasn’t able to hold on and has to settle for third place. If the ground had have been good to firm he would probably have done so. Hopefully, the handicapper won’t put him up too much for this performance. The gelding looks worth another go at a mile but the real key to him is a sounder surface than he got at York.
All that’s left is to wish you a profitable weeks punting at Goodwood and Galway.
John
