There was no luck for Wesley Ward this time in the Norfolk Stakes – Yogaroo slammed into the favorite Monsieur Chevalier (who was [...]]]> Day three of Royal Ascot could only be about Yeats – but before we move on to his history-making fourth Gold Cup win, we’ll review some of the other races on the card.

There was no luck for Wesley Ward this time in the Norfolk Stakes – Yogaroo slammed into the favorite Monsieur Chevalier (who was going for his fifth win in a row), basically taking him out of the race; music fans will be excited to see that Radiohead came home first (although he got caught up in the traffic trouble as well and really had to be taken up before shooting to the lead) and clearly wanted to go on even further. It was a thoroughly professional performance from the winner (especially for a 2-year-old), if not the rest of the field. Weirdly, the horse does remind me of Thom Yorke from certain angles.

The fillies were in action in the Ribblesdale Stakes; Flying Cloud finally won one for Team Godolphin and Frankie Dettori. She seemed much the best, and the race was happily devoid of the sort of drama the juvenile boys experienced.

Then of course, came the 2 1/2 mile Gold Cup; Yeats looked bright, lively and intelligent while waiting to load – he’s obviously a horse with a ton of personality. Once he made his move to the front, he was not going to be passed as he headed home to make history. As they walked to the winner’s circle, Yeats and Johnny Murtagh were embraced by various members of the Ballydoyle team. Yeats clearly enjoyed a victory trot for the crowd – ears pricked, neck arched, just oozing triumph. The class with which he turned away Patkai at the end was the sort of thing one rarely sees in racing. Poor Geordieland, who played Alydar to Yeats’ Affirmed in their two previous Gold Cups, finished a good 15 lengths back in third.

Yeats made a second bit of history with his win today – he’s the oldest horse to win in the modern era. It’s rare enough to see a horse running at his level at 7 (when he equalled Drum Taps’ ‘old age’ record last year – prior to those two, a 7-year-old had not won since 1929) – but 8 is even more impressive. There is some suggestion that he could be back to try again for an unprecedented fifth win next year, although you may recall that last year when we profiled him that there was talk of Yeats heading off to stud after his record-equalling victory – I imagine we should consider ourselves fortunate enough see him back at eight.

After the race, owner John Magnier said:

‘We’re lucky, for once, we didn’t put him off to stud when he was three or four – it’s really great the way it’s all worked out.’

Indeed.

When asked if we’ll see Yeats later this season, he replied:

‘Why would you stop with a horse that’s enjoying himself like that?’ ‘People enjoying seeing him, and he enjoys racing, and we enjoy going racing with him, so what would the point be in not going to somewhere like Goodwood?’

Of course, the stud career cannot be too far off at this point – he continued:

‘The genes are there…not everybody wants to use a Gold Cup winner, but you need stamina in the stud as well.’

Quite so. Perhaps now, more than ever?

I’ll be on the go the next several days and not likely able to check in on the rest of Royal Ascot, although I will be catching up and am especially looking forward to the return of the sprinters in the Golden Jubilee on Saturday.

Have a great weekend!

Val has a great [...]]]> Well, another Melbourne Cup is in the books, and contrary to the pre-race hype, the Cup stayed in Australian hands. The hands in question are certainly familiar — the win by Viewed gave trainer Bart Cummings his twelfth victory in the race and his 250th Group 1 win overall.

Val has a great wrap-up (and video of the race) here; we both found it rather peculiar that the three Ballydoyle horses finished 18th (Septimus), 20th (Alessandro Volta) and 21st out of the 22 horse field (Honolulu). Indeed, the only reason Honolulu didn’t finish officially last is because Gallopin was pulled up with what sounds like a flipped palate. Septimus and Honolulu were both discovered to be lame after the race and it was suggested that the lack of a prep race prior to the big day may have contributed to their difficulties. Adding to the low feelings in the Irish camp was some (more) questioning from the stewards over the Ballydoyle jockeys’ tactics, but in the end they seemed satisfied that nothing untoward took place. Aidan O’Brien seemed to consider the hard turf the cause of both the poor performances and subsequent lameness — obviously, it’s always the surface — but he’ll still be back for another try next year.

And now back to the winner, Viewed, who held off English rival Bauer by the slimmest of margins: he won as quite the outsider and paid a handsome $186 to win. It was a good day for the bookies:

“One punter backed the three (Aidan) O’Brien horses to win $1million each,” said bookmakers supervisor Michael Eddelbuttel. “Another had $100,000 on Mad Rush at $6. The main rails bookies paid out about $1.5million so it (Viewed) was a great result for them,” Eddelbuttel said.

Ouch.

While Bart Cummings is an old hand at this (literally, as he turns 81 later this month), this is 21-year-old jockey Blake Shinn’s first win in the historic race. It was also the fourth win for owner Dato Tan Chin Nam (also in his 80s), who has worked with Cummings for more than 30 years.

As for Viewed himself, here is a brief family history, which notes he’s really only a ‘first generation Australian.’ Although nothing in his form indicated he was sitting on a huge win, Cummings seems to think the 5-year-old’s best days are in front of him. It will certainly be interesting to watch.

Perhaps the most competitive race this weekend will be the Beldame; while Ginger Punch [...]]]> From the (welcome) coverage it is receiving, it might seem that Curlin’s Jockey Club Gold Cup bid is the only race taking place this weekend when in fact it’s ridiculously busy (rather like my entire week this week).

Perhaps the most competitive race this weekend will be the Beldame; while Ginger Punch towers over the field, it’s no walkover — Unbridled Belle and Lemon Drop Mom are both in the mix (and let’s recall how close it was the last time Ginger Punch faced Lemon Drop Mom), but I am particularly intrigued by Cocoa Beach and Leah’s Secret. Cocoa Beach was 3-year-old champion filly in Chile last year and she has been facing tough (and occasionally male) competition in Dubai and elsewhere. Godolphin may not be much of a powerhouse compared to Ballydoyle this year, but if they do have a horse to watch this year, she may be it. Leah’s Secret has always been on the bubble with the top-flight mares; nonetheless, I’m keeping an eye on her.

Nor is Curlin the only Horse of the Year contender running this weekend; Zenyatta is also stepping up to the plate. While her participation in the Filly & Mare Classic (née Distaff) seems a foregone conclusion (even though I would rather see her in the ‘Classic’ Classic, depending on which Euros ship over), it would be nice if she can keep her unbeaten streak alive in this weekend’s Lady’s Secret at Santa Anita. The obvious trifecta would seem to be Zenyatta-Hystericalady-Santa Teresita, but you never know. Nevertheless, it would have been more interesting to see her race played up as a west coast counterpart to Curlin’s Belmont star turn.

Back at Belmont, Wait a While is back for another shot at the Yellow Ribbon. How many former 3-year-old champions are still in training at 5 these days? That’s only one great reason to watch her race — if you happen to get TVG.

Zenyatta is not the only star at Santa Anita either; Street Boss is the favorite in the Ancient Title, and it seems this is a ‘last chance to see‘ before the Breeders’ Cup and retirement — he’s off to become a Darley stallion. (Apparently it was not enough to own both Street Cry and Street Sense). While he’s made his mark as a sprinter, I would prefer to see him in the Classic come Breeders’ Cup time — although given that it’s his final race, it hardly seems to matter.

Before we (finally) get to Curlin, it seems the European press has latched on to Jerry Bailey’s comments regarding whether Henrythenavigator would stay the Classic distance, or whether he’s more suited to the Mile (indeed, it is his only proven distance). He’s being considered for both races, but things will likely become clearer after he meets Tamayuz and Raven’s Pass on Saturday in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot. His stablemate, Duke of Marmalade, is apparently still possible for the Classic, but he is out of the Breeders’ Cup prep race at Great Leighs. Whether he takes on Zarkava in the Arc or heads to California (or both) is still up in the air. In any event, Ballydoyle will have to leave their team tactics at home.

There is still more action stateside this weekend, but as it’s been a crazy week at work, we’ll have to move swiftly on to Curlin in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. The Baltimore Sun has articles in favor of and against wanting to see him break native son Cigar’s all-time earnings record Saturday (which you can watch live on ESPNEWS). Beyond the race, however, there is still the legal sideshow going on over his minority owners. The latest move to sell their interest by sealed bid merited this response from Jess Jackson’s attorney:

A decision to retire the 4-year-old son of Smart Strike may hinge on the outcome of the sealed-bid process, according to courtroom discussion.

“My clients, as the 80% owners, are being infringed upon because of problems with ongoing litigation,” Richard Getty, an attorney representing Stonestreet Stables, argued before Crittenden. “My client has already been harmed by not already divesting this interest. The large farms are not interested.”

“Mr. Jackson is saying we may race the horse next year, because we are forced to,” Getty said, terming Midnight Cry Stable’s ongoing presence as an “albatross” at one point. “We would love to be rid of this interest.”

One presumes this will not be the position presented to the public on Saturday — but I digress.

While some are complaining there isn’t much competition for Curlin in the race, I am looking forward to seeing more steady improvement from Mambo in Seattle; I don’t expect him to win (for we know Curlin doesn’t mind the slop, judging from last year’s Classic victory), but he may make Curlin work for it. If Curlin does indeed go to the Classic, such a challenge should keep him tuned up for the big day. If you are going, you may need to use your commemorative t-shirt as an umbrella…

The Independent, meanwhile, [...]]]> Spirit One’s victory in the Arlington Million is being somewhat overshadowed in the European press by the manner of Archipenko’s defeat. The Guardian quotes trainer Mike de Kock as referring to Johnny Murtagh’s ride on 3rd-place finisher Mount Nelson as:

“…the most ungentlemanly piece of riding I have seen in a long time”

The Independent, meanwhile, sees the result as coming out of Archipenko’s backstory as as Coolmore also-ran (before his switch of ownership and trainer):

Regardless, De Kock strongly implied that he felt Murtagh’s priority had been to stop Archipenko. “He rode his horse to keep him in,” he said. “It’s different if you still have a chance, but he was beaten and still didn’t let Kevin out. There was no need to do that. That is the most ungentlemanly piece of riding I have seen in a long time. I know it’s not a game for gentlemen out there, but I’d say that was a pretty ordinary piece of sportsmanship. I know he’s King Johnny at the moment, but I’m a bit disappointed with what I saw.”

Shea insisted that he would have won if Murtagh had given him a break. “I had so much horse I should have never lost,” he said. “Johnny had me trapped the whole way round, and when it was time to go I begged him to let me go – and he wouldn’t. If he’d had half a chance to win the race, I would have said: ‘Fine’.”

Johnny Murtagh responded to the claims:

Murtagh’s explanation: “I secured a pocket on the rail [running second] and I was where I wanted to be. At the half-mile pole, I thought we were going to get there. We just couldn’t get there.”

Mount Nelson certainly never seemed disadvantaged as a result of any tactics employed during the race (he was still very close for third), and we can all point to more egregious examples, so it sounds more like grumbling than anything else.

Archipenko isn’t the only former Ballydoyle horse who was running at Arlington over the weekend – the same article notes that Secretariat runner-up Plan was purchased by IEAH and is off to Rick Dutrow’s barn.

Speaking of the Secretariat, Winchester’s victory seemed to demonstrate just how far ahead the European turf 3-year-olds are at this point versus American stars like Tizdejavu (especially given where Winchester sits in the European firmament right now — which is to say not terribly high); one wonders if he’ll stay Stateside as well, since Lasix seems to agree with him. There is also the possibility that Tizdejavu just had a bad day or didn’t like the track, given his lack of response to urging from Garrett Gomez, but if we take the result at face value, there’s still a considerable talent gap.

It was encouraging to hear that Mauralakana’s win in the Beverly D will add a few more months to her racing career; although the French-bred mare was already highly accomplished, with graded-stakes wins in France and the US, she seems to be finding her best now at age 5:

“Some horses do get better from 4 to 5 (years of age), the same as they do from 3 to 4,” Clement said after Mauralakana’s fourth straight victory and her fifth in six starts this year.

It seems her move to a stud farm in Australia will now be delayed until after the Breeders’ Cup, so her victory also means we should continue to see exciting races in what is an increasingly deep division.

But back to the boys for a moment; it’s a shame that Einstein’s stumble at the start of the Million essentially took him out of the race, but I look forward to him taking on another field of this quality with better racing luck. But for now, the lesson seems to be to bet the Euros when they pay a visit (indeed, only Curlin and Big Brown even merit a mention in Timeform’s top 20); if only any resulting winnings could be paid out in Euros!