Weekend round up for 10 October 2007

By Graham Richards

NEWMARKET OCTOBER 4TH

In the opener, Jennie Jerome was given a nice introduction and should soon be winning. Meydan Princess showed good speed and may do better in nurseries over five-furlongs.

Blackat Blackitten won the following handicap in effortless fashion. He looks worth following and appeals as the type to make a useful performer next season.

Twice Over won the seven-furlong maiden in good style. Always to the fore, he quickened and stayed on well in the final furlong, despite running green. He has always worked well and looks another decent performer in the making for Henry Cecil. Savarain, French Art and First Avenue all showed enough to suggest they can make up into winning three-year-olds. Black Rain is also worth a mention. He spent the first furlong bucking and squealing; however, he still managed to finish eleventh of the seventeen runners under a considerate ride.

Lion Sands rewarded Luca Cumani’s patient approach, with a comfortable win in the Listed race. He was never going better than in the final furlong and looks a potential Cup horse for next season.

Luca also took the finale with the improving Kahara who looks a filly to follow.

NEWMARKET OCTOBER 5TH

The opening maiden went to Fireside in a desperate finish. Having looked sure to win comfortably a furlong from home, the gallant Slam came back at him and it was a desperately close thing at the finish. The winner is better than he showed here and looks sure to make up into a decent three-year-old. Slam should not be long shedding his maiden tag. Others to note from a race where the form should be carefully monitored are, Whitcombe Minister (huge run at long odds and well regarded by his trainer), Speedy Dollar (showed plenty of pace and may have needed the run), Tharawaat (much improved performance and not knocked about), Cadre (finished well) , Red Merlin (one for handicaps), and Falcativ (nice type and one for next season).

A slow pace for the Somerville Tattersalls Stakes and River Proud put his head down to run out a convincing winner. A fine looking colt he should make up into a decent three-year-old. Iguaza Falls showed plenty of pace and looks sure to hold his own in this company in the future. Bazergan will have little trouble winning a maiden at least.

Natagora and Fleeting Spirit fought out the finish of the Cheveley Park. The winner made just about all the running and looked to win with something in hand. Her sire is by Sunday Silence while her dam is a Linamix mare. She does show a lot of speed, but races in a relaxed fashion suggesting she should stay the mile of the Guineas comfortably Fleeting Spirit showed that she conclusively stays this trip and went down with all guns blazing. Visit ran way below her best and this run should be ignored.

Dark Angel, Strike The Deal and Tajdeef fought out the Middle Park; I very much doubt if there were classic winners on show in the race.

Galactic Star continues his upward curve and looks one to keep on our side. I felt he won with plenty in hand in a messily run race.

The promising Almajd won the second division of the maiden. Runner-up Virtual had finished second in a fair maiden on his debut, raising hopes the race will work out. Almajd travelled supremely well throughout the race and left the impression he can make up into a decent three-year-old. Other to note are Porthole (green and ran a race full of promise), Roaring Forte (a similar remark and perhaps even more eye-catching than Porthole), Fooling Myself, (one for next season) and Arabian Spirit (will have learnt plenty from this and was not knocked about after a tardy start).

NEWMARKET OCTOBER 6TH

Pipedreamer, Docofthebay and Teslin filled the first three places in the Cambridgeshire and for future purposes; they are the ones to concentrate on. Unraced as a two year-old, Pipedreamer has made rapid progress through the ranks this season and there can be no arguing he looks a future Group horse. He travelled supremely well throughout the race; quickening to the front a furlong and half from home the race was a good as over. He crossed the line eased down. We know he stays ten-furlongs and his sire Selkirk does get horses that improve with age. The only drawback is the ground. Described by his trainer as a heavy-topped horse, firm ground is clearly going to be an ongoing problem. I would imagine he would be kept away from this sort of surface, which may see him venturing abroad when the sun is out! Docofthebay also travelled well; the head on clearly shows he was hampered when making his move forward. It is hard to say he was unlucky but he finished full of running and is a horse of the utmost consistency. Teslin spent most of the race hemmed in on the stand side rails and deserves credit for achieving his third place. He too travelled well and ran on gamely when he was in the clear. Fremen may not have stayed, Humungous ran well from a low draw, as did Raptor who seems to be improving with his racing over here.
My Paris led for a long way and has slipped in the weights. He showed he retains plenty of ability and may be able to win before the season ends. He runs well here and at Doncaster and handles softer ground.

LONGCHAMP

Horses that caught my eye from the first day’s fun include Coastal Path, who looks as though he can develop into a top-class performer next season. Toylsome ran away with the Foret. Marchand D’Or pulled far too hard in the early stages and did well to finish third, while Tariq was held up way out of his ground and should have finished closer. U S Ranger ran on well and he is another who should do well next season. Anna Pavlova gained a well-deserved Group success, while Blythe Knight ran on well to take third place in the Prix Daniel Wilderstein.

LONGCHAMP OCTOBER 7TH

Benbaun took the Abbaye from the Nunthorpe winner Kingsgate Native, though early FSF ratings suggest he did not have to run as fast as he has done before. The runner-up ran a blinder on ground that was probably not fast enough for him. As talented as he is, past results suggest he will have a tough time next season, with his Group One penalty. Desert Lord ran well again and clearly likes racing in France, while Moss Vale was just not quite good enough having had every chance. Hoh Mike found the easy track of no use, Beauty Is Truth fell out of the stalls, while Dandy Man found trouble in running on ground not quick enough for him.

Rio De La Plata raced closer to the pace this time and travelled like a dream before lengthening away to win comfortably. A long-striding horse he possesses a low daisy-cutting action and did not have to improve his FSF rating to win as he did. He is still in the Dewhurst and a decision about his participation will be taken next week. He looks as though he has more to offer and remains an exciting prospect. His sire also sired Fantastic Light, owned by Godolphin and a mile and half Group One winner. The sire of his dam has sired the winner of one of the most important races in Argentina, the Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini run over fifteen yards short of a mile and a half. This suggests to me he has a serious chance of staying the Derby distance. Declaration Of War reversed recent form with Hatta Fort though the latter saw an awful lot of daylight on the outside. Shediak is still green and will make up into a top-class three-year-old. He pulled far too hard, as he has done before, and deserves great credit for finishing third.

Satwa Queen travelled well in behind the leaders before showing an excellent turn of foot to grab the race on the line. She is a wonderful mare and should make a fine prospect at stud. Promising Lead and Legrette continue to impress and would be worth keeping in training if all remains well with them. Mystic Lips is a fine example of the talented horses that come out of Germany. She stays a mile and a half and could do very well in this sort of company next season.

Dylan Thomas having his eighth race of the season, on ground that was not his favoured surface, displayed the utmost courage and class to take this prestigious prize. I do not intend to become embroiled in the stewards’ enquiry debate; suffice to say, I believe the best horse won on the day. His only defeat over a mile and a half came in last seasons Derby; he now has a King George and Arc De Triomphe on his C.V. in the same season. A rare and exceptional feat. Knee-jerk reaction would be to say that should be it for his career; however, he is a horse with a wonderful constitution, perhaps we should wait and see what his trainer decides.

Youmzain put up a super performance, closing on the winner all the way to the line. He, like the winner, needs a fast run race to show his very best form and connections can rightly be proud of his achievement. He clearly needs to work up a head of steam to run his best races; it could be argued Dylan Thomas’s antics caused him to lose his stride pattern. Given the narrow margin at the finish, it may have cost him the race. Sagara was held up and ran on well all the way to the line. The head on shows he may have been somewhat unfortunate in the final furlong as Soldier of Fortune hung away from the rails; he looked to have plenty left in the tank as he crossed the line and is improving at a rate of knots. Getaway justified his supplementry fee with a fine run that brought him home into fourth. Soldier Of Fortune looked as though the Niel had just taken the edge off him. Zambesi Sun was the chief sufferer in the scrimmaging; I do not feel he was looking a likely winner at the time; however, he may have been in the frame. Authorized looked lit up from the moment the stalls opened. I do not understand why Dettori, having reined him back to the rear of the field, did not race on the rails in an effort to switch him off. He saw an awful lot of daylight and had run his race before the straight. Allowing for that observation and reading between the lines in Peter Chapple-Hyam’s post race comments, his chance may well have been left on the Newmarket gallops. Saddex ran well but appeared to find things happening far more quickly than he is used to. He may now go to Hong Kong and should not be dismissed in his chosen race.

Performance of the weekend

ZARKAVA (IRE) (31 Mar 2005) b f
Zamindar (USA) - Zarkasha (IRE) (Kahyasi)
Trainer: A De Royer-Dupre
FSF Rating: 115
Form: 11

Zarkava is out of Zamindar, sire of Darjina one of the seasons top fillies over a mile. Zarakava’s dam is an unraced mare by Kahyasi, a notable influence for stamina. Her breeding suggests ten-furlongs will be well within in her capabilities and a mile and a half does not appear beyond her. Zamindar’s son Corriolanus stayed a mile and half; he too, was out of a dam with stamina influences.

Zarkava made her debut in a one mile maiden and ran out an easy winner. Following a “stunning” piece of work on the gallops, connections decided to supplement her for the Group One Prix Marcel Boussac Royal Barriere de Deauville on Arc day. The field contained the unbeaten and highly touted Conference Call, Laureldean Gale runner-up to Proviso at Deauville, and Mad About You, a consistent top-class Irish filly with a good line to the top juvenile form.

Held up amongst the backmarkers she travelled smoothly off what was a good pace set by Conference Call. Straightening up for the home run, she was switched towards the rails and met trouble in running. With a furlong and a half to go, she was five lengths behind the leader, but in the clear. Asked to quicken, the response was immediate and electric; with half a furlong to run she hit the front. Remarkably, she passed the post two and a half lengths in front of Conference Call. The runner-up did not capitulate, while Mad About You was a length and a half further back in third.

The performance was one of the most visually stunning I have seen this season. The one worry I have is possible temperament problems. She looked very much on her toes and geed up before the race. Post race, she looked to my eyes a rather quirky individual. That of course may be down to precociousness; however, the look in her eye, captured by the television cameras, was illuminating.

And finally!

Looking ahead to the Breeders Cup Classic I suggest those able to access Betfair have an interest on Lawyer Ron. He is available at around 5/1; following an excellent run behind Curlin recently, he is expected to revert to front running tactics at Monmouth Park and may go off as short as 5/2.

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