Equinties - the closing show

Gm Equinauts

An epic newsletter today reviewing all of last weeks action.

Let’s dive in.

HEADLINE ROUNDUP

PUNCHESTOWN AWARDS

National Hunt’s closing show, Punchestown, is now over so it’s time for the obligatory newsletter awards. It’s a five-day meeting, so give us a break if we miss bits - there’s a lot to talk about!

FAVOURITE PERFORMANCES

We’re not going to sit here and tell you about how good LOSSIEMOUTH and BALLYBURN are as you all know that. Instead, we are going to highlight two performances that we thought were quite smart that might have been dusted to one side by the big guns.

First up was SPILLANE’S TOWER. Throwing it all the way back to the first day, it was hard not to be impressed by SPILLANE’S TOWER on his first start at three miles. He saw off MONTY’ STAR, who had run a perfectly good race in second, with all the right horses (THREE CARD BRAG, SANDOR CLEGANE, AMERICAN MIKE) in behind at all the right distances. This was nice and he has certainly made himself a Gold Cup hopeful for next season.

DON’TSTOPTHEMUSIC was the other performance in Fridays concluding bumper. Just watch the race and you’ll see. He was electric. Well gambled too!

RIDE OF THE WEEK

This performance nearly made it into the above section, but we saved it for here as Paul Townend was ice cold on KARGESE in the Grade 1 4YO Hurdle on the Saturday.

Put yourself in Townend’s shoes. It’s a juvenile race, you are sat on a keen horse, and there’s the potential that she could blow up having had two hard races at Cheltenham and Aintree respectfully. This didn’t seem to faze Willie Mullins’ number one as he switched her off out the back and then came flying home to snatch the race. She’s a talented mare, so it’ll be interesting to see what they do with her next season. Bring her along slowly like LOSSIEMOUTH and GALA MARCEAU or go over fences (which has been suggested)?

HORSES TO FOLLOW

And finally for Punchestown, here are a few that caught our eye, but our main eyecatchers section will be on this weekend’s Flat action.

Firstly, we love David Maxwell. He is a legend, but he could now have a very smart horse on his hands with QUEENSBURY BOY. The amateur rider got a few pelters on Friday for the ride he gave him, but his intention was to educate his horse and he did just that. As for the horse’s ability, Harry Derham rates him extremely highly and he’s done a lot of impressive stuff so far. He’ll be novice hurdling next season.

As for the other horse, and stay with us here, LIFETIME AMBITION should have won the Champion Hunters’ Chase on Friday. Maybe the jockey thought FAMOUS CLERMONT was coming to challenge at one stage up the home straight, but he was committed for home a bit too early which allowed ITS ON THE LINE – who stays all day – to take him on the line (pun intended).

LIFETIME AMBITION is 9yo, so he could be contesting these hunters’ chases for a while and is sure to pick up success.

SATURDAY HIGHGLIGHTS

The big story from the 2000 Guineas was the bitter disappointment of CITY OF TROY’s performance. He’s been talked up, as usual, by Ballydoyle Master Aidan O’Brien as ‘the best we’ve had’ and labelling him ‘our Frankel’, however on Saturday he wouldn’t have won a Gr3. Either Aidan has forgotten how good FRANKEL was or he just didn’t fire, we’d be inclined to think the latter. There are niggling ideas that he hasn’t trained on so his next run will be just as eagerly anticipated and hopefully he can regain the brilliance he showed at 2. And Aidans words can be justified. 

The winner of the 2000 Guineas was NOTEABLE SPEECH for Godolphin, the son of DUBAWI didn’t run at 2 and was making his turf debut on Saturday. He travelled well and quickened up the hill like a good horse to give Buick his first Guineas win. He is DUBAWI’s 4th winner of the race after COROEBUS, NIGHT OF THUNDER and MAKFI. Interestingly as well NOTEABLE SPEECH is the first winner of the race to not have raced as a 2 year old since 1938!

ROSALLION was 2nd, his trainer Richard Hannon has made no secret of his admiration for his colt and he travelled best before emptying 50yds from the line. Round a bend at Royal Ascot in the St James’ might just help him see the mile out. HAATEM for the same yard ran a blinder to be third and will head to the Curragh for the Irish 2000 Guineas, a race his Sire PHOENIX OF SPAIN won. The galloping track should play to his strengths.

On the undercard George Scott’s 3yo colt SEVEN QUESTIONS won the Palace House Stakes by a head to VADREAM. The colt clearly isn’t the easiest as apparently he gets very stirred up going on to a horse box so he slept the night in the racecourse stables the night before the race, half a mile from his home yard. It was a bunch finish so the form is questionable and he was getting 6-9lbs from a lot of his rivals.

One for the notebook was our leverage horse MOON OVER MIAMI (by SEA THE MOON), he looks a progressive type. For whatever reason Ralph Becketts yard isn’t in full swing yet so it was encouraging to see this lad run so well. He looks at least Listed class.

SUNDAY HIGHLIGHTS

The 1000 Guineas went the way of Roger Varian who trains from Clive Britain’s old yard in Newmarket. Both Guineas are staying in Newmarket.

ELMALKA was a hard one to find in the market, returning at 28/1. Both Guineas’ were big odds with NOTEABLE SPEECH returning at 16/1. By KINGMAN and out of the Gr1 winner NAHRAIN who was Varians first top level scorer when she won the Prix de L’Opera. KINGMAN sired 27 individual stakes winners in the 2023, he stands alongside FRANKEL for £125,000.

STAY ALERT won the Dahlia Stakes Group 2 and will likely have the Eclipse as her big target. By FASTNET ROCK and o/o a GALILEO mare, a seriously lethal cross. Hughie Morrisons filly was second in the Gr1 Pretty Polly to VIA SISTINA and will likely take up that target at as well. She has the best form in the race but was coming off a long break, nearly 200 days in fact.

KINGMAN was in clover when his 3yo filly FRIENDLY SOUL for Gosden and Strawbridge won the Pretty Polly. Usually a race lining up Oaks targets, this filly is off to Chantilly for the French Oaks, Prix de Diane. Beating a smart filly in KALPANA who had the benefit of a course and distance win the race looks like it should hold up in Gr1 company.

PINATUBO’s little sister MOUNTAIN BREEZE looks like a serious Albany contender. PINATUBO won the Chesham Stakes at the Royal Meeting and this filly really put day light between herself and the pack.

Saint-Cloud played host to the Gr3 Prix Greffulhe and it was won by WOOTON VERNI. A son of WOOTTON BASSETT who stands for £150,000. The Gr1 Prix du Jockey Club is on the horizon now.

WEEKEND EYECATCHERS

TORITO - SATURDAY 14.20 NEWMARKET

We’re steering clear of Punchestown for our main eyecatchers as we should probably give you all some flat horses for the upcoming season, and TORITO looks like one to get into the tracker.

Having won very well at Epsom in a handicap last season (a race that looks good on paper as SILVER SWORD and BALANCE PLAY have franked the form) he ran into WAIPIRO at Royal Ascot.

Saturday was his first start at Newmarket, and he potentially got lost a little bit in the dip as he drifted to his left and Kieran Shoemark had to change his hands.

Still, he stuck on and ran through the line. Furthermore, this race could work out well as LIBERTY LANE is a smart horse who wasn’t right when he underperformed in the Lincoln, so he’s still unexposed.

BREEGE - SATURDAY 14.05 GOODWOOD

Over at Goodwood, BREEGE looks like she could have a fun four-year-old season after a decent three-year-old campaign. She travelled like a good horse Saturday but was pushed across the Goodwood track by the fading CHOISYA, so she didn’t get the clearest of runs.

SUN GOD - SUNDAY 17.25 NEWMARKET

On Oaks Day at Newmarket, TAMFANA was clearly the unlucky one in the main event, though as people were piling out of HQ, they may have missed a nice finale as BLACK RUN and SUN GOD fought out the final race yesterday, and although the runner-up couldn’t get past a strong finisher, he still ran with plenty of credit.

Under the guidance of David Egan, SUN GOD pulled well clear of the third, SEA THE THUNDER, and although the handicapper will give him some pounds for that run, he could still be well-treated off his mark as that was only his third handicap run.

RISK ON

17.42 ASIAN STAR & ROARING HOME

ASIAN STAR is basically leverage, she should just win this race but is now too short now for a single. We think ROARING HOME follows her home. The forecast pays 6/1. Todays NAP and only bet.