Equinties - last day of York

Gm Equinauts

Without realising it until yesterday, BRADSELL has pretty much done it all as a sprinter.

He won the Coventry as a two-year-old, beat HIGHFIELD PRINCESS in the King’s Stand as a three-year-old and then beat two of the top sprinting stars in the Nunthorpe as a four-year-old.

That’s a CV that any top sprinter could only dream of, made all the more incredible with the issues he has had. But he probably doesn’t get the credit he deserves! Nor Archie Watson for that matter.

He’s not just an example of a great training performance, he’s also an example of great purchasing. By TASLEET out of a mare who won a Listed race (and doesn’t have too much of a page behind her) he was 12,000gns as a yearling and then £47,000 as a two-year-old at the 2022 Breeze-Ups.

Because of his relevant setbacks throughout his career, he’s still pretty unexposed as to how far he can go. He could go on and win another Group 1 or that could be all he shows. We’d say he’s got a bit more to show.

But, even to do what he did yesterday was a big effort from everyone around him, as it looked like he may not race again earlier this year.

On the issue, Archie Watson said: "We were getting him ready for Dubai in the spring and he fractured a fetlock in February. It's been a pretty amazing way back. 

"If you'd told me then that we'd be winning a Nunthorpe, I'd have said the chances would've been 0.5 per cent. I immediately thought it'd be saving him for a stallion job.”

Another fan favourite to win yesterday was VAUBAN.

VAUBAN booked his ticket to the Melbourne Cup yesterday with a victory in the Lonsdale Cup.

He travelled nicely, kicked when asked and the second is no mug based on his form with TOWER OF LONDON.

Fair play to him, but ultimately, did we learn if he truly stays two miles?

We’re not totally sold. The race panned out nicely for a late closer who possessed speed. Ruby Walsh thinks he idled and went away after the line, but surely he would have heard the late closer for a while behind him and still didn’t pick up late.

A truly run Melbourne Cup will be a completely different ball game, so the dream of winning a Melbourne Cup might be a bit tougher than him being a ‘certainty’.

Let’s dive in.

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