Equinties - no surprises

Gm Equinauts

Racing X can be a bit boring sometimes and just as things started to seem a little bit quiet, Maureen Haggas throws an absolute grenade into the mixer.

The Shaggas household have been on fire this week and we’re all for it.

Honestly, keep it coming.

Let’s dive in.

HEADLINE ROUNDUP

NO SURPRISES

What are some of the most common phases from a trainer after a horse as won?
‘This came as no surprise’, ‘his last piece of work was very impressive’, and ‘we’ve always thought a lot of him’.

Olly Murphy hit two of the these three on the bingo card yesterday, as WADE OUT downed WENDIGO on chasing debut. His win was both ‘not a surprise’ because they thought he should have been a Graded novice hurdler last season.

There are a few bits to unpick from the race, but we’ll start with the winner. He was a bit tap-for-toe, and a few of his jumps were maybe a bit slow, but on the whole, he was pretty sound. He didn’t look like the winner coming around the bend, but he stayed on at a pretty honest gallop down the Worcester home straight to just get up.

Now, would he have won if Gavin Sheehan gave WENDIGO a better ride? Even with Sean Bowen’s magic in the saddle (fans calling him the best since AP McCoy), we’re not sure considering the winning margin was just a head. Sheehan, as admitted by Jamie Snowden, waited a bit too long on WENDIGO, and that allowed WADE OUT to build up enough speed to collar him.

Anyway, speaking post-race, Olly Murphy almost sounded a bit disappointed that he won. Of course, it’s nice to have a good one win on chase debut, but we get the impression he was already thinking of handicaps for him.

He said: "The way we run our racing over here now, you've got to have four runs before you can stay contesting good money, so I imagine whatever mark he was going to get up to, he was going to get there anyway without winning good prize money.
"I'd imagine he's going to have to go down the Graded novice chase route now. I reckon there will be a lot of improvement to come when he goes up to three miles, and even in the spring with a set of cheekpieces."

Read that, and you may start to think the same way as us, especially due to the fact that Murphy already has KINGSTON PRIDE for the John Francome.

Like KINGSTON PRIDE, he will get three miles in time, but we’d say that KINGSTON PRIDE is probably going to be better over a trip.

Right, WENDIGO, should connections be a bit disappointed?

There’s nothing to be too worried about at this stage, given the ride and the fact that it was his first start of the season over a trip that is probably below his optimum. You’d probably like to have seen him ping a few more fences as Worcester isn’t the most stern jumping test in the world and he did get a bit tight into some.

But still, it was decent enough, and Jamie Snowden agreed.

He said: “He looked like the best horse in the race, he travelled like the best horse, he jumped like the best horse, but he didn't win. "Win, lose, or draw, it's not the end of the world. We want to win in March, not necessarily October. He was beaten on his bumper debut and on his hurdling debut, and he progressed from both of those to be the horse that he is.

"I'm delighted with his jumping and I'm delighted with how he travelled through the race. Gavin [Sheehan, jockey] is obviously kicking himself a little bit, but it's not the be-all and end-all.'

"Obviously, we've talked about stepping into Graded company, and we've got the John Francome at Newbury, which is a possibility. Although, he was beaten today, so you could go back for a beginners' chase somewhere and get a bit more experience.”
The John Francome at Newbury will be a proper litmus test. He likes the track based on his run in the Challow, so if he comes unstuck there, things like his jumping will have to be put under the microscope.

Anyway, that was probably a good race yesterday. We imagine any one of those five horses will be winning this season.

CHANGING OF THE KING

It is always a sad time when beasts in our sport start to show signs of weakness or decline.

KAUTO STAR and DENMAN in those golden years, that uncertain period between SPRINTER SACRE’s two Champion Chases, and, most recently, what’s happened to CONSTITUTION HILL.

So, the question to ask is, will we experience something similar with GALOPIN DES CHAMPS this year?

We don’t want to wish this upon any horse, but he’s nine going 10, and who was the last 10-year-old to win the Gold Cup?

Go on, guess before we tell you.

The answer is COOL DAWN in 1998. Now, GALOPIN DES CHAMPS is a freak, so he can put this record to bed, but it’s still something to note. Anyway, the reason we’re bringing this up is that, probably for the first time in his career (we think), GALOPIN DES CHAMPS has suffered a setback that will probably keep him out of the John Durkan, his usual starting place.

We hope it’s nothing major, and we really hope the king will be back in working order for the Savills at Christmas. If the Savills is his starting point, just be mindful that he really does come on for his first race of the year. Willie has one day in mind for him, and it’s the Gold Cup. He could really let go of the Savills if he needs to.

Anyway, this does make the John Durkan a bit more interesting.

Willie will have horses for the race, maybe even FACT TO FILE (second in the race last year), but one would imagine the INOTHEWAYURTHINKN could also be there.

It would be interesting if Henry de Bromhead decides to send HEART WOOD to the John Durkan, something we suggested after his seasonal reappearance win recently.

Yes, he can stay three miles, but he has loads of speed, and he’d have race fitness on a lot of his potential competitors. Something to think about.

CONFIRMATIONS

To finish today’s newsletter, we’ll just keep you up-to-date with a few angles that are worth mentioning.

The first is regarding OMBUDSMAN. When the news came out that CALANDAGAN was going to the Japan Cup, we hoped that the Gosden’s would take a plunge and send their boy over to Japan for a rematch.

Unfortunately, Thady Gosden confirmed yesterday that he is done for the season, as he said: “There are not really the races for him, definitely not in this country, but abroad (as well).

“We discussed the Japan Cup earlier in the year, but he had a hard enough race on Saturday and hopefully there will be more improvement in him next year.

“He’s progressed enormously last year and again through this year and has always been a very talented colt. He’s by a sire who can do no wrong at the moment and he is rated 128 now which is pretty serious stuff.”

At least we’ll get to see him next season. He’s done plenty by winning two Group 1s this year, but it looks like Godolphin want to give him one more season on the track to cement his status ahead of stallion duties in the future. Nice.

Speaking of Godolphin, STUDY OF WORDS bolted up at 1/7 yesterday at HQ over 1m2f. He was always going to win, but he still smashed up the field to get off the mark.
By FRANKEL out of the DUBAWI mare DISCURSUS, he has a decent pedigree, and he clearly stays well. While he isn’t priced up yet, could he be a Leger type? He could be a smart three-year-old over further next year.

And finally, Karl Burke is having a bit of a raid of Bahrain over the next few months with ROYAL CHAMPION, third to DELACROIX in the Irish Champion Stakes last month.
Burke said: “Royal Champion came to us from Australia in late November having run three times down there and he has kept on improving all season.

“Indeed, his last race was as good a run as he has ever put in, finishing on the heels of Delacroix in the Irish Champion Stakes.

“He enjoys good ground, nice ground with no jar, and he is a horse who is probably at his best when fresh, as he showed with his last run. He has always worked well at home and is currently working as well as ever.

“Royal Champion will be my first runner in Bahrain and I am really looking forward to visiting the Kingdom and seeing the facilities there.”

One for the Bahrain International maybe?

RISK ON

Well, the money came for HARRY JUNIOR yesterday, 11’s into 5’s but he could only deliver second place behind that man Sean Bowen. It was a good bet all things considered but he simply isn’t as good as his half bro.

We go back to the flat today for several swings at the bookies:

13.30 BRIDGE OF EAGLES

Didn’t disgrace himself on debut and Menuisiers tend to need a run. This lad is bred to love the mud and can improve to go close in this weak race today. 9/2 ew.

17.30 MAMMA MARIA

Her form was franked nicely yesterday at Newmarket and we think there is more to come. Owners desperate for a win as she is due to be sold next week. 5/2 a good bet.

One more bet to come we will play late.

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