In this week’s Ratings Update, Tony McFadden looks back on the top-class international action from the Curragh and Longchamp.
Gleneagles became the third horse trained by Aidan O’Brien to complete the Newmarket-Curragh 2000 Guineas double, following on from Rock of Gibraltar and Henrythenavigator. Aidan O’Brien described Gleneagles as the best miler he’s trained, but Timeform ratings tell a different story as Rock of Gibraltar (133) and Henrythenavigator (131) both achieved a level of form in excess of what Gleneagles (126) has shown to date, while Hawk Wing’s 10-length Lockinge win earned him a Timeform rating of 136, the highest figure awarded to a horse trained by Aidan O’Brien.
Gleneagles didn’t need to improve on his Newmarket victory to prevail by three-quarters of a length in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, though he did display a likeable attitude to overcome trouble in running having looked in a spot of bother when briefly held in a pocket. Sectional time analysis suggests that Gleneagles’ performance needs marking up for making headway off what was just a steady pace, and there’s little doubt that he’s the best miler around at present.
Gleneagles was left in the Derby at the latest forfeit stage, but it would rate as something as a surprise were he to take his chance – even with his powerful stable having fewer options than is often the case – and the St. James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot looks the next port of call, where a rematch with runner-up Endless Drama could be on the cards.
Endless Drama (121) showed improved form in the Guineas, though there’s no suggestion he was flattered as, while he may have experienced a smoother passage than the favourite, he too made his effort from further back than ideal. A lightly-raced, strapping son of Lope de Vega, there’s a chance Endless Drama hasn’t quite reached the limit of his ability, but it’s unlikely he’ll be able to reverse the form with Gleneagles at Ascot.
Newmarket third Ivawood filled the same spot at the Curragh, holding every chance under a well-judged front-running ride from Richard Hughes, but he didn’t quite see things out as strongly as had looked likely, and he may be seen to better effect dropping back in trip.
Other Royal Ascot clues came in the Marble Hill Stakes, courtesy of Coventry Stakes-bound Round Two, and the Greenlands Stakes, as Mustajeeb (121p) made a successful transition to sprinting. Mustajeeb – who won the seven-furlong Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot last season – now looks set for the Diamond Jubilee at Royal Ascot following Saturday’s impressive win, and while he didn’t strictly need to improve to prevail, he won in the style of horse who has more to offer. Given Mustajeeb’s unexposed profile as a sprinter, and his top connections, he’ll be a fascinating contender for the major sprint prizes this summer.
Round Two (106p) had looked a good prospect when making a winning debut over six furlongs at Naas, and he followed up in fine style at the Curragh, taking the step up in grade and drop in trip in his stride. A likeable, straightforward type, Round Two’s Curragh performance leaves him as the joint-highest rated juvenile this season – alongside Log Out Island – and he will hold excellent claims in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, a race his trainer, Jim Bolger, won three seasons ago with Dawn Approach.
Jim Bolger was to experience further success on Sunday as Pleascach – meaning explosive in Gaelic – lived up to her name to deny the strongly-supported favourite Found in the Irish 1,000 Guineas. Pleascach (115p) had produced the best performance from a three-year-old filly in Ireland this season when running out an eight-length winner of the Group 3 Blue Wind Stakes over 10 furlongs, and she had no problem dropping back to a mile, finding plenty under pressure to hold the persistent challenge from Found. Strictly on the figures, Pleascach didn’t need to show much-improved form to win on Sunday, though the fact such a stoutly-bred filly was capable of winning a classic over a mile clearly bodes well for her future prospects, and an audacious attempt at the Irish Derby is reportedly next on the agenda.
Long-term ante-post Guineas favourite Found (115p) missed her engagement at Newmarket, and was short on fitness when reappearing in a heavy-ground Athasi Stakes, but she duly took a step forward on Sunday, deserving credit for finishing a narrowly-beaten runner-up, particularly as the winner enjoyed a smoother passage. Found has a number of possible engagements in the coming weeks – including the Derby and Oaks – and her pedigree and running style offers hope that she’ll prove to be at least as effective over further.
The performance of fourth-placed Jack Naylor (112) is also worth noting from an Oaks perspective. Reportedly slow to come to hand, Jack Naylor ran a fine race on her first start since finishing third to Found in the Prix Marcel Boussac, catching the eye as she came from much further back than the other principals, only just missing out on third. She’s bred to appreciate further and would be a good bet at the double-figure prices on offer if confirmed for Epsom.
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The latest edition of the Tattersalls Gold Cup was an up-to-scratch renewal, featuring two of Europe’s leading older horses in Al Kazeem and The Grey Gatsby, plus a couple of up-and-coming prospects in Postponed and Fascinating Rock, and it went the way of 2013 hero Al Kazeem. Al Kazeem (128) didn’t have to be quite at his best to win, but the manner in which he bravely squeezed through a gap and knuckled down under pressure to deny horses half his age was really admirable, and he’s sure to launch a bold bid in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot, for all the likes of Free Eagle and Tryster will offer a different challenge.
Of the others, Fascinating Rock (123) registered a career-best effort, confirming that he deserves his place in top-level races, while Postponed again ran creditably despite shaping as if a return to a mile and a half will suit.
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The Prix d’Ispahan, featuring a much-anticipated clash between Cirrus des Aigles and Solow, was a bit of an anti-climax as the veteran Cirrus des Aigles failed to give his running (suffered a broken plate), leaving Solow (130) to complete a relatively-straightforward task. Solow has now been successful on 9 of his last 10 starts, the one defeat coming when tried over a near-two-mile trip, and while he didn’t need to improve to win on Sunday, it was an encouraging performance with a view to Royal Ascot. Solow was patiently ridden, always seemed to be travelling well with matters under control, and quickened smartly to lead inside the final furlong. A mouth-watering clash with Hong Kong’s top miler Able Friend is up next, and Ascot’s stiff mile is likely to see Solow to good effect, while ground conditions don’t seem to matter. He's certainly one of the most exciting - and best - horses in Europe at present.
