Ran a good race in this 18-runner field. I make it she finished just 1-3/4 lengths + a nose off the winner in 5th place. Tough to find a winner in these big fields in Ireland?
A truly run Leger with no excuses. Pyledriver didn't stay and was changing his legs over the final 2f. Hukum also didn't stay but probably outclassed anyway (impressed by his cousin Albasheer in the Champagne but may be the kind of horse who's not quite a miler but won't stay 12f).. Marquand rode a fine race but Berkshire Rocco was the surprise to me and if Atzeni had not committed until a bit later he might have been closer. Great race but not a truly vintage winner. Another good horse emanating from the Kiersten Rausing A family.
Surely Godolphin are not going to be allowed to stroll into Leopardstown and canter round in front like the Eclipse and Juddmonte, they have to take him on from the start. Ive had a bit on Sottsass in the hope they all cut each others throats and he picks up the pieces.
The glorified dog reverts to type, Magical kept at him all the way and he dogged the finish. Best horse in the world, ill crack the jokes.
Sottsass and Armory closing on the top 2 at the line, very poor renewal, Ghayyaiths 130 rating now looks laughable, Magical is a low 120s horse and shes beat him fair and square. Heavily flattered when gifted leads in the early season races against a half fit enable and a gold cup horse, the hype was ridiculous given his history.
What a performance by Magical. However, Ghaiyyath is no 'dog' though, that's an insult to a damn good racehorse. But I guess his detractors have got to get it right once!
its been a long wait to be proved right with him this season but it was entirely predictably that he would fall short in the championship end of season races. Hes the Apples Jade of the flat.
I see Aytach Sadik is still going - running Sussex Road off a mark of 46 here at Fontwell, some 24lbs out of the handicap and still a maiden after 62 runs
Surely that's Ghaiyyath's Arc bubble burst, it would be madness to run him there if is soft. This was a weak looking renewal but fair play to Magical, she has won it when she wasn't the short priced favourite for once. Ghaiyyath just didn't look like he was going to dominate today and once Magical nudged ahead it was game over for the talented but one-dimensional Ghaiyyath. Earlier, Santiago was disappointing in the St Leger, I was hopeful as he moved into it but he just didn't pick up. His Queens Vase win from Berkshire Rocco would have seen him win this by about two and a half lengths today but he just hasn't run to the same level and the Cole horse has reversed it with only the ground really being a reason for the turnaround. Berkshire Rocco has also reversed the York form with Pyledriver but in this case it is because the Muir horse didn't stay. I laugh at the race report on ATR which stated that Pyledriver "Stayed on" when it was clear that he ran out of juice. I said all along that the horse should have been running in France for a big prize and a free ticket to the Arc but they ballsed it up and sent him here. That Arc looks even more open after Ghaiyyath's showing today but some trainers just haven't got the cojones and nous for this game. Hukum looked too high on 114 with the official handicapper and despite Simon Rowlands saying he had the correct stride pattern for a Leger winner, he lacked other ingredients. Bit disappointed that Santiago had the form to have won this but didn't get it done. That Irish Derby run looked awful to me at the time and looking at it now I stand by my assertion that it was one of the worst renewals ever and that those with maiden form coming in were utterly overrated for their runs. Most times in racing when you see a race that looks like a sticky turd, it is usually because it was a sticky turd. Well done Joey with Galileo Chrome. Didn't he ride his father when he was only two? To paraphrase Ted Walsh
Credit to the St Leger winner Galileo Chrome, an unexposed improver given a peach of a ride by Tom Marquand, making the most of a spare. Would the intended pilot have won on him, I wonder. Pyledriver clearly emptied so the fairytale was not to be. No excuses for the Irish Derby winner Santiago as he had every chance but simply was not good enough, Dettori stating that he would be better on soft ground (in other words, look for him in the Cup races next year, all he does is stay). The runner-up Berkshire Rocco paid a compliment to English King and reversed form with Santiago and non-stayer Pyledriver. On the face of it this looks like a very ordinary St Leger but any of them could improve next year and Pyledriver will be sticking to twelve. Well done to Magical managing to stay with Ghaiyyath and still have enough left to make use of her fillies’ allowance – Moore on the wrong one again! Japan was totally spent on the rail with a furlong still to go, so I doubt we will see him again. Sottsass never landed any sort of a challenge and could not even beat the three year old Armory for third. The form has a questionable look about it with a good blanket covering the first four and 112 rated Armory just over a length third but the time was quicker than last year. The evidence appears to suggest that Ghaiyyath has simply run well below form.
