It's not often you can say the winner and the runner up in a race both got a bad ride but the 2.00 at Sandown was such a race. Brando went too far out and should have been held onto in which case I think he would have won comfortably, the runner up Monsieur Joe was badly ridden as once Kirby had seen Brando go he should have not held his horse up quite so long as gave his own mount too much to do, he only needed go a little earlier to have reached a winner who was dying quickly. If both were ridden better Brando should have won, as Brando was ridden Monsieur Joe should have won. I think on better ground and better ridden Brando could be well worth following.
Green Light may finally show his true colours now they've bottomed out his mark recently before his romp at Epsom. Took a wee bit of the 9/1 not long ago for this upcoming 2.55 @ Haydock.
Gutsy performance by Hawkbill, bit wound-up before the start too. Fine ride by William Buick, makes his enforced vacation a little more easy. French stewards are hard s.o.b.'s although I understand William lipped them off a bit?
It sure was Swanny. I backed him at Ascot, wasn't so sure today with The Gurkha and TT putting me off so I left the race alone as I felt he might need another while. Still happy to see him win...6 in a row now!
Had a little bit on Eugenie Bouchard at 40/1. Difficult game up against Cibulkova today but if she makes it through to week two she is a very lively outsider.
That dirty rag My Dream Boat nails Found at Ascot, absolutely tailed off today, Found clearly a tricky filly, has to be delivered at the perfect time, no way she should have lost that race to My Dream Boat. Hawkbill has been underrated, he was impressive at Newmarket and Ascot this year and has won 6 in a row now, he has good tactical speed and seems to go on anything. The Gurkha probably didnt quite see out the trip after not quite having the gears at a mile last time, hes a decent horse as he showed in France but had no excuses today for those who thought he had excuses last time, the best horse won and confirms that The Gurkha didnt have quite as much left in the tank at Ascot are some were making out, well held ultimately in his last two runs by two good but not great colts. The bubble well and truly burst for him if you fell for the visual impression of the French race. Time Test fails again at Group 1 level in his 3rd attempt, with the ground against him and giving a lot of weight to the 3yos, it probably wasnt a bad run, should be a player in the Juddmonte if the ground is decent.
I'd agree with most of that. But I still wouldn't get excited about backing Galileo Gold in a truly run race against him.
Normally they do not charge for racecards at their meetings. When I have been to the Poulains/Pouliches or the Jacques Le Marois, the racecards have been free. On Arc weekend the last couple of years, they have charged €5 for the racecard but it is a substantial thing (best part of a centimetre thick) with the colours etc. The Prix de Diane racecard was a bit of a rip-off but I wanted one for a souvenir as it was my first visit to the track. I think there might just be some financial reality creeping into French racing. At times of austerity (lower PMU returns), they need to economise, so on the big days (especially when the foreigners are likely to be attending), make them pay. Incidentally, the £5 racecard at Sandown last year was not a one-off for the 40th Anniversary. It was £5 this year, so I did not buy one.
As I was standing at the winning post watching down my camera lens, I hope you do not mind too much if I disagree with you. Brando won easing up. He idled in front but he was not given that hard a time. I cannot say that I was watching what Kirby was up to on the runner-up. We can agree that there are more races in Brando, clearly a horse on the up.
I think that Hawkbill is just a little headstrong. At Newmarket he was fighting the jockey on the way to the start too. Buick got fifteen days for causing another horse to fall because of his reckless riding and got fifteen days tacked on by the French stewards for use of improper language before them. I was astonished that money piled on The Gurkha from 11/10 down to 4/6 for the Eclipse. Perhaps the people shovelling it on were not at the track so they had not seen the horse. When The Gurkha walked into the pre-parade ring, I only had to see him walk around once to know that he was not going to win. The horse looked relaxed, had a shiny coat and a leg in each corner, but when he walked past me, I could see all his ribs. He looked very light in the muscle department in so far as I would say that he needs more time to develop – if they keep him in training, he should make a cracking four year old once he has actually filled out. His stablemate Bravery looked more the part and he had virtually no chance on form. I have to say that only the Ballydoyle duo actually went in the pre-parade ring, where O’Blarney gave a masterclass in attention to detail when preparing your horses. Roger Charlton must hire some sort of Indian medicine man to do a non-rain dance as Time Test definitely needs an Indian summer, preferably before the Juddmonte! When it started raining at the track at 12:30, the £30,000 that they paid to add a pacemaker to the race must have weighed heavily on him. Time Test did well to finish so close and Countermeasure virtually got the money back! I was delighted to see Hawkbill continue his winning streak as I thought he looked like a decent prospect when he won the Newmarket Stakes on Guineas day, just not that decent!
