Golden Horn sails home in Dante, but uncertain to be added
to Derby
Golden Horn (Cape Cross), who annexed a low-key Nottingham maiden on debut
last October, earned his stakes spurs in Newmarket’s Feilden S. last month and
turned Thursday’s Dante S. (Eng-G2) on its head with an explosive
come-from-behind display to maintain his perfect record.
Steadied off sharp early fractions in sixth, the 4-1 chance made smooth
headway in the long Knavesmire straight and disposed of his rivals with ease
once angled into clear runway and striking the front at the eighth pole to best
stablemate Jack Hobbs (Halling) by 2 3/4 lengths, with last term’s Racing Post
Trophy (Eng-G1) hero Elm Park (Phoenix Reach) a further 3 1/4 lengths adrift in
third.
“It was the perfect race, it was a very, very good performance and he’s a
very, very good horse,” enthused winning rider William Buick. “He was a bit
awkward on the way to the start, but it was a good, even pace in the race and he
switched off.
“To ride a horse like this is what it’s all about. He’s got so many gears and
it was just a case of point and shoot. It was only his third run, but he’s come
forward from Newmarket and we’ll see a lot of improvement from him throughout
the year.”
Conditioner John Gosden’s only previous Dante success came when saddling
subsequent Derby hero Benny the Dip (Silver Hawk) in 1997.
“He is a horse who has come on since he won the Feilden and his work last
Friday was superb,” Gosden said. “Jack Hobbs was stacked three wide all the way
and he was babyish and a bit green. Frankie (Dettori) said he was waiting to be
told what to do, but I was delighted with his run. The third provides a solid
benchmark and the fourth (Nafaqa [Sir Percy]) was a long way away.”
Golden Horn could hardly have been more impressive, but as yet remains
without a ticket to the June 6 Derby (Eng-G1) although he retains an entry in
the May 31 Prix du Jockey Club (Fr-G1).
“The decision to go to Chantilly or Epsom is very much up to Mr. (Anthony)
Oppenheimer, who has been very firm with me that he’s a mile-and-a-quarter
horse,” added Gosden. “He has told me that all along, but we’ll see. William
(Buick) felt that he finished very strongly today.
“It’s now up to Mr. Oppenheimer if he wishes to stump up
£75,000 to supplement him (for Epsom).”
The vanquished will be buoyed by the 2010 exploits of Workforce, who broke
new ground when becoming the first horse defeated in the Dante to go on and
taste Derby success.
Elm Park’s trainer Andrew Balding is among those buying into the theory.
“I was very pleased with that,” Balding said. “I think Elm Park has run an
excellent trial for his first race of the year. He was fresh and eager, and is
entitled to come on for that. (Jockey) Andrea (Atzeni) thought he’d done enough,
but he just got tired in the last 100 yards and two good horses beat him.
Hopefully, with that run under his belt, we can finish a bit closer next time.
So long as he is all right, the Derby is the plan.”
However, that is not the case for John F Kennedy (Galileo) and Ol’ Man River
(Montjeu), the last two across the line, who were ruled out of the Blue Riband
by Aidan O’Brien.
“We’re disappointed and there’s obviously something amiss with both of them
at the moment,” he said. “Ryan (Moore) said JFK traveled very well and then just
cut out. He did that at Leopardstown and we put it down to the ground, but
there’s obviously something else.
“We can’t find anything wrong with them at home. All the tests had been
ticked off, so there’ll be no Epsom for them. We will stop with them now and
give them a break. As for what we will run in the Derby, we will see what
happens in the next two weeks. The first three pulled a long way clear and I
would imagine that their trainers were very happy.”
The Ballydoyle handler was quick to rule Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) winner
Gleneagles (Galileo) out of the Derby picture.
“There is no way Gleneagles will be going to Epsom. We haven’t had a horse
like him for a long time. He’s an out-and-out miler, but with more speed than
Giant’s Causeway.”
Earlier, Qatar Racing Ltd and Newsells Park Stud’s Secret Gesture (Galileo)
made every yard of the running in the Middleton S. (Eng-G2) for fillies and
mares.
Declaring her intent by a whopping 10 lengths in Lingfield’s 2013 Oaks Trial,
Secret Gesture was undone by stablemate Talent in the Epsom Oaks (Eng-G1) and
occupied the same berth in the Group 2 German equivalent just over two months
later. She also hit the board in that season’s Yorkshire Oaks (Eng-G1) and
closed her sophomore campaign with a subdued last-of-nine in Longchamp’s Prix de
l’Opera (Fr-G1).
The Ralph Beckett trainee opened last term with a second in this event, got
her head in front in Nottingham’s June 16 Warwickshire Oaks and was runner-up
again in the July 26 York S. (Eng-G2) over this course and distance. Enjoying a
break after hitting the board in Deauville’s August 24 Prix Jean Romanet
(Fr-G1), she finished a close-up fifth in the November 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly &
Mare Turf (G1) at Santa Anita.
Lining up at odds of 7-2 here, she galloped her rivals to sleep in this
seasonal debut, leading from pillar to post to record a deserved success. She
had 1 1/2 lengths to spare over Talmada (Cape Cross) at the line, with Ribbons (Manduro)
a further neck away in third.
“It was very straightforward,” commented jockey Andrea Atzeni. “She was a
little bit fresh early on, but I managed to get a breather into her coming
around the bend and she quickened again. She loved the ground, she’s very honest
and the tailwind helped in the straight. She has run well from the front and she
has run well from behind, but there didn’t look to be too much pace in the race
beforehand so it was the plan to go forward. She’s improving with age and going
the right way.”
Part-owner Sheikh Fahad Al Thani added, “I think if any filly deserves her
Group race it’s her. She’s very consistent and Ralph (Beckett) has done a
magnificent job. We sat down with Newsells Park Stud at the end of last season
and decided to give her another year, and she’s repaid us today. Andrea went out
with a plan and executed it to perfection.”
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