A hot prospect as a result of his impressive six-length debut success in a
seven-furlong Newmarket maiden June 29, Kingman had much to lose in a tactical
affair in Saturday’s Group 3 Solario, but emerged with reputation intact under
Juddmonte’s new retained rider James Doyle.
Keen initially before settling last of the quartet, the John Gosden juvenile
was allowed to use his acceleration to move to the lead wide of the Godolphin
pair Emirates Flyer and Music Theory passing the quarter-pole. From there, it
was a case of education and nurturing to the line, where he was comfortably on
top without having had anything other than a strong piece of work.
“He’s got a great attitude and good stride, and as it was a bit of a messy
race without much pace, I was almost breaking his stride early on so I let him
lengthen early in the straight and he picked up nicely,” his rider said.
“He showed all the right credentials of a top performer. He hasn’t got much
racing experience, but he has such a good turn of foot I wanted him to take a
lead even though they went slower than I anticipated. He was very relaxed and
did everything right.”
The owner-breeder’s Racing Manager Teddy Grimthorpe is well accustomed to
dealing with deserved hype.
“I was really pleased with the way he relaxed and quickened really nicely,
and this is part of his long education,” he commented. “He’s a long-striding
horse and was always very comfortable.
“I think, as he’s by Invincible Spirit out of Zenda, by Zamindar, by Gone
West and there is a lot of speed there, a mile or mile and a quarter will be the
limit for him next year. It’s good-to-firm today and I should think he wouldn’t
want it any harder than that, but he was well within himself today.
“I should think it will be either the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (Group 1 at
Longchamp October 6) or Dewhurst Stakes (Group 1 at Newmarket October 12), with
the Dewhurst the main option.”
There was considerably more drama in the Group 3 Atalanta later on the card,
as Integral and Ladys First dueled to a dead-heat.
Integral booked a supplementary entry to the Nassau with an impressive win in
the Distaff over this track and one-mile trip on the Eclipse undercard July 6,
and was far from disgraced when seventh in when meeting traffic in that
10-furlong Glorious Goodwood feature on August 3.
She lacked the experience of Ladys First, who had maintained an admirable
level of consistency throughout her busy career so far, and who had flaunted her
wares when beating Dank in the 2012 Dick Hern Fillies’ Stakes over this trip at
Haydock before finishing runner-up to that talented performer in this race last
August.
Whereas 13-8 favorite Integral was denied an ideal early position as she was
shuffled back to the rear, Ladys First was able to enjoy the lead and stay out
of trouble under Tony Hamilton. As the leader traveled strongly approaching the
final quarter-mile, Ryan Moore made a wide move on the favorite to grab the
advantage, but was unable to shake off his main rival and, after looking likely
to succumb in the final 100 yards, drew a rally from Integral to re-join the
rail-runner on the line.
“She is tough and game and deserves it, as she’s run in all the big races,”
Hamilton said of Ladys First.
Integral’s trainer Sir Michael Stoute commented, “The other horse is
admirably consistent and I thought she had beaten us, so I’m relieved to share
the prize. Ryan went too early and said he messed up and got her into top gear
too quickly.
“She’s still a bit immature — she proved that in the Nassau — and she’s
just learning her trade, but she has a lot of talent. I would contemplate
running her in the Sun Chariot Stakes (at Newmarket September 28).”
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