Ed Chamberlin column: Racing reflections
Our columnist reflects on Saturday's action and looks ahead to the Arc as the season builds towards an exciting climax
I was delighted to announce during Saturday’s show that the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe will live on the main channel again next Sunday.
Its further evidence of ITV’s commitment to the sport of horse racing and I’m very proud of the fact we’ve brought races like the Arc, the Craven Meeting and some of the great Irish races onto terrestrial television – as well as shining a light on some of the smaller tracks too.
We’ve more innovations up our sleeve for 2022 which you’ll hear more about in due course.
What an absolute treat we have in stall over the next few weeks going from ParisLongchamp to Future Champions Weekend at Newmarket, the return of the jumpers at Cheltenham before we show the Breeders’ Cup on ITV for the first time.
The next few weeks have something for everyone and thrusts racing into the sporting spotlight.
In recent years the Arc has always been a great race, with Enable central to the drama, and somehow always manages to bring the big players to the table. It’s doing so again in 2021.
I’m going to have to change my punting strategy though because normally I assess the chances of the big European horses and end up backing a French contender, usually trained by Andre Fabre, at a big price.
This time I can’t find anything for the home team for love nor money. Could you imagine the reaction in his country if we didn’t have a legitimate contender for our big middle-distance prizes like the Derby?
There are plenty of stories around for next week’s showpiece, even in the absence of a home favourite. Will Tarnawa add Europe’s premier middle-distance prize to her Breeders’ Cup Turf win? Is Hurricane Lane a history-maker for Godolphin or will Adayar add the Arc to his Derby and King George victories? Then there’s Chrono Genesis, the latest to step out on Japan’s quest to land the great race.
Tarnawa is the one they all have to beat. In the Irish Champion I thought it was a case of Europe’s best ten furlong horse beating Europe’s best mile-and-a-half horse with arguably the best miler back in third.
It was the perfect trial for the second as the race turned into a sprint and Dermot Weld made no secret of the fact he had left plenty to work on.
I don’t know where I am with the two Godolphin horses. It’s a big ask for Adayar to win a race of this quality off the back of an interrupted preparation, the margins are going to be so small in Paris.
I’d worry about how hard a race Hurricane Lane had in the Leger a couple of weeks ago and there still seems to be some uncertainty surrounding his preparation.
I don’t know much about Chrono Genesis but plenty of good judges think she has a real chance and I know Oisin Murphy is very excited at the prospect of riding her.
But I’m going against the crowd in tipping Snowfall. People were far too quick to write her off after a Vermeille that was not run to suit her. From the time I’ve spent with Aidan O’Brien over the years I know he treats the trials as – well trials.
That was a stepping stone to the Arc for Snowfall, no more, and the memory of her brilliant performances in the summer still burn bright. She’s drifted to a more realistic price now and good three-year-old fillies can be absolutely deadly in the Arc getting all the weight.
It was a good day for Aidan on Saturday too. We went into it thinking he was a bit light in the two-year-old department but the victories of Tenebrism in the Juddmonte Cheveley Park and Luxembourg in the Beresford Stakes mean he now has a leading QIPCO 1000 Guineas contender and the Cazoo Derby favourite.
The day belonged to Richard Fahey though. He was as happy as I’ve ever seen him after a big-race success following Perfect Power’s Middle park win. It was a brilliant performance form a horse who Richard has always said is so relaxed anyone can ride him.
He didn’t look that way going to post where I feared he was too free – but once the stalls opened Christophe Soumillon was masterful.
They finished in a heap and might be much of a muchness as a group but I do think the winner is very good. It hasn’t been the easiest of seasons for Richard and the Musley Bank team but now they have a horse to dream about over the winter. They’ll be thinking 2000 Guineas safe in the knowledge he has the speed to drop back for the Commonwealth Cup if needs be.
The bookmakers were spared a decent pay-out by a Jamie Spencer special as he brought Bedouin’s Story through to thwart a gamble on Anmaat in the bet365 Cambridgeshire.
It was another big handicap win for Saeed bin Suroor who has quietly been reminding people Godolphin are a two-trainer operation in England this week. This was a big win for him but I bet Benbatl’s success in the Joel Stakes on Friday gave him even greater pleasure.
He’s just the type of horse who resonates with a terrestrial TV audience, he keeps coming back for more at the age of seven.
If the ground goes against him for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot he could be boarding the plane to America for the Breeders’ Cup and has his part to play in the exciting autumn that lies ahead.