Graham Cunningham Goodwood analysis: Wednesday reflections & Thursday thoughts

Jehani in the spotlight as Wathnan bandwagon takes an intriguing turn

Thursday marks a highly significant day in the rapid evolution of Wathnan Racing as The Strikin Viking and Midnight Gun have their first runs under the care of Hamad El Jehani.

The Qatari ownership group has made a huge impact in the last year, landing the Gold Cup and Queen’s Vase with Courage Mon Ami and Gregory at Royal Ascot in 2023 and following up this summer with royal wins for Leovanni, Shareholder and Haatem.

Buying smart young winners for significant sums is a central part of the Wathnan strategy but day three of the Qatar Goodwood Festival sees a notable departure as The Strikin Viking and Midnight Gun have been switched from leading yards to join first-season Newmarket handler Hamad El Jehani.

Jehani landed the Qatar Derby with former Gosden galloper Jeff Koons last December and is now training a small yet select Wathnan team of ten from the lower yard at Tom Clover’s Kremlin House Stables in Newmarket.

Make Me King opened his UK account by winning a Newcastle handicap in June but Thursday represents a chance for him to shine on a grander stage with The Strikin Viking in the Markel Richmond Stakes and Midnight Gun in the Coral Kincsem Handicap.

Viking on the Richmond march

The Strikin Viking made a big impression on his York debut for Kevin Ryan before finishing a clear second to Henri Matisse in the Railway Stakes at the Curragh, while the impeccably-bred Midnight Gun won his last two for Ed Walker and steps up in distance for the day three opener.

“Of course, this is a big day and also a big opportunity for us” said the 35-year-old Qatari champion.

“Goodwood is a big meeting for me but a very big one for Qatar and we need to show our best,” he says.

“These two horses have been with me for a couple of weeks and The Strikin Viking seems a good, straightforward horse. He came to me in very good condition from Kevin and has done two good pieces of work so he seems ready to go.”

By Kingman out of the 1000 Guineas and Coronation Stakes winner Sky Lantern, the progressive Midnight Gun impressed at Nottingham and Newmarket and moves up in distance from a mark of 93 under James Doyle.

“We change a few small things in routine, such as feeding, but not too much,” adds Jehani. “Midnight Gun is a big horse who’s already shown a lot of ability and we think he could be very nice over a mile and a quarter.”

Jehani plays down reports of his background as an accomplished showjumper, saying it was “more of a hobby” before he returned to his studies and moved on to the racing game.

“I’m very lucky and pleased to be training horses like this,” he adds. “Newmarket is much quieter than Qatar but horse people never have any problem keeping busy and the plan is to learn as much as possible this season and come back again for a longer term next year.”

Time for a Top 5 Aggrieved Comments on the Oak Tree incident

‘What a f****** set of clowns you lot are.’ 🤡🤡🤡

‘That’s the correct result. Crowley clearly stopped riding and had to switch out as a result.’

‘After that bollocks at Uttoxeter. This.’

‘Nice to see the stewards got their money on before the amended result.’

‘I can’t argue with it and, for the record, I was on Jabaara.’

There’s nothing like a high-profile demotion to get the lads of the Twitter riled up and the ITV Inquiry pictures after Jabaara drifted across Raqiya made for compelling viewing, with an intense Jim Crowley making a calm, persuasive case for a takedown and James Doyle an articulate advocate for leaving well alone.

But here’s the deal. British racing’s interference rules are based on the balance of probabilities (51-49) and one panel is perfectly and justifiably capable of reaching a different verdict than another faced with similar circumstances.

I didn’t have a bet on the outcome as I thought the inquiry odds – generally hovering around 1.6 Jabaara and 2.6 Raqiya – were close to the mark.

But, all things considered, I have no problem at all with the verdict handed down by Shaun ‘Big Unit’ Parker and the rest of his BHA commissars.

For the record, a margin of a head at full racing pace amounts to about three or four hundredths of a second.

And if you think that a fast-finishing runner-up who is forced to check (however slightly) and switch off the rail doesn’t lose that much and a little bit more then you are a very tough stewarding audience indeed.

Gus saga rolls on as Aidan talks dirty

Has there ever been a horse that Aidan O’Brien has gone into bat for more loudly and more often than Auguste Rodin?

The list of reasons for Gussie’s blowouts – which already included soft ground, an aversion to flying, the need for a positive ride and a bizarre ‘speed wobble’ – has grown longer still after the master of Ballydoyle told the RP’s Lee Mottershead that Saturday’s King George flop was down to the fact that the mercurial colt doesn’t relish races where he has to get “down and dirty.”

Poor old Duke of Marmalade caught a cruel stray as Aidan explained that high-class horses who get to the top with guts as their main asset seldom make a good fist of things at stud.

Giant’s Causeway (sire of Shamardal and Ghanaati among others) might like a word at this point but Gus needs to start speaking for himself in the second half of this season.

And another clunker would probably mean his next run is also his last.

Stay on Guard for day three finale

The wretched Fair Wind refuses to come out of the stalls on day one and the bang-in-form Elladonna gets pulled out because of drying ground on day two.

Safe to say my ideas of the best handicap bets of the week haven’t got off to a flyer but patience is a virtue and I’m hoping the Muir/Grassick team can make a splash with a couple of handily drawn horses in the 4.10 and the 5.55.

FEARLESS FREDDY beat a subsequent winner in the style of a horse who could be an interesting nursery candidate off a mark of 79, while the likeable and reliable EBT’S GUARD caught the eye suffering a tough trip at Ascot and looks a very sporting win and place chance at a price in a fiercely competitive nightcap.

Darkness on the edge of ground

Sad to see DARKNESS, who won so well on good to firm going at Newmarket a few weeks ago, withdrawn from the day two nightcap because the ground was considered too fast.

Fortunately for connections, David O’Meara’s useful gelding has a handy and potentially lucrative backup option in the Coral Golden Mile – a race he finished fourth in last year – on Friday.

And Darkness is drawn 8 there rather than 18 for the Wednesday contest. Handy, that.

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