Weekend thoughts

Calandagan gained revenge on old rival Jan Brueghel and atoned for his narrow defeat in the Coronation Cup when providing his trainer Francis Graffard with his second consecutive win in the Group 1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on Saturday. The Gleneagles gelding had gained his first victory at the highest level in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud at the fifth attempt on his previous start and quickly followed here as he got the better of Kalpana inside the final furlong. A length winner, his record at Group 1 level now reads 222211 and the four year old is expected to revert back to ten furlongs for the Juddmonte International Stakes at York having finished second behind City of Troy twelve months ago. Andrew Balding's runner-up could take in either the Group 3 September Stakes at Kempton (6th September) or the Group 1 Prix Vermeille at Longchamp a day later en route at a tilt at the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe (5th October). The disappointment of the race was undoubtedly the aforementioned Jan Brueghel who raced lazily from an early stage and failed to pick up off the hometurn. Leading at a steady pace, Ryan Moore's was soon niggling his mount and the response was limited. On this evidence, it is hard to believe he beat the French raider at Epsom and appears to be crying out for further - the Irish St Leger or even two miles look more suitable in future. However, one wonders whether he saves his best performances for left-handed tracks. He travelled much better in last year's St Leger at Doncaster and at Epsom last month. Time will tell but this was a laboured effort and a step backwards. 

I enjoyed two days at York on Friday evening and Saturday evening. A sun kissed Knavesmire staged two excellent cards packed with big field handicaps (over 100 runners declared for both days) and monster crowds to go with it. Old favourite and former Top 40 entry Elmonjed gained his second valuable prize at the track when narrowly beating Jubilee Walk by a neck in the Sky Bet Dash. The four year old is very much at home in a large field and was given a fine ride by Jim Crowley squeezing between rivals and leading inside the final furlong before hanging on. Entered in the Stewards Cup at Goodwood next weekend, it is possible he will make a quick reappearance under a penalty. Far from straightforward, I feared the slower ground may have been against him on Saturday but coped with it well. 

The feature event the Group 2 Sky Bet York Stakes was won emphatically by the Karl Burke trained Royal Champion by nearly three lengths. The seven year old who won the Group 3 Winter Derby earlier this year, joined the Middleham handler towards the end of last season and has now won 3 out of 5 for Burke. A dual Listed winner during his time with Roger Varian, he showed good acceleration to pull away inside the closing stages. Good or easier ground brings out the best in him. During the afternoon, there was a rumour the favourite Almaqam had scoped badly earlier in the week - hence the drift in the market - and Ed Walker's charge was put firmly in his place. Conditions ought to have been ideal for the Brigadier Gerard Stakes winner but he couldn't match the winner's turn of pace late on. Given the reports, it may be worth forgiving him this effort and don't be surprised if he bounces back next time. His trainer is adamant the four year old can mix it at the top level.

Finally, one performance which may go under the radar was the debut run of Dark Angel Star in the opening fillies' novice stakes for two year olds at York. Trained by James Tate, she is a well bred daughter of Dark Angel being a half-sister to the once useful Rhythm Master (Group 1 placed as a juvenile). Partnered by Rossa Ryan and strong in the market beforehand, she moved like the best filly in the race and was last off the bridle. She covered the third and fourth furlongs in 11.13 and 11.23 seconds before tiring inside the final furlong. Beaten three and a quarter lengths in fourth, she ran better than that suggests and will be hard to beat next time when hopefully dropped back to the minimum trip. She is not devoid of talent.

While most of the horse racing community will be looking forward to five days at 'Glorious' Goodwood this week, I will continuing to conduct interviews for the new edition of One Jump Ahead, which is due to be published in the Autumn. Please note, once the Talking Trainers listed has been confirmed, I will be updating the Publications section of the site and then clients will be able to order OJA and the 5 Updates.

Talking of Goodwood, I wrote an article for sportinglife.com on Sunday morning highlighting a handful of horses to look out for over the five days, including a leading contender for the Stewards Cup. That is likely to be on their website on Sunday evening.