John Ingles rounds up the Timeform ratings changes from Irish Derby weekend.
Epsom form turned round in Irish Derby
Benvenuto Cellini (124p from 118p) had been Ballydoyle’s number one Derby hope following a convincing win in the Chester Vase, though a disappointing effort under softer conditions at Epsom saw stablemate Christmas Day (123 from 123p) briefly leapfrog him in the ratings.
But with all four of Aidan O’Brien’s Derby runners meeting again in the Irish Derby, Benvenuto Cellini bounced back on a sounder surface to beat the Epsom winner by a length and three quarters, justifying Ryan Moore’s decision to stick him with him despite his reverse at Epsom where, of course, he had officially been deemed a non-runner.
Under a patient ride from Moore, who was winning his fourth consecutive Irish Derby, Benvenuto Cellini appeared to do just enough once in front (replay below) which suggests that there may well be more to come from him and the King George looks an obvious target. Christmas Day ran to a level good enough to have won any of the last three renewals but was beaten by one with a superior turn of foot under the conditions and it bears repeating that he’ll stay further, looking a St Leger type.
Pierre Bonnard (118 from 111), only seventh at Epsom, ran much his best race of the year to complete just the latest Ballydoyle one-two-three in the Irish Derby, the return to a galloping track evidently suiting and he too looking as though he’ll stay a fair bit further than a mile and a half.
For the second year running, O’Brien has now won all three of Europe’s major Derbies as part of a wider domination of this year’s classics, and there’s nothing between Benvenuto Cellini and Prix du Jockey Club winner Constitution River (also rated 124p) on ratings, with the latter seeming likely to head for next weekend’s Eclipse.
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O’Brien’s two-year-olds dominant too
Thoughts are already turning towards Ballydoyle’s classic contenders for next year, with a couple of maiden winners at the Curragh at the weekend now prominent in ante-post lists for the two Guineas.
First up was Abraham Lincoln (90p) who won Friday’s six-furlong maiden which has a rich history of throwing up subsequent pattern-race performers. Sent off favourite, Abraham Lincoln, a son of Wootton Bassett who cost €2.3m as a yearling, passed his first test with flying colours and is sure to progress, including over further, and is now 20/1 in most places for the 2000 Guineas.
Sunday’s fillies’ maiden over seven furlongs, which O’Brien has frequently targeted with some of his best fillies over the years, was won impressively from the front by Alpha (104p from 83P) who pulled six lengths clear, building on the considerable promise of her debut at Leopardstown. She has both the potential and the pedigree to follow in the footsteps of the stable’s previous winners, being by Sea The Stars out of high-class miler Alpha Centauri and is as low as 7/1 favourite for the 1000 Guineas.
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Discover Sporting Life Plus BenefitsSaturday’s seven-furlong maiden for colts was won by City of Troy three years ago and Giant Sequoia (92p from 82P) was another to build on a very promising debut, landing the odds in the style of one who will be making his mark at a higher level in another race where O’Brien trained the first three home.
The beaten Coventry Stakes favourite Confucius was one Ballydoyle youngster at the weekend who fluffed his lines at still shorter odds in the Anglesey Stakes, whereas stablemate Sun Goddess (remains 103p), who’d been runner-up in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot, didn’t need to improve to go one better in the Airlie Stud Stakes but remains open to further progress when required.
One-two for mares against younger fillies in the Pretty Polly
Impressive Oaks winner Thundering On (remains 124p) was a short price to follow up on her first start against older rivals in the Pretty Polly Stakes which her dam Thundering Nights had won five years earlier. But she ran well below her Epsom form in fourth, though was subsequently found to be coughing, so remains the one to beat in next month’s Irish Oaks assuming she has recovered by then.
Instead, it was the two five-year-old mares in the field who fought out the finish with Estrange (117 from 116p) getting the better of One Look (114 from 110) by a length and a half. Now the winner of six of her nine starts, this was a deserved first Group 1 success for Estrange, as well as her first victory on ground firmer than good. If anything, the drop back to a mile and a quarter looked to suit her, and the Nassau Stakes is likely to be high on her agenda.
Sussex Stakes winner Qirat pops up again at York
While nothing like the shock of his Sussex Stakes win last year, Qirat (116 from 113) has a habit of winning when not expected and got the better of the pair who dominated the market in a small but select field for the Criterion Stakes at York.
He has won on all three occasions that he’s been allowed to force the pace over seven furlongs, and, tongue tied for the first time here, he showed more determination than favourite Never So Brave (117 from 122) after that one loomed up looking dangerous. Qirat was only fifth behind Never So Brave in the City of York Stakes last year but he’d be worth another try in that race, with the Lennox Stakes at Goodwood the obvious stepping stone first.
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