Our man at the track enjoyed a sunny Newmarket on QIPCO 1000 Guineas day where both Saeed bin Suroor and Charlie Appleby struck gold for Godolphin.
Saeed and Murphy back in the big time
Punters who have been around a bit will well remember the glory days for Saeed bin Suroor. Godolphin’s principal trainer for many years, he won 34 British Group 1s between 1995 and 1999 as he teamed up to great effect with a young Frankie Dettori.
Heady days, but they seem a lifetime ago. As Bin Suroor watched his former protégé Charlie Appleby grab all the limelight and some of the best horses in the world, he has been left to feed off relative scraps. So you can’t help but feel pleased for him that he has broken a barren spell with Mawj in the QIPCO 1000 Guineas.
And, make no mistake, this was a barren spell. It has been 56 consecutive losers and 10 years since Bin Suroor’s last victory in a British Group 1 – Farhh’s 2013 Champion Stakes victory at Ascot his last top-level success in this country.
As for his last Classic win, you have to go even further back. This was his 13th British Classic victory, 14 years on from Mastery in the 2009 St Leger, which was number 12.
If you don’t think Bin Suroor will have been counting, it seems numbers are his thing. “I think this is Group 1 number 195 around the world,” he said, beaming smile, trademark sunglasses hiding any signs of relief or emotion.
The good thing for Bin Suroor is Mawj might well have number 196 in her locker this summer judging by the way she fought for the 1000 Guineas on a sun-drenched Rowley Mile. It looked for all the world that Tahiyra would swoop by when she loomed up alongsides, but Mawj showed great determination to see off Dermot Weld’s filly, the pair seven-and-a-half lengths clear of the rest. Here’s hoping for a rematch at the Curragh.
While Bin Suroor’s return to the limelight looks likely to be brief, the race also heralded a first major success in the saddle for Oisin Murphy since his 14-month ban for alcohol breaches and breaking Covid rules. With a steely determination in his eye, this second Classic win looks likely to be the springboard for an extremely productive 2023.
“When I got on her back I started to believe it could happen,” Murphy said. “I was worried there wasn’t a lot of pace in the race and I rode her a bit like Frankie [Dettori] rode Chaldean yesterday – I set my own fractions on the wing with no cover. I got a huge buzz out of that. These are such important races.”
Bin Suroor can be thankful for having Murphy on his side. The pair have teamed up to great effect over the last few years, most notably with Benbatl, a Group 1 winner abroad who landed a couple of Group 2 Joel Stakes wins for the duo on this very track.
Murphy has ridden over 70 winners for Bin Suroor at a strike-rate north of 27%, so this winning combination is far from unusual. But to win a Guineas together, a Classic, after their respective journeys, it seems highly likely they’ll look back on Mawj as their most significant combined success.
Could this be the year Appleby topples Aidan?
After the mini turn-up in the feature, neither Appleby or Aidan O’Brien won a Guineas this weekend, but several battle lines were drawn in the quest for Group 1 trophies this season.
Appleby, hands in pockets, said he "wasn’t really nervous" about Adayar tackling 10 furlongs on his seasonal return, and such was his relaxed demeanour you had to believe him.
“I was more excited about seeing him,” he said, moments after Adayar had won the re-routed from Sandown bet365 Group 3 Gordon Richards Stakes by two-and-a-half lengths from Anmaat in good style.
We all were, Charlie. Adayar is a fine horse, a big, strong, son of Frankel who powered through this soft and tacky ground well, despite his trainer being adamant he’s a much better horse on a sounder surface.
He’s also the first Derby winner to win as a five-year-old since High-Rise in 1998. Indeed, he’s the only Derby winner that has run as a five-year-old since that horse if we’re betting without Serpentine, who has been having a rather undistinguished second career down in Australia.
So why would you keep a Derby winner in training at five?
“I’ve always wanted to get him to win a Group One over a mile and a quarter, just as I think it will look good on his CV,” Appleby explained.
It will help his prospects as a stallion, for sure, and with Hurricane Lane emerging from the doldrums earlier in the meeting, Appleby already has another older horse to go to war with in the top mile and a half races.
Given he’s emerged out of the Guineas meeting with the Derby favourite, as well, with Military Order assuming that position in places after Auguste Rodin’s blip, the Godolphin v Ballydoyle arm wrestle is at an interesting point heading into a key part of the season.
Meditate’s defeat in the 1000 Guineas made it a Classic meeting to forget for O’Brien, who had his lowest number of G1 winners since 2013 in the UK and Ireland last year, with eight.
Appleby has never beaten his Ballydoyle rival on that score, but he is parking his tanks on the lawn as we roll on into Derby trial season. It makes for a fascinating month, and season, ahead.
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