Graham Cunningham on Adayar, Alcohol Free, Armor and more including whip reform and Galway wrong horse debacle

What can we take from the first two days of Goodwood?

Early rain did its best to dull the speed of high-class horses but, with crowds back into pre-Covid mood and a host of notable performances, it’s safe to say that...

Angel Bleu proved himself smart and hardy in winning the Vintage on his second start in four days but Berkshire Shadow could never quite reproduce his Coventry Stakes acceleration and remains the best prospect in the line-up back on faster ground.

Lennox winner Kinross has thrived since being gelded and used his turn of foot to complete a G2 double for Ralph Beckett. He’s likely to hook up with those who chased him home a couple more times this season, while Trueshan was relentless in the Goodwood Cup.

Let’s hope a duel with Stradivarius is delayed rather than denied, with two miles on good ground making for a suitable showdown in York’s Lonsdale Cup. Timeform have Strad on 127 and Trueshan now on 126. And, with the clock ticking for the old champ, Trueshan would deserve to jump as favourite.

Does Jeff Smith need to take more water with it?

The veteran owner feels Alcohol Free could be even better than his Chief Singer, who bolted up in the St James’s Palace before winning the July Cup and the Sussex Stakes.

That sounds very much like a prisoner of the moment claim to fossils who saw the giant black colt dominate the summer of ’84, but Andrew Balding’s filly took full advantage of ideal circumstances – Poetic Flare less dynamic on holding ground and Snow Lantern rolling too late after predictable traffic problems – to land this year's Sussex with authority.

Those who wondered whether the No Nay Never filly would truly stay a mile back in the spring have been silenced and Balding is now eyeing a further step up in trip for the Juddmonte International at York.

York (Gimcrack) and Deauville (Prix Morny) are the options for another impressive NNN winner and Armor is plainly improving fast judged on his runaway Molecomb success.

“This is his year,” says Richard Hannon. In which case, I might not be alone in fearing that next year might see Armor following Hannon’s 2016 Glorious Goodwood winner Mehmas on an early trip to stud.

And who will write the day-three headlines?

The Nassau Stakes has thrown up some brilliant finishes down the years – none better than the battle between Ouija Board and Alexander Goldrun in 2005.

Three-year-olds have held sway in recent years, winning seven of nine since Midday completed her Nassau treble in 2012, and Joan of Arc heads the market to continue the trend after her gutsy Prix de Diane win.

She’s sure to go well but it’s hard to put a big number on the Chantilly form with ten horses spanned by a little over three lengths and Audarya, clear top rated with a Timeform mark of 122, should be favourite.

James Fanshawe's mare excelled at four, signing off with Breeders’ Cup success, and her battling second in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes on her reappearance makes her very much the one to beat.

The fast-improving Twilight Calls and speedy Showalong look a strong duo against the field in the finale at 5.20, while progressive Highland Premiere is a fair each-way prospect in a wide-open nursery at 4.10.

How good is Adayar?

He’s gone from good-looking longshot to front and centre star in the space of two runs. And when those two runs involve emulating his grandsire Galileo by winning the Derby and King George by daylight it’s easy to see why nostalgia buffs and newer fans alike are lauding him.

But maybe it’s as well to pump the brakes just slightly. Adayar was undeniably excellent at Ascot, never breaking stride as he dismissed Love then Mishriff, and it seems the Arc will be his main autumn objective.

He would emulate Mill Reef and Lammtarra if he crowns his Classic season by downing Snowfall and co at Longchamp but, given the way he tanks through his races and the potential shine to his stallion prospects, a step back to a stretched ten furlongs for the International is certainly worth considering.

It’s worth recalling that Galileo was turned over on both his starts after the King George, outflanked by Ascot runner-up Fantastic Light at Leopardstown then failing to handle Belmont's dirt in the BC Classic.

Adayar is now rated 131 by Timeform, with Coral-Eclipse winner St Mark’s Basilica on 130p, and his road to true champion status surely runs through Ballydoyle (as well as Longchamp) in one way or another.

What happened to that gap between Coolmore and Godolphin?

The ref was in danger of stopping the fight at one point, especially when Sheikh Mohammed started swerving Coolmore stallions, but the most embarrassing episode in Godolphin history paved the way for a dramatic revival.

Out went a serial doper with a modest UK G1 record in Mahmood Al Zarooni, and in came a trusted in-house lieutenant whose poise and performance are increasingly hard to fault.

True, Charlie Appleby moved into the big chair just as Dubawi started to churn out G1 horses in numbers but his ability to turn pedigree into performance continues to impress. And, having gone 17 years since King George winner Doyen helped propel Saeed Bin Suroor to the trainers’ title, Godolphin finally have a fighting chance of ending their long championship drought.

What else did the King George tell us?

It told us Mishriff is right back on song and, by extension, that his Eclipse conqueror St Mark’s is probably every bit as good as he looked at Sandown.

Love is a very good filly but not a great one, though the fact that she carried her head a little awkwardly as she edged right suggests she may have been feeling something on the fast ground.

Broome blew the start and will do well to add another G1 to his card, while Lone Eagle looked one of the worst 4/1 (7/2 SP) shots to contest the King George since Clever Cookie finished fifth to Postponed in 2015 and ran accordingly.

Why does British racing keep serving up short rations on major Saturdays?

A tricky one but not as puzzling as the fact that no-one in the racing bubble seems to bat an eyelid when showpiece cards come and go with a slew of small fields.

It’s worrying to think that 11 of 22 races run on 2000 Guineas day, Derby day and King George day failed to attract eight runners and Saturday’s Ascot card – with two sixes, a five and a four – was clearly suboptimal for the first major Saturday since Covid restrictions were relaxed.

And that four-runner race, a 0-85 handicap with a measly £5,400 to the winner, was a bizarre contest to schedule in a week when The Racing League rolls into town with a similar contest worth 50 grand.

It’s not completely clear what Ascot and other major tracks receive in fees and turnover share for hosting World Pool events but suffice to say it’s well, well into six figures.

And, given that everyone wins if racing shows its most competitive face on high days, the time has come to put serious thought into beefing up the weekend cards in question.

How about them three-year-olds?

How about them indeed. St Mark’s in the Eclipse; Snow Lantern, Mother Earth and Alcohol Free going 1-2-3 in the Falmouth; Dragon Symbol going close in the July Cup; Adayar forging clear in the King George; and Alcohol Free, Poetic Flare and Snow Lantern monopolising the Sussex.

It’s a matter of time before some people start to hail this as a vintage crop and maybe time will prove them right.

But how about this for a counter view? The bar certainly wasn’t set at Sotamayor levels by most of the older horses who stayed around this year and, with Palace Pier swerving the Sussex and Tarnawa on layaway, it’s not at all surprising that this year’s Classic crew have been able to take full advantage of their weight-for-age allowance.

· NB: Starman’s passport says he is four but Ed Walker’s impressive July Cup winner didn’t run as a juvenile so he also counts as a three-year-old in my Personal Record Book.

How about that HK transfer market?

It’s as lively as ever at this time of year with one good juvenile marked for export and a leading three-year-old possibly heading east.

The powerful Siu family made Hambleton Racing an offer they couldn’t refuse for Atomic Force and Kevin Ryan has confirmed that his impressive Prix Robert Papin winner (currently rated 112p by Timeform) will be HK bound sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, reports suggest that Adayar’s Sandown conqueror Alenquer (Timeform 115) is also attracting considerable interest from HK after following his Esher win with Royal Ascot success and an honest third in the Grand Prix de Paris.

What’s occurring with these pacemakers?

It couldn’t quite match the high farce of the Olympic women’s road race - where a Dutch cyclist hit the line thinking she had won until told that an unconsidered Austrian hare was already home and hosed – but York’s Sky Bet Stakes wasn’t far behind as an example of how tactics can backfire.

They haven’t invented many horses who can lope along eight or ten lengths behind good-class rivals and then cut them down when a series of stately 14-second splits are followed by a frenetic three-furlong burnup.

Mohaafeth and (to a lesser extent) Armory were set an enormous amount to do on the Knavesmire and the fact that the former nosed ahead briefly close home before physics took over suggests that he is more than capable of landing another good race this year.

How about that Galway blunder?

The hits just keep on coming and, if nothing else, Tuesday's Galway 'wrong horse' episode featuring Jessie Harrington's Alizarine shows that Ireland can give Britain a right good run for its money in the Embarrassing Ballsup Stakes.

It's only natural that people should wonder how many times something similar has happened without being publicised in the past and a conversation with a colourful former trainer a few years ago suggests that such incidents aren't always accidental.

"We had a National horse many, many years ago who went wrong in the week before the race," he told me. "But we sent another horse to Aintree instead and both the owners were happy when he went and finished third!"

Meanwhile, it's interesting to note that Alizarine's older half-brother Aleas is on deck for Ralph Beckett in today's Gordon Stakes. And Aleas, as my trusty French translator informs me, translates as "hazards, threats or risks!"

What’s occurring with the whip?

It’s getting messy on the Jersey shore in America, with riders at Monmouth being fined for breaking a new rule that states the whip can only be used “when necessary to control the horse to avoid injury to the horse or rider.”

A recent case involving local rider Carlos Montalvo suggests that giving a horse a few reminders to stop him hanging is no defence and, closer to home, Martin Harley is up before the BHA beaks today for his fifth offence in the last six months.

What happens to the British whip rules in the medium term depends largely on the findings of a 15-strong Steering Committee chaired by the BHA’s Independent Regulatory Director David Jones.

Jovial prankster Jones is clearly Blessed with a wealth of industry experience to tap into. But the global direction of travel, along with the odd fascinating leak from the great Committee, suggests it would be unwise to take evens about current limits remaining in place.

More from Sporting Life

• Racecards
• Fast results
• Full results and free video replayso
• Horse racing news
• Horse racing tips
• Horse racing columnists
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Football and other sports tips
• Podcasts and video content

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.