There’s plenty being written and said about the bans handed out to Christophe Soumillon and Ryan Moore after Tuesday’s St James’s Palace Stakes.
Obviously, the Ballydoyle team don’t walk the track before racing for the good of their health and they had a plan going out for this Group One.
Christophe wanted to go forward on Puerto Rico and so did David Egan aboard outsider Power Blue. Soumillon had a pre-determined plan and did maybe shift in on the turn for home, but he always seemed to be a horse or two off the rail.
It was the long look over his shoulder on that turn that probably drew the attention of the stewards as much as the path he took. And for all David Egan tried to ride in on him down the straight, it seemed a pre-determined plan for Ballydoyle to set things up for Gstaad to get an inside run.
Was it something we see every day? No – but it’s a common occurrence when you have multiple runners for the same connections. They had a plan of how they were going to beat Bow Echo and it was one they played out almost to perfection.
I have no strong objection to it, you know what you’re going to get, David Egan got aggressive on his horse to try and upset those plans and that’s racing, that’s high-end race-riding.
Maybe it was more obvious on Tuesday than some other occasions, but I think it adds to the intrigue of the race.
And what happens now? The one thing we want in this sport is consistency, things to be judged the same way day-in, day-out. Christophe got his eight days on Tuesday but further down the line, at the July meeting, Goodwood or York, say, there might be no issue when similar tactics are employed by Godolphin, Ballydoyle or whoever.
If the bar is now set as it was in the St James’s Palace then fair enough, but time will tell if it is.
Ryan Moore picked up three days for careless riding at the start and that also seemed to be a pre-determined move out of the gates from him. He was drawn inside towards the rail but instead of going straight he went left and continued to do so (full replay below).
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Looking at the two horses beforehand, Gstaad is far more muscular than Bow Echo and a heavier-set colt too. Those physical attributes came to the fore in that barging match, and it got tight, Gstaad even got unbalanced for a few strides.
It was very untypical of a Ryan Moore ride and I have no objection to the ban he received for that move out of the stalls. I do think David Egan was a contributory factor too as he came across quickly from the other side, but I don’t think Ryan, given that manoeuvre, can have much objection to his punishment.
Billy Loughnane probably feels he got away with one on Bow Echo, to come away with the win. We’ve seen over the years what can happen on the Round Mile at Ascot and Billy found himself being buffeted about and then he had to find his rhythm.
Then he’s had to kick up and around weakening rivals, trying not to commit too early but having to commit and that’s allowed Gstaad inside the final furlong to get going after him.
Looking at Bow Echo in the parade ring on Tuesday, and I didn’t see him at Newmarket, he looked like a horse that maybe might need time this season to mature again, while Gstaad had physically come forward from the Irish 2,000 Guineas.
I’d say the winner’s class got him home on Tuesday and when they square up for round three, at Goodwood or wherever, it will be highly interesting but Bow Echo’s natural ability got him home at Ascot.
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