Joel Stakes report and replay: Zeus Olympios remains unbeaten

A winner of his first three races including the Superior Mile at Haydock last time, Karl Burke's charge took this step up into Group Two company in his stride.

The only real moment of concern came when he was short of room entering the Dip and had to be switched to the stands' side flank of the field. However the 2/1 chance picked up nicely to hit the front soon after and he ran on strongly upon meeting the rising ground to score by two-and-a-quarter lengths.

4/5 favourite Opera Ballo was back in second having looked ill-at-ease on the undulations of the track as the tempo increased.

Burke said: “I’m very happy. He is a beautiful horse, and I knew he had strengthened and gone forward from Haydock. Physically he looked stronger. Interestingly he wasn’t heavier, but to my eye he looked stronger.

“We have always thought he is a lovely horse, but he was such a weak horse as well. He arrived from us from Roger’s and he was a bit of a shell and then he got a little bit of an injury. So often when those immature two-year-olds get injuries, as long as they are not major ones, it is a blessing in disguise as you have to lock them up and all they do is grow and strengthen. Like a lot of Night Of Thunders they can be a bit fragile at two, but the longer they go on the stronger they get.

“To be fair once what we thought was the Godolphin lead horse came out I said to Sam (James) on Flight Plan don’t blast away as you are just setting it up for the Godolphin horse, but that actually settled better than we did and I thought it backfired us on a bit from halfway. I think he had to be a very good horse for the favourite to get first run and for us to come and cut him down.

“His first couple of runs were with give in the ground. As long as it is not extreme I would say there is no major issue that way. In fact I was interested in how he would cope with fast ground on these undulations, but he has coped with it well.

“The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes comes a bit quick and I would have to speak to Sheikh Obaid (about potentially supplementing him). I’m sure that will be it for the year as there is nothing else for him and hopefully we can start in the Lockinge and go from there. He is obviously a horse with a big future."

Winning jockey Clifford Lee added: "He is a big lovely horse. I didn’t ride him when he won the Group Three at Haydock, but William got off and said he was a nice horse. I rode him at Thirsk and sat on him again today. He felt like he had improved and grown and filled out quite a lot from when I last rode him.

“He was a little bit keen, but they didn’t go very quickly. Me, William (Buick) and Colin (Keane) were on the bridle, but then my lad has won over seven as well, and he has got plenty of boot. He obviously stays this trip very well and once I switched him out I knew he was going to pick them up. I think he can one hundred percent go up to Group One level. He has won this very nicely today and he deserves to have a good shot at those races.”

Charlie Appleby said of Opera Ballo: “The winner is a good horse. I thought when William made his move that the winner had been keen enough and he would have a job to pick up, but he did, and fair play to the winner. I think they have gone a nice even gallop. He jumped so quick I think the pacemaker would have struggled to jump quicker and get on that lead. I think he ran well, but he met a nice horse.

“We’ve seen what he can do when he gets cover, and we know he is not always going to get cover. I had it in the back of my mind it could end up a bit like in the Craven, but he was nowhere near as keen as that, but he is doing too much to justify doing at the business end when you ask him again.

“He is a horse that I would like to take to Dubai and look at maybe stepping him to nine furlongs or maybe the Dubai Millennium (over 10 furlongs) and get him on a turning track to teach this horse to do it the right way. I’ve seen what he does in the mornings. It is not like he is completely fluffing his lines in the afternoon, there is just a little bit of maturity that needs to be nurtured and I’m confident in the spring we will see a different horse.”

Timeform: View From the Track

The unbeaten Zeus Olympios came out on top in the clash of two highly progressive three year olds in the Joel Stakes at Newmarket. He found a good turn of foot in the final furlong to defeat the odds-on Opera Ballo by 2¼ lengths, running to a very smart level. Zeus Olympios won't need to improve much more to be winning a race at Group 1 level.

The race itself was run at an ordinary gallop, which meant a few were taking a keener hold than ideal. That included both the winner and the favourite, Buick on Opera Ballo finding it hard to get cover. With a small field and the stalls in the centre, the runners kept up the middle for much of the way, something of a surprise that they didn't track over to the favoured stand rail until very late on.

Opera Ballo edged to the front under two furlongs out, Zeus Olympios momentarily tapped for foot as the tempo lifted, before he was switched to the stand rail and picked up decisively. Zeus Olympios isn't entered in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and he might not get a chance at the highest level until 2026. He'll be one to look out for when he does. (David Cleary)

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