Tasleet proves at home in testing conditions at York

It began with a few light spots at 11am. By midday, it was drizzle. Without anyone really noticing, by 1pm it had become a proper dowsing.

John Gosden walked the course after the first race, his stride twice the length of most normal men. Gosden covered the ground impressively quickly, but clearly felt his strong handicap fancy Chessman would be unable to do the same and pulled him out.

Shutter Speed, on the other hand, was allowed to take her chance in the Tattersalls Musidora Stakes, and won just as connections hoped she might – without extravagance or fuss. Gosden said he was pleased, while the owner’s racing manager Lord Grimthorpe said he was “very, very pleased”.

Grimthorpe’s “very, very” may or may not have been influenced by his role as York’s course chairman, which would have left him in a mildly uncomfortable position had he felt obliged to withdraw the filly from a race which, without her, lacked a certain amount of star quality. As it was, everybody was happy.

Gosden revealed following the race that after Shutter Speed’s recent Newbury maiden success, jockey Frankie Dettori had been of the view that the filly wanted a mile and a half. After today, he admitted he’d been wrong. “All he said was ‘Okay, a mile and a quarter’,” reported the trainer.

Shutter Speed was Gosden’s fourth Musidora winner in the last six years. Only one, The Fugue, will have even made it to Epsom, as connections intend to stick to heading next to the French version of the Oaks with this filly.

Even more pleased than the man who was very, very pleased, was William Haggas, a man who savours winners at York like no other.

“I know I live in the south, but I was born in Yorkshire and I love it here – just look around, they’re great people, nicer people than in the south” he said. “They don’t give a monkey’s that it’s raining.”

Haggas was particularly pleased for Tasleet, winner of the Clipper Logistics Duke of York Stakes, that victory might have earned the four-year-old a job for life.

“He’s a charming horse who does everything you want him to and I couldn’t be more pleased for him,” said the trainer.

“He leads the horses at home, he leads them in their gallops, he’s enthusiastic, and hopefully a nice win like this might mean he has a stallion career and the happiest life possible for him.

“Ultimately the aim will now be to get a Group One win with him and Ascot in four weeks’ time is the next race, but this will do nicely for now.”

Like Gosden over Shutter Speed, Haggas admitted he’d feared the rain-softened conditions had done Tasleet’s prospects no favours.

“I didn’t think he would handle it at all, but I’ve only been training him for three years now…” he said. “We’ll probably go to Ascot now on good to firm and I’ll worry about it being too quick!”

Victories from Tasleet and Battered in the later seven-furlong handicap helped ease the frustration of saddling placed runners in both the French 1000 and 2000 Guineas last weekend.

“They’ve both come out of their races very well,” said the trainer. “I was very pleased that both improved from their previous performances this year, but disappointed that both got beaten, especially the filly (Sea Of Grace) because I think she’s pretty good and she got beaten by a rank outsider and beaten easily.

“However, they both ran well and I think that, on reflection, Rivet ran a good race as he got taken on at the wrong time.

“I think Sea Of Grace will go for the Coronation. My first reaction was go back to Ireland [for their 1000 Guineas] but I think we might wait and go for Ascot. Rivet will go for the French Derby.”

It wasn’t just Tasleet who defied on-the-day fears over the going conditions, with runner-up Magical Memory taking a monumental walk in the market as he almost tripled in price in the final hour before the race.

Magical Memory travelled with all of his customary smoothness before being outmuscled close home, leaving Haggas to admit to having a soft spot for the Charlie Hills-trained grey.

“It was good to see him travel like that and I’m sure he can’t have been appreciating the ground,” he said. “Maybe he’ll have his ground and have his day in a Group One, which would be good.”

It’s true. Yorkshiremen, even long-exiled ones, are just nicer people.