The Timeform team continue their list of horses to follow with David Johnson highlighting a progressive sprinter trained by Roger Teal.
Whenthedealinsdone (Roger Teal)
2021 was a landmark year for trainer Roger Teal. Not only did he double his best previous tally of winners in a season, but Oxted also provided the stable with further Group One success in the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Oxted announced himself as a sprinter potentially destined for the top when landing the Portland Handicap at Doncaster as a three-year-old and, while his stable-companion Whenthedealinsdone only managed fifth when trying to emulate that feat last year, the way he shaped that day, not to mention his overall profile, leaves no doubt that he’s a sprint handicapper to have on side in 2022.
Whenthedealinsdone was gelded before his third start of last season and it was then that he proved himself well treated, first-time cheekpieces also putting an extra edge on him for his win in a five-furlong handicap at Windsor in June.
Whenthedealinsdone also ran a fine race when sixth (second in the disadvantaged group) in a big field over a furlong further at Newmarket’s July Festival next time, but he seemed especially well suited by dropping back in distance when landing a competitive event at Goodwood later that month, keeping going well to land the spoils by a length and a half.
He wasn’t quite so good on his first try against older horses at York’s Ebor Festival afterwards, albeit beaten less than four lengths, but it didn’t take him long to bounce back as he signed off with that fifth in the Portland. That run was even better than the bare result – he entered the final furlong upsides, looking no worse than third best – and perhaps the extended distance of the Portland found him out late on.
The next-time wins of the first two, Hurricane Ivor and Boundless Power, underline the strength of that form, anyway, and there’s no doubt that Whenthedealinsdone embarks on his four-year-old campaign well treated from the same mark as for that effort.
What’s more, he’s lightly raced enough to think there’ll be more progress to come, and it’ll be a surprise if he doesn’t win a few more handicaps in 2022, maybe even on his way to something better.
(David Johnson - Flat Editor)
