Trueshan's Northumberland Plate quest and the highest-rated handicappers this century
Trueshan could bid to win the Northumberland Plate off a rating of 118 at Newcastle on Saturday. Ben Linfoot takes a look at the horses that have attempted to win handicaps off big ratings this century.
What is on Trueshan's Plate at Newcastle?
The deluge of rain came a day too late for Alan King and Trueshan at Royal Ascot last week, but the Gold Cup’s loss could be the William Hill Northumberland Plate’s gain at Newcastle on Saturday.
Trueshan has another option this weekend – in the Listed Fred Archer Stakes over 1m4f at Newmarket – but it’s the prospect of him trying to defy an official rating of 118 in handicap company that has Flat racing fans on red alert.
This sort of thing just doesn’t happen too often (Rohaan’s Wokingham win on Saturday off a rating of 112 was a bolt from the blue itself) and while Bertolini and Russian Revival won handicaps off ratings of 113 and 114 respectively in 1999, not too many elite-level horses have had a go in handicap company since the turn of the century.
Since the year 2000 there have been only 13 attempts by horses rated 114 or higher in handicaps in Great Britain and Ireland, with the top 10 listed in the graphic below.
We all know the cause for this lack of adventure – more pattern races = more opportunities = less need to give weight away in the handicap sphere – but on the other hand at least the less is more brigade, out in force this week as the prospect of a five-day Cheltenham Festival reared its head again, are in clover.
If Trueshan does go for the Northumberland Plate option on Saturday, he will be bidding to become the highest-rated horse to win a handicap on the Flat in the UK and Ireland, while he will also be the top-rated horse ever to have run on a Tapeta surface in this country, as well.
Worth The Weight: OCEAN TEMPEST
(1st, Class 2 handicap, 7f127yds, Chester, August 30 2014)
The current record holder, OCEAN TEMPEST is the one horse in the list that defied his welter burden and John Ryan helped his popular grey achieve the feat by utilising 5lb claimer Joe Doyle on the Roodee.
An ideal low berth in stall three looked a good thing, too, but that advantage quickly evaporated when Ocean Tempest was squeezed for room and shuffled back to the rear at the start.
Doyle stuck to the rail, gritted his teeth and hoped for the best, so when things opened up for him at the cutaway on the turn for home he was rewarded for chancing the brave man’s route.
Down to the horse now, Ocean Tempest wasted no time in displaying his class, bursting through the gap between Alejandro and Mezzotint to win by a fairly cosy half length in the end.
Aged five at the time, it was a remarkable effort off a rating of 115, and he went up to a career-high 117 on the back of it. He wouldn’t win again, though, despite having 20 more runs – this was the last of his 10 career victories.
The Close Calls: CASPIAN PRINCE & MAAREK
Caspian Prince (2nd, Rockingham Handicap, 5f, Curragh, June 30 2018)
Maarek (3rd, Ayr Gold Cup, 6f, Ayr, September 22 2012)
You would think sprinters have a better chance of winning off monster ratings in handicaps given they are running over shorter distances and a couple have gone close in the last decade.
Unsurprisingly CASPIAN PRINCE enters a conversation about remarkable handicapping feats, as you would expect of a horse that is bred for a mile and a half yet has won the Epsom Dash three times off ratings of 97, 104 and 107.
However, arguably the best performance of his entire remarkable career came when he was edged out a short head by Battle Of Jericho in the Rockingham Handicap at the Curragh in 2018 off an official rating of 114.
Again, trainer Mick Appleby took some weight off his back by using a claimer, in this case Andrew Breslin and his 7lb, and the pair were up there all the way before being cruelly denied in a photo by an Aidan O’Brien-trained three-year-old - who was getting 15lb from the runner-up.
While that was an UK-trained runner doing well in Ireland, MAAREK was the vice versa and when the ground came right for him in the 2012 Ayr Gold Cup punters sent him off the 8/1 favourite despite his official rating of 114.
A theme is developing here – and it looks like Alan King is taking note in the Plate – as trainer David Nagle took 5lb off his back by booking claimer Mark Enright, but it wasn’t quite enough as the pair finished third behind impressive winner Captain Ramius and former Sprint Cup hero Regal Parade.
Talking of top handicap sprinters, Stewards’ Cup heroes Hoof It and Gifted Master are worth a mention with both winning the Goodwood highlight off ratings of 111 in the last 10 years.
Staying Power: RAINBOW HIGH & FIELDS OF ATHENRY
Rainbow High (1st, Chester Cup, 2m2f140yrds, Chester, May 9 2001)
Fields Of Athenry (5th, Ebor Handicap, 1m6f, York, August 22 2015)
There is a precedent this century for winning one of the staying heritage handicaps off a big rating and RAINBOW HIGH sets it following his Chester Cup win in 2001.
By Rainbow Quest out of a Dancing Brave mare, the Juddmonte-bred was a late bloomer for Barry Hills but found his forte when stepped up in trip to two miles and his Chester Cup win off 103 in 1999 was his first major success.
His career high, however, came in the same race two years later when he returned to the Roodee to win off a rating of 113.
Always travelling well under Richard Hughes, he was driven out in the finish to prevail by three quarters of a length from High And Mighty – who was in receipt of a staggering 31lb.
More recently FIELDS OF ATHENRY ran off Trueshan’s Saturday rating of 118 in the 2015 renewal of the Sky Bet Ebor at York, back when three-year-olds were still allowed into the race.
He had to be rated so highly just to get in the contest and Aidan O’Brien used son Donnacha and his 5lb claim to try to alleviate the burden, while he also had the 12lb weight-for-age allowance.
Drawn widest of all in stall 22, Fields Of Athenry ran a stormer, coming from last to first to lead with half a mile to go, only for him to tire into fifth late on.
He went onto have an unremarkable career in Denmark, but not before finishing a good third to Simple Verse in the St Leger on his final UK & Ireland start.
THE VERDICT
Let’s hope Alan King gives this project the green light as we could well see one of the great weight-carrying performances if TRUESHAN is unleashed in the Northumberland Plate.
Hollie Doyle hinted in a Sky Sports Racing interview with Simon Mapletoft on Monday night that connections are planning on claiming off him and history tells us that’s not a bad idea given the exploits of the aforementioned Ocean Tempest and Caspian Prince in the above list.
It will be interesting to see who they plump for with Thore Hammer Hansen having had six rides for King this year – including Couer De Lion at Royal Ascot last week – while the in-form Marco Ghiani has ridden for the stable once this season and he’s two from three at Newcastle in 2021.
Whoever gets the nod they will have a great chance of winning aboard Trueshan who could well make his class tell on a surface he should, in theory, like.
He has only run on the all-weather once before, when winning on Wolverhampton’s Tapeta surface on just his second start, while there is plenty of evidence to suggest sons and daughter’s of his sire love this terrain.
Planteur progeny are six from 21 at 28.57% on the Wolverhampton Tapeta, while they are three from 10 at 30% at Newcastle thanks to Plansina (two wins, both at 22/1) and Well Planted.
That bodes well for Trueshan, who went some way to proving he can give weight away to good horses when second under a penalty in the Ormonde Stakes on his reappearance at Chester.
Apart from his obvious class, he’s also uncomplicated, travels well and stays, so we could well witness a history-making performance at Gosforth Park on Saturday.
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