After a morning meeting on Thursday I hurried down to Goodwood to catch Morana’s run in the first. I arrived in the ring at the same time as Alan Munro - Mick was there with a couple of friends but Pete hadn’t made it.
Alan was very positive about Morana - he said he hadn’t been sure how good he was, but he had worked a couple of times since Sandown and he had really stepped up a gear. He said he was a group horse now - music to my ears, as Alan is not generally bullish.
He was very short in the betting. The second favourite looked exposed at first glance but there were reasons to think otherwise - I wasn’t confident. Morana didn’t settle at all well - Alan tried to make all but he didn’t set a strong enoiugh pace and we were easily picked off in the final furlong.
I wasn’t worried about losing the race, and I was encouraged by the way he finished - he was full of running as he went past the post and barely blew afterwards. He looks like a proper athlete - temperament is a concern but I still have high hopes.
I have two runners today, running ten minutes apart at 5:30 and 5:40. Tikka Masala is possibly interesting at Epsom - Tom reports that she has made excellent physical progress since her last run. Her biggest problem is temperament, but sometimes these tricky horses perform well after a break. Lilac Moon is fitter than most of those running from Manor House having had three runs at Wolver. She will benefit from the run, but shouldn’t be too far away.
Angel’s Pursuit, one of my horses for the season, goes at Redcar. He’s hardly an original choice, but even at the short odds I like him - he’s a great physical specimen and he is improving.
In the Arc tomorrow I want Sea the Stars to win but I can’t have him at the price. It is extremely difficult to keep a horse at peak of physical condition for an entire season, and for many top horses the Arc has been a bridge too far. Sea the Stars is a special animal, but he has been on the go since winning the Guineas - it’s a big ask.
2 Responses to “Big Ask”
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Hi Bert
I too want to see Sea to the Stars win, just so he can emulate his great mothers feat. Urban Sea was a superb athlete and her offspring have been extraordinary.
It will be interesting to see how the Tattersalls Book 1 sales turns out next week, it might be a good test of the current economic climate. I have a filly that is going through the ring on Tuesday, so we will see!
I was privileged enough to be there when he rewrote the history books. My impression for the first couple of furlongs was that all was going wrong for him and that Bert’s fears would prove well-founded. However, that was all forgotten in the hundred yards or so in the straight that it took him to go from a struggling mid-division to decisively put the race to bed. It was a scintillating victory and magical to witness the reception he got.
Strictly on the form book it would be hard to rate him much above Dancing Brave, but he has accomplished what no other horse has achieved and deserves his accolades. Perhaps it is because he never stretched out to win by many lengths that he kept going throughout the season at the top level.
Personally I hope he takes in the Breeders Cup Classic as that would provde a new and different level of attainment should he win it and he would lose nothing in defeat. However, you could hardly blame connections if they decided that it was one race too far.