The Tag Team

THE TAG TEAM 
Yesterday’s G1 Investec Oaks, which was run in memory of Sir Henry Cecil, proved a watershed moment in the careers of John Gosden, Paul Hanagan and also Sea the Stars (Ire), as Shadwell’s Taghrooda (GB) dominated proceedings to lead home a one-two for the Stud and provide her trainer with a first renewal and her jockey and sire with a first Classic of any kind. All the rage in the ante-post market following her emphatic six-length success in Newmarket’s Listed Pretty Polly S., the homebred was eventually let go at a generous 5-1 with the operation’s other contender Tarfasha (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) more favored at 9-2. Always traveling with zest behind the leading quartet, the bay tanked down to Tattenham Corner and, after being allowed to stride to the front approaching the quarter pole, opened up to comprehensively to best that rival by 3 3/4 lengths. “It feels great–I’m delighted for the team and it’s what I’ve worked hard for,” commented her rider, who was employed by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 2012 before reflecting on the recent loss of one of the sport’s most popular men. “We had really bad news recently with the death of John Hills, who was a big part of the team, and I’d just like to say this one is for him. I’d only ridden one group winner before I got the job, so that’s why I keep saying it’s nice to give something back–they took a chance on me. It was difficult at first moving the family away from Yorkshire, where we were very settled, and I would have struggled if everyone around me hadn’t been so helpful.” John Hills’ brother Richard Hills has played a key part in Taghrooda’s progress and was understandably emotional afterwards. “He wished me luck last week,” the Shadwell stalwart said of his late sibling. “He was there with us. This is a big lift for the Hills family and is what we get up at five in the morning for. The filly had been working so well and had done everything right.” 

Friday, Epsom, Britain 
INVESTEC OAKS (IN MEMORY OF SIR HENRY CECIL)-G1, £525,000, EPM, 6-6, 3yo, f, 12f 10yT, 2:34.89, gd. 
1–@sTAGHROODA (GB), 126, f, 3, by Sea the Stars (Ire) 
     1st Dam: Ezima (Ire) (MSW-Ire & GSP-Eng, $278,008), by Sadler’s Wells 
     2nd Dam: Ezilla (Ire), by Darshaan (GB) 
     3rd Dam: Ezana (Ire), by Ela-Mana-Mou (Ire) 
O-Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum. 
B-Shadwell Estate Company Ltd (GB). T-John 
Gosden. J-Paul Hanagan. £297,727. Lifetime Record: 
3-3-0-0, £324,940. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for 
the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree 
2–Tarfasha (Ire), 126, f, 3, Teofilo (Ire)–Grecian Bride 
(Ire), by Groom Dancer. (€200,000 wlng ‘12 
GOFNOV). O-Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum. 
B-Rockfield Farm (IRE). T-Dermot Weld. £112,875. 
3–Volume (GB), 126, f, 3, Mount Nelson (GB)–Victoire 
Finale (GB), by Peintre Celebre. O/B-Stuart Stuckey 
(GB). T-Luca Cumani. J-Richard Hughes. £56,490. 
Margins: 3 3/4, NO, NK. Odds: 5.00, 4.50, 9.00. 
Also Ran: Inchila (GB), Ihtimal (Ire), Marvellous (Ire), Palace (Ire), Momentus (Ire), Lily Rules (Ire), Madame Chiang (GB), Island Remede (GB), Regardez (GB), Marsh Daisy (GB), Dazzling (Ire), Anipa (GB), Honor Bound (GB), Amazing Maria (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result, the brisnet.com PPs or the free brisnet.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, courtesy Racing UK. 
This renewal, which paid homage to the unequaled brilliance of Sir Henry Cecil, whose “green fingers with horses” had seen him cultivate eight winners down the years, was primed for a special performance with several in the line-up seemingly capable of it. Taghrooda arrived on the Downs with connections eschewing the kind of quiet confidence that the much-missed maestro of Warren Place was famed for after being fast-tracked via two educative winning outings on Newmarket’s Rowley Mile. The first, at 20-1 in September, ironically came at the expense of the daughter of a past Oaks winner in Casual Look (Red Ransom), but the vanquished on that occasion, Casual Smile (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), is still a maiden, and those that followed her home in the Pretty Polly have since let down the form. Despite the hollow look to that aspect of her profile, the style and manner of her latest performance and her physical and mental progress and prowess suggested that this contest could serve as a catalyst for her to fully explode. Breaking well and placed towards the fore by Paul Hanagan on the dash to the first turn, she was able to take a perfect lead from four fillies as Richard Hughes took Volume (GB) (Mount Nelson {GB}) to the head of affairs with the field switched across to the left running rail. Set alight as Jimmy Fortune looked for a way out on Marsh Daisy (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) to her inner at the top of Tattenham Hill, she was keen dropping down the descent as a result, much as her sire had in the Derby five years ago. Visually traveling much the best in early stretch with a harder-working Tarfasha on her rail, the bay strode to Volume with a head of steam and, after being cut loose with just over a quarter mile to race, soon extended her advantage. If there was a hard-luck story in behind, it was Inchila (GB) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}), who was denied a clear run and would probably have been a clear second had Jamie Spencer not been stopped at a crucial point. “Two years ago we should have won with the best filly [The Fugue], but she got almost knocked over so it was one owing to the stable–to that extent it was a great relief,” John Gosden said. “He rode her quite beautifully and was always in a great position as Richard Hughes was in front playing with the pace a bit. He was able to go and assert and show her class and stamina. It’s great to win any Classic and it’s wonderful for the owner to win with a homebred, beating the one he bought. That’s the right way round. She’s in the G1 Irish Oaks [at The Curragh July 19], that’s the logical place to go. It’s a good, honest galloping track, we’ll go there and then after that, take a look.” Sheikh Hamdan said of the landmark occasion, “As an owner, the Oaks and the Guineas are the top races to win. She was the most beautiful yearling and last year I kept asking John when she was going to see the racecourse. He said wait and when she won, she only won by a head, which to me is not enough, but this year she is more mature. I was always satisfied with Paul [Hanagan] from the beginning and he rode her very well today, getting her cover when she pulled early on.” Angus Gold, racing manager and bloodstock advisor to Sheikh Hamdan, added, “It doesn’t get any better. We bought Taghrooda’s dam, Ezima, as a filly out of training at the December Sales, while Stephen Collins [general manager at Derrinstown Stud] bought Tarfasha as a foal so full credit to him. I don’t want to sound clever after the race, but Tagroohda is classy and it hasn’t surprised me. I wasn’t as worried about soft ground as everyone else, because Paul had ridden her on soft and said she handled it. If the two fillies come out of it in good order, there is no reason why they can’t both run in the [G1] Irish Oaks.” 

Not Running Scared… 
Despite the probability that the winner will bid for a Classic double at The Curragh, the next three home are all set to re-oppose. Dermot Weld’s son Mark said of the runner-up Tarfasha, “We’re absolutely thrilled and the winner is obviously exceptional. We’re very happy with Tarfasha and we have a lot to look forward to with her. I think this could turn out to be a vintage renewal of the Investec Oaks. We must thank Sheikh Hamdan for allowing us to run here, because she is from a family that has done well at Epsom and she has added to the record. She could possibly go to the Irish Oaks, over the road from us, but we’ll see what Sheikh Hamdan wants to do.” Luca Cumani said of Volume, “It was a very good run and it’s very satisfying to know she belongs to this company. The winner was very impressive and we were coming back again at the finish. We’ll go to the Irish Oaks now. The Curragh will suit her as she’s a big long-striding filly.” Peter Chapple-Hyam was not too downhearted by the ill fortune suffered by Inchila and commented, “She maybe should have been second. She fell out of the stalls and it wasn’t the plan to sit out the back. She loves fast ground and is a decent filly. I suppose she could go to the Curragh.” Sunday’s G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Marvellous (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who was sent off the 4-1 favorite after prevailing in a tussle with the Shadwell pair in the betting beforehand, never looked like matching that feat on the track and ended up sixth. Joseph O’Brien said of her, “I was flat out at the top of the hill. With six or seven to go I was struggling. She’d had a hard enough race in the Irish Guineas, on testing enough ground at the Curragh. We’ll freshen her up now.”