Weekly Wrap: July 4 Edition

Just like old times? Well, not quite. But it was undeniably evocative to see horses representing these two old adversaries square up for G1 honours at Sandown on Saturday, while the outcome did permit the Godolphin team to hope that they might at least have begun a journey back to the future.

Television footage of their celebrations, as Hawkbill (Kitten's Joy) held on by a half-length from a Ballydoyle favourite in the G1 Coral Eclipse S, provided a vivid sense of the catharsis uniting the men charged with restoring the damaged Godolphin brand.

Of course, those observers who have been proclaiming a broader revival in Godolphin fortunes over recent months are not comparing like with like. The original precepts of Godolphin–as an elite corps of the Maktoums' vast cavalries, vaunting the benefits of the desert winter–have been so thoroughly abandoned that it is impossible now to pretend that the “stable” retains any coherent connection with the days when Fantastic Light (Rahy) slugged it out with Galileo (Ire) (Sadler's Wells). Its horses are now liable to be found in so many other yards that it beggars belief to hear pundits routinely refer to the amorphous expansion of Godolphin as an exercise in “streamlining.”

Be that as it may, the success of Hawkbill has unmistakably strengthened the one surviving thread of continuity, however frayed, through Godolphin's two private yards in Newmarket. For his trainer, Charlie Appleby, stands as a symbol of both regeneration and retrenchment. This success, much his most resonant since his promotion to replace the disgraced Mahmood Al Zarooni, not only helped to exorcise a spectre. It also offered Sheikh Mohammed a sense of vindication in having persevered with an in-house core, of horses and horsemen, on the principles traduced by the steroids scandal of 2013.

Yes, the fact that Godolphin horses are nowadays also spread among proven masters–men such as John Gosden or Jim Bolger or Andre Fabre–might seem to acknowledge the recklessness of entrusting its reputation to trainers without “runs on the board”. But these horses might previously have carried the silks of Princess Haya, or indeed the maroon and white of Sheikh Mohammed himself. As an entirely bespoke Godolphin project, Hawkbill's dramatic progress allows their boss to celebrate his fidelity to those principles (not least the encouragement of youth) betrayed by Al Zarooni, but now renewed by Appleby.

Both were internal appointments and both, on the face of it, seemed stubbornly to reject the obvious conclusion, as Godolphin's results deteriorated, that the quality of the raw materials was not being matched by the quality of their supervision.

It was said that Appleby was a young man in rather too much of a hurry, when he farmed so many all-weather races with bluebloods early on. But he must be credited with great circumspection not only with Hawkbill, who has evidently needed time to simmer down mentally, but also with Endless Time (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who returned from a long absence to win a Group 2 race at Haydock just 90 minutes before the Eclipse. A big filly by a sire whose stock improve with time, she has been nursed through the ranks since winning off just 76 at Salisbury last May. It seems as though the Sheikh can now make a cheerful contrast between a single bad apple, and the ripening of a highly polished Appleby.

Erupt a Smouldering Talent…

Even commercial geneticists accept that environmental factors–nutrition, training, going and so on–account for at least half of Thoroughbred performance. As such, it is fascinating to wonder how many racehorses might perform better or worse, if plying their trade either side of the Channel. Jockeys in France and Britain draw upon their mounts' reserves in such uniformly contrasting ways that there are surely sleeping giants stabled in both Chantilly and Newmarket, yearning for a radically different type of test.

On paper, the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud on Sunday looked much the deepest race of the week. Yet even a perfectly respectable pace, by French standards, could not jolt the runners out of habits they have acquired in sprint finishes. There was a nearly mechanical air to the way a horse ridden handily made a decisive move as his rivals bunched into a crowd scene on his heels.

In the circumstances, then, there was much to admire about the way Erupt (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) came through so strongly to chase home Silverwave (Fr) (Silver Frost {Ire}). This colt had the winner back in fourth when taking the G1 Grand Prix de Paris this time last year, and showed that he handles a very different pace and ground scenario when running very well in the G1 Japan Cup. If the ground ever happens to dry out, in this most deplorable of English summers, he could even emerge as an intriguing proposition for the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. itself.

Brando Could be a Contender…

One apparent deficiency in the training and racing environment in Britain is said to be the honing of sprinters. A heartening feature of the season there, then, has been the simultaneous emergence of several classy new forces in this sphere.

Brando (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) is another 4-year-old really finding his feet, judging from a remarkable race for the G3 Coral Charge on the Eclipse card. Having gone clear with startling ease, in the end he only scrambled home from one that broke out of the pack, the pair five lengths clear. Having discovered his forte, at the minimum trip, Kevin Ryan will presumably ask his rider to hold onto Brando rather longer next time.

The astonishing thing about Brando's graduation to pattern company is that both the two who finished clear in the Wokingham H.–over a stiff six at Ascot last month–now seem certain to prove ideally suited by a sharper test. They don't come much sharper than the downhill five at Goodwood, over which both Brando and the narrow Ascot winner Outback Traveller (Ire) (Bushranger {Ire}) hold a Group 2 entry at the end of the month. But both also have a handicap option, over six, with equivalent prizemoney.

That anomaly is far less flagrant at Goodwood than elsewhere, thanks to lavish Qatari sponsorship of the meeting. But the fact remains that Brando, having stepped up in class, was able to win £37,000 on Saturday–compared with the £109,000 won by Outback Traveller in the handicap at Ascot.

A Filly of Authentic Promise…

Those of us who have expressed outrage over the neglect of the great John Oxx–knowing full well that he will hardly draw attention to it himself–have been relieved to see him finally mustering a couple of winners over recent weeks. But the trainer whose imprint appears top and bottom in the Derby winner's pedigree must have known he was up against it when he saddled a filly for a maiden at Tipperary on Thursday. His was the only runner in a field of five not trained either by Aidan O'Brien or his son, Joseph, two of whose siblings were also riding in the race.

Time may tell that Oxx's filly did well to manage third place behind two daughters of Coolmore's champion stallion, as Promise To Be True (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) looked a very useful prospect in the way she woke up to her vocation on her debut. Running green in the rear as they turned in, the sister to Group 1 winner Maybe (Ire) received a single slap as Seamie Heffernan sought her attention and remained gawky even then. But you could suddenly see her cotton on and she showed a really taking freedom in her action as she picked up, switched leads and hurtled past her rivals to win going away. It nearly looked like a public gallop on the racecard, that's the way she won it out on the track as well. You can't get carried away, of course, after one start. By the same token, however, she could hardly be better named.