Irish Champion Victory For Resurgent ‘Horn’

BACK IN CONTROL
After the rain had seen off the threat of Gleneagles (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in Saturday’s G1 QIPCO Irish Champion S. at Leopardstown, Anthony Oppenheimer’s Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) still had to overcome six other classy opponents but was able to do so with a degree of comfort despite a late spook as he restored his reputation. Upset by Arabian Queen (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in York’s much-analysed G1 Juddmonte International last time Aug. 19, the 5-4 chalk was taken to the front after a half furlong with Frankie Dettori keen to avoid another tactical nightmare. Tackled by Free Eagle (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) from the turn in, the dark bay had begun to master that rival when he darted right with something having caught his eye passing the furlong pole and gave the 10-3 second favorite a bump. Straightened for the run to the line, he hit it with a length to spare over Ballydoyle’s filly Found (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) with Free Eagle a half length away in third having potentially been robbed of the silver medal by the interference. He had to survive the inevitable inquiry, but there was to be no St Leger-style shock and the G1 Epsom Derby and G1 Eclipse hero was allowed to keep the race by the officials. “We got our tactics wrong at York and we laid far too far back there, so I left it to the jockey today and Frankie’s gone to the other extreme,” John Gosden said. “The shadow of the grandstand caught him out and he ran around it. Having messed up one race, we nearly messed up another with a shadow. I was wondering why he did it at the time, as he’s never done anything like that in his life but he’s an intelligent horse and I can see why now. He’s a top-class horse and this is a fabulous race.”

Saturday, Leopardstown, Ireland
QIPCO IRISH CHAMPION S.-G1, €1,100,000, LEO, 9-12, 3yo/up, 10fT, 2:05.41, yl.
1–GOLDEN HORN (GB), 126, c, 3, by Cape Cross (Ire)
1st Dam: Fleche d’Or (GB), by Dubai Destination
2nd Dam: Nuryana (GB), by Nureyev
3rd Dam: Loralane (GB), by Habitat
(190,000gns RNA Ylg ‘13 TAOCT). O-A E Oppenheimer; B-Hascombe & Valiant Studs (GB); T-John Gosden; J-Frankie Dettori. €638,000. Lifetime Record: MG1SW-Eng, 7-6-1-0, $2,854,614. *1/2 to Eastern Belle (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}), SW-Eng & MGSP-US, $229,831. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Found (Ire), 123, f, 3, Galileo (Ire)–Red Evie (Ire), by Intikhab. O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Susan Magnier; B-Roncon, Wynatt & Chelston (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien. €220,000.
3–Free Eagle (Ire), 133, c, 4, High Chaparral (Ire)–Polished Gem (Ire), by Danehill. O/B-Moyglare Stud Farm Ltd (IRE); T-Dermot Weld. €110,000.
Margins: 1, HF, 2. Odds: 1.25, 6.00, 3.30.
Also Ran: Pleascach (Ire), Highland Reel (Ire), The Grey Gatsby (Ire), Cirrus des Aigles (Fr). Scratched: Gleneagles (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result, the brisnet.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

Prior to the Eclipse, riding tactics did not seem an issue as Golden Horn had looked so straightforward and well suited to waiting off the pace before unleashing a powerful surge that saw to it that he was the latest to complete the Dante-Derby double. As connections pondered the quandary of the likely speed scenario in the days before the July 4 Sandown feature, they opted to send him to the lead and while that decision was justified with a game win from The Grey Gatsby (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) it may also have indirectly caused a surprise reversal on his next outing. Raring to go and too lit up under restraint at York, with the fact that he had been trained in the interim for a renewal of the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. that he was forced to sit out not helping matters, he had already burnt a lot of oil by the time he became engaged in a tussle with Jeff Smith’s filly. With Dettori keen to revert to the Eclipse strategy and fire Golden Horn into the lead after his slightly tardy break, the die was cast from the outset but what could have been a misjudgment was quickly rewarded as the Derby hero settled ideally in front. With Highland Reel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) close up but providing no real pace pressure, he was able to enjoy himself until Free Eagle put his marker down at the top of the straight. For a few strides, it appeared that the Weld trainee might go past but Golden Horn kept digging in against the rail and was a half length up when he veered away from the stand’s shadow and into his rival. After that, he was more concentrated on what had spooked him than the race itself and so crossed the line with probably plenty left in the tank. “What a great race it was today, with seven Group One winners in the line-up and he did it the hard way and showed the world again that he’s a top-class horse,” Dettori said. “He saw something by the winning post–I don’t know what it was–but he still won very well. I think maybe we made a mistake at York using a pacemaker, as he just wants a good tempo. Perhaps it was my fault giving David Elsworth’s filly too much rope there, but he’s redeemed himself today.” John Gosden is eyeing the Oct. 4 G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for the enterprisingly campaigned colt now. “This is a perfect race three weeks into the Arc and we’d love to go there, as he’s proven that he stays well again today,” he said. “We don’t want a monsoon in Paris and he’s best on good, good-to-firm ground as he’s got an electric turn of foot. Today he galloped them into the ground, but he’s much better off a strong pace, bursting with speed. He’s handled slow ground today and we had no choice other than to set our own pace, but I prefer to see him ridden off horses and sitting with a target.” Anthony Oppenheimer, who revealed that his prized possession would have run unless the ground had been “really bad”, added, “I’m very proud and other than jumping that shadow it was faultless. I think on better ground he’d be much better and I’m confident if we ever see good ground again, maybe in the [Oct. 17] G1 Champion S. at Ascot which I’m keen on or the Arc or somewhere, he really will show you what he’s like. At home, he’s like an express train. I’m a breeder and I’d like to see his children, so that’s why I’m not going to race him as a 4-year-old.” Aidan O’Brien was delighted with the effort of Found, who proved an able deputy for the absent Gleneagles and said, “I’m delighted with the run–she ran a great race. She’ll appreciate going up to a mile and a half. The plan was to come either here or the Vermeille and then the Arc, but we didn’t want to travel with her if we didn’t have to.” Free Eagle’s jockey Pat Smullen was taking defeat on the chin despite the knock his mount received at a crucial stage. “I was in a beautiful position and had the run of the race until the furlong pole and it was unfortunate what happened there,” he said. “I was getting down to have a good scrap with Frankie and when his horse ducked he took my momentum and brought him to a standstill which you can’t recover from at this level. It would have been nice to have had a clean shot at him, but the other side of that is the horse in front was doing nothing. He’s run an excellent race and I couldn’t be more pleased with him, so we live to fight another day. I think he’ll improve off that again.”