Kingman Come

By Bill Oppenheim
Two years ago Newmarket trainer John Gosden got a flying start to the 2012 flat season after a mild winter and spring in England, and he finished up as champion trainer for the season, demonstrating that an early start doesn’t mean you can’t keep going. He’s had a mild spring to work with in 2014 and he’s repeating his 2012 pattern, only more so. In a four-day stretch last week, Wednesday through Saturday, he saddled 18 runners, of which just 12 were winners – 67% of his runners. It would have been a scintillating run even if it hadn’t been crowned by the blockbuster performance of Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Kingman (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), who, as you know by now, won a very competitive renewal of the G3 Greenham S. at Newbury by 4 1/2 lengths. He ran a 123 RPR (Racing Post Rating), which would just about win most renewals of the G1 English 2000 Guineas, scheduled this year for May 3, which is also, of course, 
GI Kentucky Derby day. 
In his column yesterday, Andrew Caulfield wrote about the pedigree of Kingman, who is by Green Desert’s son Invincible Spirit out of Zenda, the 2002 
G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) winner. She was also trained by Gosden and is a half-sister to Green Desert’s best sire son, Oasis Dream. On Betfair yesterday, Kingman had shortened to an 11/8 favorite for a Guineas, which already didn’t look like a walkover. Only five horses are now quoted under 20-1 for the 2000 Guineas, and the other four besides Kingman sport pretty impressive credentials themselves. Ballydoyle fields two, of which the shorter in the betting is Australia (GB), a 525,000 gns Tattersalls Oct. 1 yearling by Galileo (Ire) out of Ouija Board. He won the G3 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Trial at Leopardstown last September, defeating Moyglare Stud’s 2/5 favorite Free Eagle (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) by six lengths. Australia has a Derby winner’s pedigree, but he’s been backed for the Guineas all winter and was as short as 2/1 before last Saturday. He’s now around 4/1 on Betfair as the money poured in for Kingman. Aidan O’Brien’s second string is War Command (War Front), winner of the G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot and the G1 Dewhurst S.. You’d think that would entitle him to trade around 4/1, but no, the Coolmore number two was 17/1 on Betfair yesterday morning. He was actually the Coolmore number three in last year’s Coventry, traditionally the most important and formful of Royal Ascot’s two-year-old races, when he roared up the fence to win at 20/1 odds under Seamie Heffernan. 
Having previously bought Group 1 winner Dick Turpin and Group 2 winner Trumpet Major, two colts by Arakan, a son of Nureyev who stands at Joe Foley’s Ballyhane Stud in Ireland, agents Peter and Ross Doyle have continued to help Arakan’s career with Toormore, a GBP36,000 Doncaster Sales purchase trained, like the other two Arakans, by Richard Hannon. Owned in partnership by Middleham Park Racing, Toormore went three-for-three last year, defeating subsequent 
GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Outstrip (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) in the G2 Vintage S. at Goodwood and following up with a convincing win over Sudirman (Henrythenavigator), who had previously upset War Command in the G1 Phoenix S. and in Ireland’s top 2-year-old race, the G1 National S. Named Europe’s champion 2-year-old colt, Toormore is due to reappear in tomorrow’s G3 Craven S. at Newmarket, which he should be short odds to win. Yesterday, Toormore was 9/1 third choice for the 2000 Guineas. 
The final horse trading at under 20/1 for the Guineas yesterday morning on Betfair is also unbeaten. This is Kingston Hill, from the first crop by the top 2013 European freshman sire, Coolmore’s Mastercraftsman. Though he is trained by the popular young Roger Varian in Newmarket, Kingston Hill was a 70,000 Tattersalls Oct. 2 yearling purchase by Charlie Gordon-Watson, and races for Paul Smith, son of Coolmore partner Derrick Smith. So there are a few Coolmore fingerprints in the Kingston Hill camp. He also went three-for-three last year, culminating in an impressive win in the 
G1 Racing Post Trophy at a mile, and is tied with War Command at 17-1 equal fourth choice as of yesterday’s prices 
Ironic but not unusual, two Group 3 winners are favored over three Group 1 winners. Among them, the five main protagonists have run 17 times for 15 wins, one second (Australia first time out), and one third (War Command, in a six-furlong Group 1 which was probably by then a little short for him). Sometimes the 
G1 English 2000 Guineas doesn’t turn out to be as good a race as it may have looked at the time, but it will be surprising if this doesn’t turn out to be a very strong renewal. It looks a really hot contest, two and a half weeks out. Toormore in the G3 Craven tomorrow is the only one of the five scheduled to run before then. 

Final Kentucky Preps… 
Meanwhile, last weekend also saw the final two preps for the GI Kentucky Derby. The GI Arkansas Derby saw a complete surprise package as the unconsidered Danza (Street Boss), making just his fourth lifetime start, got a great ride by Joe Bravo and shot clear in the stretch to win by nearly five lengths at 41-1. He ran a 102 Beyer Speed Figure and put himself among the top five Derby contenders, making two of the five for trainer Todd Pletcher. Danza is owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, who also own Capo Bastone, Street Boss’s only other Grade I winner. Interesting. 
The other Derby prep was the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland, though probably not really a Derby prep this year, in its final running on the synthetic. The handy winner there was Dance With Fate, from the first crop of Florida sireTwo Step Salsa. Two Step Salsa is a son of Petionville (Seeking the Gold), who won the G2 Godolphin Mile in Dubai in 2009, having won two Grade III races in California on synthetic tracks as a 3-year-old in 2008. Florida never fails to produce a surprise stallion and Dance With Fate’s win propels Two Step Salsa, who stands at Get Away Farm, into fourth place on the TDN YTD Second-Crop Sire List (click here), behind only Coolmore’s Thewayyouare, WinStar’sPioneerof The Nile and Taylor Made’s Old Fashioned. Darley’s Street Boss moves into third on the TDN YTD Third-Crop Sire List (click here), inches behind Spendthrift’s Into Mischief for second spot, with Lane’s End’s Curlin still well ahead in first. Hill ‘n’ Dale’s Midnight Lute in fourth and Spendthrift’s Tiz Wonderful, in fifth, are the only other two third-crop sires over $1-million in 2014 progeny earnings thus far. 
It’s been said for years the best way to ensure a stallion’s success is for him to die (like the artists) or go to Japan. It worked for Darley last year, when they sent Street Sense to Japan for the 2013 covering season and three months into the year it was obvious they were going to want to bring him back. The same goes for Hard Spun. He had his second Grade I winner in a week, after Wicked Strong’s win in the 
GI TwinSpires.com Wood Memorial, when the 5-year-old mare Hard Not To Like, from his first crop, scored in the GI Jenny Wiley S. at 1 1/16 miles on the turf at Keeneland last Saturday. Punch his ticket, he’s coming back. A couple of other notes on second-crop sires: Coolmore’s Fastnet Rock (Aus), a reverse shuttler who’s already been champion sire in Australia, had a big double at Navan (Ireland) on Saturday with 3-year-olds from his first ‘Northern’ crop. Fascinating Rock (Ire), a homebred colt of Newton Anner Stud’s, won the 10-furlong G3 Ballysax S., the first of the Derby trials in Ireland, for trainer Dermot Weld (who’s about as hot in Ireland as John Gosden is in England). The filly Palace, trained by Aidan O’Brien for the Coolmore partners, won a one-mile maiden impressively. Remember Sea The Stars (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), a true superstar racehorse? He is a second-crop sire, at the moment languishing in 27th position, 10th in Europe, on the 2014 second-crop year-to-date list. But a lot can change in a month, and I think we’re going to start seeing them appear in middle-distance Derby and Oaks preps. As we all like to say, stay tuned. 
Bill Oppenheim may be contacted at bopp@erb.com (please cc TDN management at suefinley@thoroughbreddailynews.com). Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/billoppenheim.