IT was a weekend when the Group 1 action was all abroad, with Space Blues supreme in France and Lucky Vega showing he’s a smart juvenile in Ireland.
But who or what makes it into my latest Good Bad Ugly column? Let’s find out…
GOOD
Two jockeys at slightly different stages of their career dominate this part of the column.
First of all let’s throw in Hollie Doyle, who has ridden two absolute peaches for her new boss Imad al Sagar at Lingfield and Haydock.
At Lingfield she produced a fantastic late rattle from the slow away Faisal to land a maiden in eye-catching style. That son of Golden Horn might turn out to be a Black Type performer, but it was still cool to watch.
Then, Doyle went from the front on Extra Elusive in the Rose of Lancaster Stakes at Haydock with another slice of genius.
Some have said Doyle is Champion Jockey material and in time she might be. Not yet though. Being champion is not just about ability, it’s about opportunities as well.
For certain, though, Doyle is an outstanding prospect getting better all the time. If she was champion she might go down as the smallest champion jockey in British racing history. That’s nothing ‘sizeist’, but illustrates her strength and skill.
Just imagine if there were super low weights out there like twenty years ago. She would be on many handicap snips at the bottom of the weights.
Richard Kingscote gets a mention for his perfect display on the talented Regal Reality in the Sovereign Stakes live on ITV from Salisbury on Sunday. His positioning to get off the rail a few furlongs out was outstanding and Sir Michael Stoute should use him more often.
BAD
Hopes that the three-year-old sprinters could be exceptional are in tatters currently after the defeats at the weekend of Golden Horde and Earthlight, who have had the chance to blow open the 6f division but have failed to do so.
Both are classy performers and Golden Horde is a credit to Clive Cox, but they are not champions which is a shame.
In the 5f division Battaash stands out, although it will be interesting to see what the juveniles do against him in the Nunthorpe.
Over 6f, however, you would struggle to mention one animal above another.
It just makes you think Mohaather would destroy the lot of them if he was not proven now over a mile. Food for thought, though, should the ground come up soft on Champions Day.
UGLY
So we are led to believe Prince Khalid Abdullah woke up this week and thought “Wow, I must send Enable to the September Stakes at Kempton”. Yeah right!
What we know is connections of Enable are gunning all out for the Arc, and nothing else matters.
There is, of course, nothing wrong with that, and all racing fans would love her to go and make history in France. Me included.
However, the fact Enable is swerving York just tells us all how scared Enable’s team are of an ugly dust up with Love in the Yorkshire Oaks and how they are not even sure she would defeat the colts in the Juddmonte International.
What’s amazing, here, is that people get so worked up about defeat or having a proper race before another main target.
Whatever happened to her at York, Enable would still have a chance in the Arc. Just as much chance as her parading around Kempton.
