WE were treated to some superb action last week over jumps and on the flat courtesy of Punchestown and Newmarket. It was a case of Willie Mullins and Charlie Appleby domination, and their higher profile winners are the subject of analysis this week.
The news broke midweek that Kieran Shoemark has lost his job as number one jockey to John and Thady Gosden and, although he will still pick up rides for them, they will adopt a policy of using ‘the best available’.
If this decision is based solely on his defeat in the 2000 Guineas on Field Of Gold, it would seem harsh, given that Shoemark was prepared to take the blame for the defeat when interviewed on ITV, suggesting he was overconfident and delayed his effort too long.
In a stoic rebuttal of his own ability, he did not suggest that the horse failed to pick up when first asked, which is something that is worth exploring. It is also worth being wary of the fact that there is often more than meets the eye when such decisions are made.
Four-furlong dash
The Betfred 2000 Guineas was a race of two halves in terms of pace. The first four furlongs were steadily run, and it then turned into a four-furlong dash.
That William Buick kicked for home on Ruling Court before Kieran Shoemark is indisputable. That kick occurred through the fifth furlong with Ruling Court recording an 11.31s split compared to Field Of Gold who clocked 11.42s.
Thereafter, when Shoemark was more animated, his horse still could not run as fast as Ruling Court, who was quicker through the sixth and seventh furlongs with splits of 11.36s and 11.19s, compared to 11.42s and 11.32s for Field Of Gold.
It was only through the final furlong where Field Of Gold was faster than Ruling Court with an 11.92s final furlong, which is rated as very fast as against the Race IQ par.
Field Of Gold saw the race out very strongly, but he could only run faster than Ruling Court through one of the final four furlongs, the relative test of speed caught him out and, even if Shoemark did delay his effort too long, Field Of Gold let him down when he did need him most.
There is no doubt that William Buick seized the initiative in this race quickening perhaps earlier than Kieran Shoemark thought he would, but Field Of Gold had time to reel him in but could not find the necessary speed when it really mattered.
Credit deserved
With so much emphasis on whether Field Of Gold should have won or not, Ruling Court has not got the credit he deserves. This was only his fourth start and that he was able to show plenty of speed in the second half of the race bodes well for when he steps up in trip.
The Derby is his likely target and, being by Justify out of a High Chaparral mare, he has a decent chance of seeing out the trip at Epsom.
Shadow Of Light who finished third is also worthy of mention. He shaped like a non-stayer at the trip, but displayed plenty of speed to get involved from the rear of the field.
He posted the fastest furlong in the race of 11.04s and was recorded as hitting the fastest speed in the race at 40.72mph. These numbers were posted through the penultimate furlong before he paid for that big effort and weakened out of contention.
It was an effort that will surely put him in the frame for the Commonwealth Cup at Ascot, a stiff six furlongs there should suit him ideally.
IF William Buick had been somewhat opportunistic on Ruling Court, here he displayed exceptional pace judgement to make all the running on the unbeaten filly Desert Flower in the Betfred 1000 Guineas.
She was smartly away, being the second fastest in the field to reach 20mph (2.41s). Thereafter, Buick carved out even fractions with every furlong being rated as par as against the RaceIQ par.
When horses are rated so evenly from the front, they are very hard to catch and that proved to be the case with Desert Flower.
The pace that was set is a thing of beauty when viewed from a sectional point of view.
1000 Guineas sectionals
F1: 14.93s (Par)
F2:11.71s (Par)
F3: 11.39s (Par)
F4: 11.48s (Par)
F5: 11.49s (Par)
F6: 11.46s (Par)
F7: 11.68s (Par)
F8: 12.67s (Par)
This perfect set of sectionals led to Desert Flower recording an FSP of 99.42% with the Race IQ Par being 99.12%. It does not get much better than that.
Simmering in third did well from the rear of the pack. She raced in ninth place and faced an impossible task in trying to chase down Desert Flower, but she finished a little faster than the winner with a final two furlongs of 24.26s compared to Desert Flower who clocked 24.34s.
That was her first try at a mile and she saw it out well, a good race should come her way this season.
THE warmest and loudest reception of last week belonged to Galopin Des Champs in the Grade 1 Punchestown Gold Cup.
In thrashing Spillane’s Tower by 22 lengths, he put up one of the best performances of the Festival and the Race IQ data is useful to reveal just where this performance sits in the context of his career.
This relentless galloping display saw him get into a better rhythm than he had at Cheltenham, probably due to him being allowed to bowl along in front, and he had all his rivals in trouble three out.
As you would expect, most of the race metrics are positive about his performance. He was the fastest horse in the race reaching a top speed of 34.67mph, he finished the race stronger than his rivals with a Finishing Speed Percentage (FSP) of 106.07% and he gained lengths on all his rivals with his jumping (+3.50 lengths).
A data dominant performance, but it was not too far removed from what he achieved in defeat at Cheltenham in the Gold Cup behind Inothewayurthinkin.
At Cheltenham, he ran faster recording a top speed of 36.19mph and his finishing effort produced a higher FSP of 108.64%.
He was unable to jump as well as his rivals at Cheltenham, losing 0.24 lengths on the field with his jumping, and this may be attributable to him not finding the same sort of rhythm as at Punchestown.
The comparable data shows that in horse racing, as in all top-class sport, fine margins make a big difference. In this case, he was able to dominate the field on slightly easier ground than he faced at Cheltenham and a certain Inothewayurthinkin was not in the field.
This data analysis should not detract from the sheer joy that this success brought to connections and those in attendance on the day. It serves to whet the appetite for a clash with the Gold Cup winner next season.
STATE Man made amends for his final flight fall in the Champion Hurdle with one of the best performances of his career to win the Grade 1 Boodles Champion Hurdle.
In the Champion Hurdle before his fall, and here, he travelled with zest and jumped better than can be the case. It’s hard not to attribute this verve to the cheekpieces that he has worn on his last two starts.
This was the second-best round of jumping of his career, recording a RaceIQ Jump Index of 8.3 compared to an 8.6 in the Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown in 2023. His career score of 7.6 is peppered with moderate rounds of jumping, but he was slick and efficient on this occasion.
He recorded the top speed in the race of 35.62mph and was well-rated in front by Paul Townend allowing him to finish the race strongly with an FSP of 104.73%.
This relatively fast finish was courtesy of him quickening through the third last furlong (13.36s) and second last furlong (13.25s) and that move secured an easy victory even if the margin he had created between himself and his rivals was reduced in the final furlong.
Hill not battle-hardened
Constitution Hill was well-beaten in fifth. The answer to his poor showing probably lies in his head rather than anywhere else. What we can ascertain is that he jumped well, recording a jump index of 8.4 showing that he was fast and efficient at his hurdles.
He gained ground on the field at the first five hurdles, but lost ground at the last three, as he weakened and was not persevered with.
His sectionals show that he was beaten after a mile and a half. As State Man increased the tempo in the last half mile, Constitution Hill slowed down through each of the final four furlongs, their overall splits being 55.86s for State Man and 60.89s for Constitution Hill.
State Man is much more battle-hardened than Constitution Hill and was able to bounce back from his fall at Cheltenham, a softer, lightly-raced career may now have backfired as far as Constitution Hill is concerned and Nicky Henderson has a job on his hands to get him back to his best.
THE Queen Mother Champion Chase 2026 is already shaping up nicely after Il Etait Temps put Jonbon in his place at Sandown. Marine Nationale is firmly in the picture after his win in the William Hill Champion Chase at Punchestown and so is the exciting Majborough after his effortless win at the same meeting.
Majborough is a tremendously talented racehorse, who bolted up by 14 lengths in the Grade 1 Barberstown Castle Novices Chase with the promise of more to come, if he can return to the fast and efficient jumping that he displayed on his first two starts over fences.
In those two starts at Fairyhouse and Leopardstown, he looked to be a natural over fences. At Fairyhouse, RaceIQ awarded him a jump index score of 9.0 out of 10 and he gained 15.21 lengths on his rivals with his jumping.
It was a similar tale next time out at Leopardstown where he was even faster and more efficient at his fences with a jump index of 9.6 and gained 8.81 lengths on the field.
Failed to repeat
At Cheltenham and Punchestown he has failed to repeat those stellar efforts. At Cheltenham, he only recorded a score of 7.8 with a bad error at the second last costing him any chance of winning and he won at Punchestown, despite a similarly inefficient round with an index of 7.9.
Nonetheless, those first two efforts are fresh in the memory, and it does him immense credit that he won so easily at Punchestown, despite his jumping.
His winning margin is exaggerated by all his rivals failing to jump better than him who gained ground on them all, despite jumping poorly himself. Tougher tasks await this supremely talented individual, with the Queen Mother Champion Chase and Ryanair Chase races that he could excel in.
The data is clear that he can put in a brilliant round of jumping and that makes him one of the most exciting prospects around for next season.