LAST Saturday, it was refreshing to hear Daniel Cooper, clerk of the course at Haydock, refer to a bias on the straight course prior to the Betfair Sprint Cup. This information is just what is required to keep, and attract, savvy sports bettors to the sport. Imagine a young, smart punter deciding to bet on horse racing and, having studied a card, places his bets accordingly only to find that there is a distinct, hitherto unknown, advantage to horses that race on one side of the track.
He or she would feel that they had been betting blind without all the relevant information and may be lost to the sport. Most sports punters would not place a bet on football without knowing the team news, and it follows that we cannot expect to attract them to the sport without providing them with accurate and relevant information. They would have had no issue at Haydock, where Daniel Cooper proved to be spot on with the first four home in the big race drawn in stalls 15,19,16 and 13.
The ground at Haydock was Good to Firm as highlighted by the Race IQ Time Index values for the meeting. The fast times indicative of truly-run races with horses prepared to let themselves down on it. The meeting average score was a very high 9 out of 10 and the individual values are below.
Race IQ Time Index values Haydock:
Zeus Olympios: 9.0
Bow Echo: 6.9
Valiancy: 8.5
The Reverend: 7.1
Big Mojo: 9.9
Special Ghaiyyath: 10.0
Democracy Dilemma: 9.0
Dukes Command: 9.8
Those that raced closest to the stands’ rail had a distinct advantage, as prefaced by Daniel Cooper. The overall time of 1m 8.49s is the second fastest ever recorded in this race, which was first run in 1966 and was a function of the fast ground and an even gallop.
Big Mojo raced in sixth place until halfway, before taking up the running and recording a fast final quarter-mile of 22.29s, which gave him an above par (100.41%) Finishing Speed Percentage of (102.43%).
Both of his final two furlongs were faster than the Race IQ par sectionals, showing that off an even gallop he was able to finish his race strongly and underlining that six furlongs is his best trip, even if he did win the Molecomb Stakes as a two-year-old over five furlongs.
Big Mojo was the first three-year-old to win this race since 2019, but this remains an open division with no horse having stamped their authority, and unlikely to do so now with minimal opportunities left this season. There are legitimate track position reasons for those in behind Big Mojo, with Inisherin and Time For Sandals doing best of those drawn in single figures, and they could be players at Ascot in the Qipco Champions Sprint, but in truth, the sprint division this season has been a lottery.
KALPANA won the September Stakes at Kempton last year on the way to victory in the fillies’ and mares’ on Champions Day at Ascot and she returned on Saturday, in what was dubbed as a tune up for the Prix de l’Arc. Her defeat by Giavellotto leaves a trip to Paris hanging in the balance, but the data is positive about her performance and Giavellotto is a much better rival than any she faced in this race last year.
Giavellotto is unbeaten in three starts on a synthetic surface and is already established as a top-class performer having won the Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Vase last season. He would be a legitimate contender for the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe, but there are obvious concerns about soft ground, and he may be bound for the Far East once again, where the fast ground is conducive to him using his sharp turn of foot.
This race produced a good Race IQ Time index of 6.5 out of 10 with the meeting average being 5.4, a steady early gallop mitigating against a better score. Satavia adopted a pace-making role for Kalpana, but did not turn the race into a strong test of stamina, the emphasis being much more on final three-furlong speed.
The first three furlongs of 13.71s, 13.61s and 12.71s were all slower than the Race IQ par sectionals and, thereafter, the next six furlongs were quicker but no better than Par. The sprint began half a mile out and Kalpana picked up well to be quicker than Giavelloto through F10 and F11 before tiring markedly in the final furlong, suggesting that she blew up and needed the run. Their final three furlongs are detailed below, showing that the final furlong was crucial to the result.
Giavellotto: Kalpana:
F10: 11.84s 11.61s
F11: 11.15s 11.14s
F12: 11.81s 12.09s
Both must be attributed with quickening smartly and both are entitled to come on for the run, with the data suggesting that Kalpana may take the biggest step forward and she remains a legitimate contender for the Arc, even if connections are now considering a repeat win in the Fillies’ and Mares’ at Ascot in October. Should she be sent to Paris, the 16/1 that is now available would look too big.
WITH the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes (Group 1) taking place at Leopardstown today, it’s worth noting just how good Delacroix was at the track earlier this season and a change of tactics may be the key to him winning today.
He won the Group 3 Ballysax in March and Group 3 Derby Trial in May at the track and, on both occasions, was ridden prominently and displayed a fine turn of foot. In defeating Lambourn in the Ballysax, he made all the running and quickened smartly recording three final furlongs that were faster than the Race IQ Par, and meant he achieved a Finishing Speed Percentage of 105.28% with Par being 102.34%.
He was even quicker next time in the Derby Trial, where he raced in second place before quickening smartly through the final three furlongs with very fast sectionals of 11.44s, 10.88s and 11.64s. This finishing effort saw him record a very high FSP of 115.32% and highlighted just how much speed he can find.
Since these two wins, nothing went right for him in the Derby before he won the Coral Eclipse from the back of the field. He also raced in the rear when finishing second to Ombudsman in the Juddmonte International, but he still showed plenty of speed. He was the fastest horse in the race through the penultimate furlong, with a very fast 11.20s furlong which took him from fifth to second place, but by then Ombudsman was away and gone.
It may be that connections opt to change tactics with Delacroix and ride him more prominently than was the case on his last two starts. A return to racing prominently and being the first to use his potent turn of foot is surely on the cards at a track where racing prominently is an advantage, and where such tactics were so successful for him earlier in the year.