Mission accomplished
From the moment he first stepped on a racecourse Noble Mission was always going to be a nearly horse. It was going to be Mission Impossible to come anywhere close to matching the feats of his older brother. His win was well deserved and highlighted the day. There’s nothing wrong with having conditions to suit the horses who like a softer surface, once they are proven Group 1 contenders.
Each running of the Champion Stakes so far has provided top class horses, thrilling finishes and races that stood alone in the contest of the season.
Conditions should be fair to all
It may have seemed a good idea to save strips of ground up both rails in the Ascot straight but it could have led to unsatisfactory races.
On the far side, on the round course, the fields in the closing stages were more likely to be thinned out and five horse widths was probably adequate to give better ground for those involved in the finish.
But up the stands side, it was a different matter for those races on the straight course. A strip five wide appeared to give those on the rails an advantage in the sprint. In the mile it was obvious that all 11 runners wanted to stay on the fresher strip which was not possible. Even those challenging widest, Tulius and Captain Cat didn’t want to move out into track. This contributed to the troubled passage through of the favourite Night of Thunder. If it’s soft ground, it should be soft for all.
Gordon the great
Gordon Lord Byron deserves special mention for turning up at all three big autumn weekends, at Leopardstown, Longchamp and Ascot, on good to firm, good and heavy ground and giving of his best every time.
Al Kazeem also lined up in the three Group 1s over the Irish, French and British big meetings.
Doyle’s days of glory
Perhaps he got the 2000 Guineas wrong but it’s been a great season for James Doyle in the Khalid Abdullah colours. Perfectly playing the waiting game on Kingman at Royal Ascot, even better when playing Richard Hughes at his own game in the Sussex and judging it perfectly from the front here with a strong ride on Noble Mission. Accepting his fairly stiff punishment for whip use was also to his credit.
Disqualifying the winner has consequences
When is a winner not a winner - if he is subsequently disqualified for a jockeys’ whip offence. Every race, like every sporting event has three parts, the build-up, the race itself, and culminating in the moment of triumph and celebrations. The authorities should thread carefully if they attempted to eliminate that third important element by disqualifying the winner for a whip offence.
Make no mistake, there will be borderline cases in big races. What do we do about all the winning celebration photos, all the post-race interviews, if the winner is disqualified 15 minutes later?
Maybe jockeys would adapt quickly and never break the rules but maybe not. There could be a lot of blank spaces for the celebratory photos.
European rules conflict
Pat Smullen got a three-day ban for his ride on Forgotten Rules but kept the race despite serious interference. James Doyle got seven days and a £10,000 fine for the ride on Noble Mission. If the two races had been in France, Forgotten Rules would have been disqualified and Doyle would not have been fined so much. There should be a more common ground between the jurisdictions.
Who got the Lucky charm?
In a Racing UK interview before racing, Claude Charlet acclaimed Charm Spirit was just a “lucky” horse in that he had benefitted from getting the gaps in winning his two Group 1s in France. Now he has added another one and there’s no luck in having three Group 1s on your CV.
The lucky horse of the season is Night Of Thunder. Those behind him in the Guineas have subsequently notched up an incredible 13 Group 1 wins this season. He failed to win since. But won’t that Guineas win look good on his stallion card. Defeating…. Kingman, Australia, Charm Spirit, Kingston Hill, The Grey Gatsby.
Buying money
Even at 1/1, backing Forgotten Rules in that Punchestown bumper in Punchestown was some certainty.
Low key ladies
The Fillies & Mares race is undoubtedly the weakest of the five group races on the day and shouldn’t really be a Group 1. Seal Of Approval and Madame Chiang weren't among the top fillies of either season. It resembles in some ways the old Princess Royal Stakes.
Three-year-old fillies are probably the least likely to hold their form from the summer or after a hard campaign. I also think there are grounds for running it after the Champions Stakes to prevent the ground from cutting up for the Champion Stakes.
Race of the year
What a race the 2,000 Guineas turned out to be. By the end of the season we had:
Kingman (second) - four Group 1 wins
Australia (third) - three Group 1 wins
Charm Spirit (fifth) – three Group 1 wins
The Grey Gatsby (tenth) - two Group 1 wins
Kingston Hill (eighth) - one Group 1 win
Of the others the winner Night Of Thunder, Shifting Power (fourth), Noohzah Canarias (sixth) and Toormore (seventh) have all been Group 1 placed subsequently.
Six of those Group 1 wins were in all-aged contests. It was one top class race.