THE weather may well have played havoc with much of the spring but it has done little to diminish the quality of horses running in four-year-old maidens, a fact borne out by the impressive victory of Commander Of Fleet at Punchestown during the week.
That Fame And Glory gelding, who returned alone at Moig South, was an early litmus test as to the quality of this year’s crop as the first of the four-year-old maiden winners to appear under rules. It is certainly a test that was passed with flying colours as the bay gelding ran out an impressive winner of the €100,000 Goffs Land Rover Bumper on Tuesday by eight and-a-half lengths – the widest winning margin in the last 11 renewals of a race which has a very rich history. That win also came just one month to the day that he had won his point for Pat Doyle.
Here are 10 four-year-old winners, both mares’ and geldings’, that have not yet made the transition to track racing and who have created big reputations for themselves over the past 11 weeks.
ANDY DUFRESNE
4yo b g (1)
Doyen – Daytona Lily
(Beneficial)
Gordon Elliott
When Gordon Elliott rocks-up at a point-to-point with a Doyen four-year-old, it is worth taking note. In 2017, he saddled Rapid Escape to make a winning debut at Tinahely and that chesnut gelding has already won a listed bumper by 11 lengths in his first season under rules. Fast forward 12 months, and it was a bay offspring of the Sunnyhill Stud resident that was making headlines.
Andy Dufresne made his debut at Borris House in a very competitive contest where he travelled very powerfully throughout. Cutting through the field in the shape of a high-class horse, he eased clear from the second last, and won by six lengths, matching the feat of his half-brother Clondaw Rigger, who also won his four-year-old maiden at the Carlow venue.
Having had to part with £240,000 to hold onto Rapid Escape, Elliott was forced to a final bid of £330,000 to secure Andy Dufresne for new owner J.P. McManus at the Cheltenham Festival Sale. With the pace he produced at Borris, it is doubtful that we will be seeing this high-class prospect back over three miles in the near future, as he has all the pace to excel over shorter trips.
ANGELS BREATH
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Shantou – Mystic Masie (Turgeon)
Pat Doyle
Pat Doyle has enjoyed a remarkable 2018. Seventeen winners since the turn of the year, including no fewer than nine individual four-year-old winners this spring. It is not just the sheer quantity of winners that he has had in this ultra-competitive age group, but the quality of them also.
Angels Breath, one of his more recent four-year-old winners, made his mark in very testing conditions at Moira earlier this month. The meeting itself had to survive an additional inspection, to give an indication of just how testing the ground had been, and this Shantou gelding defied the test it posed when running out a wide-margin winner. What was most impressive was the manner in which he powered clear from the second last, as so many of his rivals began to falter.
The grey gelding was not cheaply bought, with his owner Dai Walters forking out €85,000 for him at the Land Rover Sale, however the Ffos Las chairman would seem to have a very smart individual on his hands.
ASTERION FORLONGE
4yo gr g (1)
Coastal Path – Belle Du Brizais (Turgeon)
Pat Doyle
Asterion Forlonge kick-started the run of four-year-old winners for Doyle when coming out on top at Oldtown. Coming up against a €100,000 store in the form of the Gigginstown House Stud-owned Assemble, Asterion Forlonge benefitted from a top-drawer Derek O’Connor waiting ride which saw him produced approaching the final pace, and the Coastal Path gelding out-stayed his main rival up the run-in to win by six lengths over the shorter two-mile, four-furlong trip.
Bought by Doyle’s Suirview Stables for €60,000 as the third foal out of a Turgeon mare whose two elder progeny are already multiple track winners, it is unsurprising that he was in big demand when offered at the Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham February Sale, joining the Willie Mullins team for £290,000.
BEYOND APPROACH
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Jeremy – Gonebeyondajoke (Footstepsinthesand)
Donnchadh Doyle
Beyond Approach deservedly earned plenty of respect for her debut performance. She was pitched in against geldings at Tinahely when running a cracking race to chase home Western Warhorse’s half-brother The Hollow Chap, a horse who fetched £140,000 subsequently. She became the second subsequent winner to emerge from that race when defeating a €45,000 Walk In The Park mare on her first outing against her own sex at Bellurgan Park.
You will scarcely see a more dominant performance, as the daughter of Jeremy crossed the line hard-held under an ultra-cool Barry O’Neill and is a mare with a big future ahead of her.
ENVOI ALLEN
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Muhtathir – Reaction
(Saint Des Saints)
Colin Bowe
Envoi Allen was one of the first four-year-old maiden winners of 2018 when he produced a special-looking performance at Ballinaboola on the first Sunday in February. The French-bred may well have been easy to back before the off, but his starting price certainly looked big by the end of the two-mile, four-furlong contest. Having disputed the lead with the short-priced favourite for much of the journey, the strong-travelling son of Muhtathir produced a turn of foot from the second last that none of his rivals could come close to matching. Easing clear, he breezed past the post in the manner of horse with a very big future.
The third has since boosted the form by winning at Dromahane, and the £400,000 price tag that he commanded at the Cheltenham February Sale to go into training with Gordon Elliott, ensures his is a name already in plenty of notebooks.
FEEL MY PULSE
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Stowaway – Zenaide
(Zaffaran)
Donnchadh Doyle
Feel My Pulse, a half-brother to listed hurdle winner Myska, is an eye-catching performer who took all before him at Lismore. Hitting the front from the outset, Rob James set a good gallop aboard the Stowaway gelding, who jumped from fence to fence, suggesting that he is a chaser for the future. Kicking-on from the second last, the bay gelding quickly had his rivals under pressure and powered up the hill to record a 15-length success.
Shot To Hell, left trailing 35-lengths back in third, has advertised the form by winning at Dromahane on his next start, after Feel My Pulse had shared top billing with Andy Dufresne when joining Gordon Elliott for £330,000 at the Cheltenham Festival Sale.
HONEYSUCKLE
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Sulamani – First Royal (Lando)
Jerry Cosgrave
It would be a struggle not to be struck by the impressive performance that Jerry Cosgrave’s Honeysuckle produced to win on her debut. The British-bred bay mare was patiently ridden in the strongly run race. Those tactics were to her benefit, as she cut through the field around the home bend with incredible ease and had the race sewn-up before even getting to the last. Clocking a time 22 seconds faster than the day’s average, and returning 15 lengths clear of the second with a distance back to the third, all points to this being an impressive display.
She is just the second four-year-old maiden winner here for the late Sulamani – the first being none other than Grand National winner Rule The World at Affane, ensuring she has big shoes to fill.
MALONE ROAD
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Kalanisi – Zaffarella
(Zaffaran)
Stuart Crawford
The four-year-old maiden at Loughanmore over Easter has developed a reputation in recent seasons as one of the standout races of the entire season and is not hard to see why. The 2014 winner was 160-rated hurdler Different Gravey, the 2015 race produced Cheltenham Champion Bumper second Battleford and in 2016 Claimantakinforgan (151-rated Grade 2 winner), Kildisart (142-rated Silver Plate winner), Lough Derg Spirit (137-rated Grade 2 Elite Hurdle runner-up), Slate House (141-rated Grade 2 winner) and Crievehill (139-rated Grade 2 placed) were five of the six finishers.
This year’s race appeared just as strong, with Malone Road upholding family honours by matching the achievements of his elder half-brothers Windsor Avenue and Ravenhill Road by winning his point-to-point. Not aided by his jumping over the final three fences, which lacked fluency when the tempo of the race increased, the Kalanisi gelding had the engine to compensate for that, as he swiftly regained any lost ground and battled back to win a very competitive race which saw the front pair pull a considerable distance clear of the remainder. He too joins Gordon Elliott, having topped the Goffs UK Aintree Sale when sold for £325,000.
QUOI DE NEUF
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Anzillero – Qualite Controlee (Poliglote)
Pat Doyle
The French-bred Quoi De Neuf would look to be among the pick of this year’s four-year-old maiden winners after he tore apart a very competitive looking field which contained a number of well-bred sorts. In fact the second, third and fourth-placed finishers were bought for an average of €46,000 as three-year-olds, and all three were cast aside by the son of Anzillero. The bay gelding produced a striking turn of foot in the home straight, and it is when he hit top gear that his class became evident, signalling him out as a very exciting prospect.
THE BIG GETAWAY
4yo b g (1)
Getaway – Saddlers Dawn (Saddlers’ Hall)
Donnchadh Doyle
The Big Getaway arrived at Horse and Jockey last month for his debut with a big reputation which he very much bolstered with a commanding success. Left with the lead along the back straight, the striking individual who certainly has the size to match his name, eased clear of his rivals to win by a distance. There was plenty to like about what he produced on his debut, and in joining the Willie Mullins team for a price of £230,000 at the Cheltenham Festival Sale, he has gone to a yard that will certainly maximise his exciting early potential.