St James’s Palace Stakes (Group 1)

PLENTY were asking the question as to whether Jim Bolger had gone to the well once too often with 2000 Guineas winner Poetic Flare.

When you’re questioning Jim Bolger, you’re on shaky ground, and the Master of Glebe House once again proved his genius with horses when Kevin Manning steered the 7/2 favourite to a facile four-and-a-half-length win over old rival Lucky Vega (Jessie Harrington/Shane Foley) in the big mile even for three-year-olds.

Poetic Flare was easy to back in the ante-post market with the Heron Stakes first and second both well touted, but there is no substitute for classic form, and Newmarket disappointment Battleground (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) made it a clean sweep for those who came here from the 2000 Guineas, even if one of them had made a couple of stops in between!

Highland Avenue fared best of the trio who fought out the Listed Heron Stakes, but could manage only sixth in the end after being steadied and taken to the inner at the start from his wide draw.

Those tactics are often unsuccessful on the round course at Ascot, and he may be worth another try, but Heron winner Mostahdaf offered little off the bridle, and beat only the pacemaker. John Gosden has done well in this race of late by bypassing the Guineas, but the previously unbeaten Mostahdaf looks more King Of Comedy than Palace Pier on this evidence.

Jim Bolger doesn’t do false modesty, and he made it clear that this rout was very much in the script when interviewed on Sky Sports from his Coolcullen home:

Confidence

“I’m very relaxed about it. I have tremendous confidence in this horse, and I was expecting him to go and do that. Thanks to all my staff and everybody who has helped.

“We always knew he was hardy from the word go – even when he was being broken in you couldn’t keep him quiet. He’s unbelievable – you have to give it to him to keep his back down”

Asked to compare him to his sire Dawn Approach, who Bolger trained to win this contest in 2013, Bolger responded in trademark style:

“When you have a horse winning the St James’s Palace like that you don’t really think about all the relatives and the breeding, you wouldn’t care if he came to you off the back of a truck as long as you had him.”