The lavish beauty of the Thoroughbred surrounded me at
Keeneland Racecourse on a quiet Wednesday.
The weekend warriors departed with Saturday’s final race, leaving the
hard-core handicappers and fans to watch the racehorses and their connections
in a more relaxed weekday atmosphere. It
was another day at the office for those who tightened the girth on their
entrant.
I stood in the paddock as each horse came in from the
barn area to prepare for the fourth race.
I eagerly anticipated this 1 ½ mile turf event not just because these
marathon grass horses represented athleticism and the essence of the breed, but
that a daughter of the recently deceased Montjeu was running.
The Brian Lynch-trained Montjeu daughter Turns My Head
lived up to her name as she entered the paddock. She looked about the scene with a
substantial, regal head atop her supple, elegant neck. Her shining, dappled coat showed her health
while her muscularity proved her high fitness level. This mare was well-balanced and proportional
to her suitable size. Turns My Head
exemplified the agile, gamey look of the Thoroughbred turf horse.
I sensed an element of infatuation with this mare due to
Montjeu’s all too early death from complications of septicaemia. Montjeu reached the zenith of his stallion
career last year, his progeny reigning on a global stage. His three-year-old son Pour Moi won the Epsom
Derby while Masked Marvel took the St. Leger. St. Nicholas Abbey triumphed stateside with a victory in the Breeders' Cup Turf.
Montjeu’s legacy has another opportunity to live on in the form of the
2,000 Guineas favorite, the triumphant juvenile, Camelot.
Camelot won both of his two career starts, each of which
came as a juvenile. He broke his maiden at first asking on July 14th
at Leopardstown. Ridden by Joseph O’Brien, Camelot was one of the three Aidan O’Brien trainees in the five horse
contest. Camelot won by two lengths over
one mile on a track declared as “good”.
He took a massive step in class when he faced four others
in the Group I Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster on October 22nd. Camelot received favoritism for the one mile
event on a good course. After breaking
cleanly, O’Brien confined Camelot to the tail of the field for the early
portions of the race. It did not take
long for Camelot to settle well behind horses as his stablemate, Learn,
established an assertive lead. Camelot
was bottled up behind a wall of horses as the race progressed, but angled to
the inside for running room. Under
slight hand-riding, Camelot bounded to the lead with striking ease and got up
to win by 2 ¼ lengths inside the final furlong in convincing fashion.
Camelot looks to win the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket. The 2,000 Guineas is one of the most
prestigious contests in racing, posing as first three-year-old classic of Europe’s
flat racing season. In 1809, Wizard
became the first winner of the 2,000 Guineas over Newmarket’s pristine Rowley
Mile. Gallops of grass, sand, and peat-moss
extend over twenty-eight miles of English turf.
The glory that is Newmarket consumes a vast 2,000 acres of tremendous
history reaching back to the beginnings of the sport. Though this marvelous racecourse’s story began
in 1200, Newmarket held the first recorded race in all of England in 1622.
Camelot boasts potential for a dominant three-year-old season and
could likely be the best horse entered in tomorrow’s 2,000 Guineas. However, his inexperience may be a concern in
this large field and the soft course may not work in his favor. He has yet to compete on soft turf and will
be making his first start as a three-year-old in the 2,000 Guineas. Camelot should be an influential horse in
Europe’s three-year-old division, and I anticipate him to offer an all-around
solid performance in his first outing this year.
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