Adam Kirby, who will ride My Dream Boat in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park on Saturday, said on Thursday that there was “definitely no fluke” about the four-year-old’s 16-1 success in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot earlier this month, and he remains in “tip-top shape” before his meeting with The Gurkha this weekend.
My Dream Boat was the outsider of the six-horse field at Ascot a fortnight ago, but came home strongly to beat Found with A Shin Hikari, the odds-on favourite, trailing home in last place. Though some punters may feel that Clive Cox’s colt got lucky on the day, Kirby has no such concerns.
“He felt very good at Ascot,” the jockey said. “He’s got a very high cruising speed and he travelled really well, but when he quickens, he lengthens and there was definitely no fluke about it on the day. He beat Found [last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf winner] fair and square and she’s a very good filly. He drifted left a bit in the final furlong but it’s a big, open track and the crowd was roaring so he got a little bit distracted. He’s in really good order at home, he’ll quicken as good as any of them and hopefully he’ll show his class again. You can’t do any better than win a Group One at Royal Ascot and he deserves full credit.”
Seven horses were declared for the Eclipse on Thursday morning, but the betting suggests that only four - The Gurkha, My Dream Boat, Time Test and Hawkbill - stand a realistic chance.
The Gurkha, who will step up to 10 furlongs for the first time after finishing second in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, is hovering around even money, while My Dream Boat and Time Test vie for the second spot in the market, ahead of Hawkbill currently an 8-1 chance.
Hawkbill, a Group Three winner at Royal Ascot, was also the subject of a positive report on Thursday. “I saw him training at Charlie [Appleby’s] this morning and he looks in great form,” said John Ferguson, Godolphin’s chief executive. “I know that Charlie has been happy with the progress he has made since Ascot. This is a big step up, running in a Group One against older horses, but Sheikh Mohammed loves a challenge and is keen to run.”
Drying ground, meanwhile, has seen Time Test shorten to within half a point of My Dream Boat over the last 24 hours, but while Kirby’s colt has won on good-to-soft and soft so far this year, the jockey feels My Dream Boat’s turn of foot will be equally potent on faster going.
“He’ll go on any ground, good, good-to-soft, soft, he’ll handle it all,” Kirby said. “He just has a lot of natural class and he’ll be going there with a live chance.
“The Gurkha is a short-priced favourite, but the one thing I’d say about My Dream Boat is that he’s still improving. The Gurkha is obviously a class horse and very much respected, but we’ll let Saturday tell and let the horses do the talking. Until you’ve tried these things, you don’t know.”
Kirby enjoyed an extraordinary week at the Royal meeting, as he missed the birth of his first child to ride Profitable to victory in the Group One King’s Stand Stakes on the opening day, and then returned to the track the following afternoon after meeting his new son to win on My Dream Boat.
Rightly famous for his seemingly limitless appetite for hard work, Kirby has not eased off his busy schedule since becoming a father and hopes to extend his golden June into July and beyond.
“The buzz is still there,” Kirby said. “It was a great week at Ascot and one that I’ll never forget. The dream is still alive because the horses are still in great shape and we’ve got more fun to have with them for the rest of the year.
“I work every day all year round if I can, and I’m a great believer in that. As long as you keep getting the rides, then hopefully the winners will keep coming.”
