“The plan was for him to come down the rail,” Mark Johnston said after the Somerville Stakes here on Thursday, and while Plan A was in tatters within a couple of strides, the fact that his colt Arctic Sound was still good enough to win suggests that this Group Three success may not be his limit.
The first three winners on the card all left high-numbered stalls before either setting or closely tracking the pace along the stands’ rail. As a result, there was plenty of money for Arctic Sound before the feature event thanks to his high draw, and a groan from the stands when he blew the start and trailed through the early furlongs in last place.
With the rail now occupied by Ryan Moore aboard Aidan O’Brien’s Cardini and his other rivals keen to get as close to the stands’ side as possible, Silvestre de Sousa had no option but to take Arctic Sound around the field towards the middle of the track. Yet while it was a path born of desperation, the message did not reach Arctic Sound and he stayed on strongly through the final furlong to reel in Bye Bye Hong Kong and win by a length.
“Silvestre said that the blindfold got stuck when he tried to pull it off, so that was not the plan at all,” Johnston said.
“He seemed to be on the climb to Pattern races but then we ran him [in a Listed race] at Salisbury [in August] and the wheels came off. We went down in grade and he won again, and now he’s back on track.
“We’ve got a lot of good two-year-olds but no obvious pecking order. Dark Vision [the Vintage Stakes winner at Glorious Goodwood] disappointed [behind Too Darn Hot in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster] but he’s been unsound since and he’s on his way this afternoon for a bone scan. It could be a stress fracture of the pelvis but in some ways it’s better than [the Champagne Stakes] being his form. He’s still top of the tree but there’s a lot of good two-year-olds vying for position behind him.”
Arctic Sound is not entered in the Vertem Futurity [formerly Racing Post] Trophy at Doncaster next month and may have run his last race as a juvenile, while Paddy Power introduced him into the betting for next year’s 2,000 Guineas at 50-1.
Nearly Caught was a ready winner of the Listed Jockey Club Bowl over two miles, increasing the confidence of Hughie Morrison, his trainer, that stable companion Marmelo will run a big race in the Melbourne Cup.
“I’m glad to say Marmelo worked all over him on Saturday,” Morrison said. “As we speak, he is arriving in quarantine [in Australia]. He’s a forgotten horse [for the Melbourne Cup] and he definitely runs.” Marmelo is top-priced at 28-1 to win at Flemington Park on 6 November.
Haydock
1.35 Point In Time 2.05 Crimson Skies (nb) 2.40 Lady Aria 3.15 Wise Counsel 3.50 She Can Boogie 4.25 Elegiac 4.55 Fondest 5.25 Overtrumped (nap)
Newmarket
1.50 Agrotera 2.25 Star Rock 3.00 Canton Queen 3.35 Regal Reality 4.10 Estihdaaf 4.45 Raheen House 5.15 Capton
Worcester
2.15 Dark Invader 2.50 Station Master 3.25 Rosie McQueen 4.00 The Jam Man 4.35 Impulsive American 5.05 Captain Peacock 5.35 Stonecoldsoba
Newcastle
5.45 French Heroine 6.15 Brendan 6.45 First Excel 7.15 Harbour Approach 7.45 Muatadel 8.15 Moxy Mares 8.45 Ferrier Go Roo
