If there was one thing missing from the first All-Weather Finals Day in 2014, it was a standard-bearer, a horse good enough to advertise the quality of winter Flat racing at the summer’s major festivals on turf. That gap was filled not once but twice here on Friday, as both Tryster and Pretend produced performances to suggest they will be contenders at a very high level as the 2015 Flat season unfolds.
Both horses are trained by Godolphin’s Charlie Appleby and won for his new principal jockey, William Buick, who took the Dubai World Cup, the world’s richest race, on Prince Bishop six days ago. But their victories were quite different, as Pretend took the All-Weather Sprint thanks to raw, natural speed while Tryster’s success in the Coral Easter Classic, the feature event, was achieved with a turn of foot to match anything seen on the winter circuit for many years.
For much of his race, events seemed to conspire against Tryster, the 1-2 favourite, as Complicit set a very steady pace under Jim Crowley and Buick’s mount pulled for his head, several lengths behind. Crowley then made a break as they turned for home, stealing a clear lead that, for a few seconds, seemed likely to prove decisive.
Then Buick shook the reins on Tryster. As he did so, Complicit was passing the furlong pole about half a dozen lengths ahead of him and clearly not stopping. Yet Tryster’s acceleration was so immediate and impressive that he ran down the leader with something to spare and won by three-quarters of a length with Buick already starting to ease down.
Tryster had already proved himself as one of the best horses on the all-weather circuit with four wins on as many different tracks prior to Friday’s race. This performance took his form to a new level and Buick is in no doubt that he will prove as effective on turf this summer.
“He was impressive, no question, and he gave me a good feel,” Buick said. “Everything I thought beforehand happened, it was a slow pace and he’s a typical horse that would thrive off a fast pace, but he showed his quality there and he’s got a good future ahead of him.
“We always knew there wouldn’t be anything in the race with his turn of foot, but the second horse [Complicit] got away from him. But he swallowed him up, he’s much better than these. Once he was on an even keel he really picked up, he changed his legs and off he went. He did the same last time, he was nowhere and then he was in front. He’s not [just an all-weather horse], I’d be suggesting he goes to Royal Ascot and places like that.”
Royal Ascot is also a potential target for Pretend, who could be a serious player in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes if he can show as much natural speed on turf as he did here. Chookie Royale, one of the fastest front-running sprinters in the business, set his usual strong pace, but Pretend shrugged it off and then appeared at the leader’s shoulder sooner than anyone, Appleby included, might have expected. Buick put the result beyond doubt under hands and heels, with much more to spare over last year’s winner Alben Star than the official margin of a length might suggest.
“He’ll have a break now and he’s a horse that we could potentially look towards going to Royal Ascot with,” Appleby said. “I was saying to myself, ‘William, wait, wait, wait’, but I don’t need to tell him what to do.
“I think we’d look at six [furlongs] but a straight five [in Ascot’s King’s Stand Stakes] would suit him, too. They’re going to go a good gallop there so he just needs a nice pace to run at and what’s he’s shown today is that he’s got a tremendous cruising speed.”
Appleby had saddled 73 winners on the all-weather this winter before the start of Friday’s £1.1m card, nearly 30 more than any other trainer, and completed a 22-1 treble on the day. Four Seasons, at 6-1, was the middle leg in the Three-Year-Old Mile, although Channel 4 Racing viewers caught only the second half of a fine front-running ride by Adam Kirby as the coverage returned from an ad-break with barely three furlongs to run.
The meeting opened with a victory for France, as Pia Brandt’s Fresles, a 7-2 chance, took the Filly And Mare event, while Marco Botti’s Grey Mirage got home by a neck under Ryan Moore in the All-Weather Mile after Sovereign Debt, the 5-2 favourite, ran into a series of traffic problems in the straight.
“It [Finals Day] was good last season but even better this season,” Jim Allen, director of racing for Arena Racing Company, which owns Lingfield, said after a meeting which attracted a sell-out crowd of 9,021, up from 8,777 in 2014.
“We are aiming to get Pattern status for these races and today’s results will have helped. We would have liked all the races to fill but you can understand why lower-rated horses do not want to take on the best.
“For next year, we are looking towards a reserve day, which could be spread over two days, the Saturday or Sunday, at two or three all-weather tracks. Those races would be handicaps for horses that did not get into Finals day.”
