So Resumption Day ends with a pair of very promising young winners sired by Frankel, whose big stride showed up in both their performances. As you’d expect after two blank months, the form did not stand up in every outcome, some of which would have been hard to predict - caution will be a useful watchword for at least the rest of this week.
Frankie Dettori returns to the saddle at Kempton tomorrow, then turf racing will be back at Yarmouth on Wednesday. By the end of the week, we’ll have some top-quality racing at Newmarket, with the Coronation Cup on Friday and the 2,000 Guineas on Saturday. For now, good night and good luck.
That did not look likely as Wise Glory and Byzantine Empire pulled clear of the pack and seemed set to fight out the finish. Valyrian Steel, having his first race, was green but eventually worked out what was required and powered home to hit the front in the closing stages. There’s not much chance of Roger Varian saying anything very bullish about targets but this three-year-old colt has a future.
Frankel is king again! His son, Valyrian Steel, wins the last race on resumption Day at Newcastle.
Off for the last race of the day at Newcastle. Assayer shows her inexperience by rearing up in the stalls.
France-Galop has sent out some quotes from the winning connections at Deauville, or most of them. It’s sort of reassuring to learn that even the ruling body can’t get Andre Fabre to speak to them.
Anyway, Lisa-Jane Graffard, representing Godolphin, said of Victor Ludorum’s win: “It’s really fantastic. We had been dreaming of this all through the winter, so when he ran first time out it was a sharp return to reality! However, in the Fontainebleau it was his first start and he needed to blow off some steam after this unique situation we were in. André Fabre knows how to prepare a horse perfectly for the main target.”
Look at that stride ... Frankly Darling was available at 66-1 for the Oaks this morning but is now 16-1 or shorter with most firms for the Epsom Classic in a month’s time. I can see one bit of 20-1 left.
Wow! Frankel filly Frankly Darling hits top gear and bolts up at @NewcastleRaces for John Gosden and Rab Havlin… pic.twitter.com/nGfqjCoYf2
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 1, 2020
A beautiful horse with a big future. We’re so sad to of lost December Second this afternoon, it certainly doesn’t get any easier. Our thoughts with the whole team and his owner 💙🤍 #RestInPeace pic.twitter.com/BCYC0ccnxv
— Philip Kirby Racing (@PKirbyRacing) June 1, 2020
Whoosh! Frankly Darling has shot clear of her rivals in the maiden race just now and she looks a different horse to the one who was second on wet ground at Yarmouth in October. Could the daughter of Frankel be another star for John Gosden, who also sent Enable and Stradivarius to Newcastle for early experience?
Updated
Andrea has had time to get on Twitter since his earlier win. He’s on Wise Glory in the final race, half an hour from now.
First day back 😷 pic.twitter.com/GQWH0WEjBA
— Andrea Atzeni (@Atzenijockey) June 1, 2020
Jim Crowley was said to have been unhurt by his tumble earlier but evidently it has had some effect, as he has given up his ride in the next race, the delayed 5.40pm. He was due to be aboard Thibaan but the mount will now be taken by Oisin Murphy.
Alas, December Second has had to be put down after that fall, Sky are reporting. The consensus appears to be that he clipped the heels of the horse in front of him, causing the fall. Even then, he may have been OK if Financial Conduct had had time to avoid him. What a terrible pity.
The ninth race at Newcastle is due off now but there’s evidently going to be a delay following those falls half an hour ago. No news yet on the horses involved.
Sky reporting that jockeys Jim Crowley and PJ McDonald are up on their feet after that Newcastle incident.
The race was won by Alignak, proving that Newmarket raiders can win in today’s unusual conditions, as the grey comes from the yard of Sir Michael Stoute. This was a first success since the resumption for the champion jockey, Oisin Murphy.
A nasty incident in Race Eight at Newcastle, as December Second fell and landed in the path of Financial Conduct, who was brought down. Fingers crossed for the horses and jockeys involved. December Second was on the far side of the field when he fell and it was hard to see for sure what caused that.
The jockey briefing takes place in the glorious sunshine at @NewcastleRaces! pic.twitter.com/5pdiJOenTQ
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 1, 2020
I make that six wins from seven races for Yorkshire stables, the outlier being Mick Appleby, east of Leicester.
Tomshalfbrother has gone close to providing Newmarket with a winner in Race Seven at Newcastle but the 16-1 shot has been beaten a head by Queen Of Kalahari (10-1) from the North Yorks yard of Les Eyre.
It’s interesting to see that these jockeys are slightly ‘in need of the run’ after the two-month break and it certainly bears out what they say, that there’s no substitute for competitive action. Andrea Atzeni the latest to be blowing a bit in his winning interview.
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Oakenshield beats Barbarella in the sixth race at Newcastle, providing a 1-2 for the trainer Kevin Ryan, whose Yousini was pipped half an hour ago. The winner is actually a half-brother to Yousini. Oakenshield was one of two rides today for Andrea Atzeni. The Sardinian also has Wise Glory at 6.15pm for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, who retains him.
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Thank goodness racing is back, so my emotions can be put through the wringer again. I’ve just remembered what happened at the last flight of the Martin Pipe...
Classic thriller! Dream And Do wins the Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches at @fgdeauville for @maximeguyon_off and @frederic_rossi_… pic.twitter.com/wCifP2T7bQ
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 1, 2020
Here’s the photo from Deauville, in case you want to agonise over it with me
Dream And Do and Irish bred daughter of Siyouni surprises by a narrow margin in French 1000 Guineas. pic.twitter.com/3ouyhkIQ0R
— Anne Marie Duff (@amdracing) June 1, 2020
Reckon the stalls handlers @NewcastleRaces will be ready for a socially distanced pint later, been a tough day
— Denis (@carvillshill) June 1, 2020
So that’s a Classic success for Frederic Rossi, who is having a brilliant year in France. Dream And Do travelled well throughout and won under Maxime Guyon. She did, however, get first run on Speak Of The Devil, who had to switch around horses a couple of times and finished powerfully but about a nanosecond too late. Mageva (40-1) has got third. Tropbeau, who beat the winner three weeks ago, was a disappointing fourth after appearing to have every chance.
Dream And Do wins the French 1,000 Guineas
The 10-1 shot is confirmed as having prevailed over our 16-1 shot by a flared nostril. Ugh
Bloomin eck. I think Speak Of The Devil has just been chinned in the French 1,000
Brian The Snail (13-2) has bobbed his grey nose at just the right time to pinch victory from Yousini. Both trained in Yorkshire, continuing a bit of a theme
Oooh, that’s close. Photo for the fifth at Newcastle between Yousini and Brian The Snail
Racing in Wales to return on 15 June
I keep saying ‘Britain’ on this page, which is bad of me because sport in England has been allowed to return but that government announcement on Saturday did not apply to the other countries which make up Britain. The BHA has just announced that racing has been cleared to return to Wales in a fortnight, when there will be Flat racing at Chepstow.
Return of horseracing in Wales confirmed ➡️https://t.co/GUgJFrC59C pic.twitter.com/9h6S5AoZmN
— BHA Press Office (@BHAPressOffice) June 1, 2020
Art Power is being quoted for the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot in a fortnight’s time, following that impressive win at Newcastle just now. Paddy Power have chalked up the grey at 25-1
We also have entries for the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket on Sunday, including Raffle Prize, who I believe will be the mount of Frankie Dettori.
17 in the 1000 Guineas, including Quadrilateral and Millisle pic.twitter.com/QSVYozuZ2B
— PA Racing (@PAracing) June 1, 2020
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Entries published for the 2,000 Guineas on Saturday
Pinatubo one of 15 entries for Saturday's 2000 Guineas pic.twitter.com/rTmvV37jDJ
— PA Racing (@PAracing) June 1, 2020
Victor Ludorum is back! The @godolphin colt impressively wins the Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains at @fgdeauville… pic.twitter.com/fJiIAAYuEK
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 1, 2020
In light of that effort by her stablemate, Tropbeau will surely prove very popular in the French 1,000 Guineas at 3.25pm. She’s currently 13-8 to give Fabre a Classic double.
Victor Ludorum lost his unbeaten record on his reappearance at Longchamp three weeks ago but Fabre’s horses were short of their peak at the time and this son of Shamardal has evidently made a tonne of progress. He cruised along at the back during that race and continued to look at his ease as he moved into contention up the stands’ rail. He looks comfortably the best of these, though Alson has run respectably on his first race since joining Fabre and can doubtless continue to improve.
Reshabar set the pace but was swallowed up a furlong or so from home. Kenway stayed on dourly to fight for fourth place. Arapaho and Ecrivain were disappointing.
Andre Fabre has just trained his eighth winner of the Poule D’Essai Des Poulains, the French 2,000 Guineas, which takes him ahead of Francois Mathet as the most successful modern trainer in the race. The record is held by Robert Denman, whose 11th winner came 94 years ago. Fabre also trained today’s third, Alson, with The Summit between them in second.
Victor Ludorum wins the French 2,000 Guineas
He looked so much classier than on his reappearance
Going in stalls for the French 2,000 Guineas now. Victor Ludorum proving a popular favourite at 5-4
Art Power bolts up as Magical Journey fades out of the places. That’s a third win on the card for Yorkshire-based horses. Newmarket still being blanked
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More problems at the gates for this second novice race. Northern Charm refused to go in and has been withdrawn.
I reported on some concerns held by a couple of stalls handlers recently and, having spoken to one of them again at the weekend, I know those concerns endure. It’s a pity, in my view, that racing hasn’t decided to make more use of flag starts for longer-distance races, which would reduce the risk for these men, who are mostly not young. It’s difficult for the BHA to consult with the stalls handlers, because they don’t have a specific representative body. But the BHA assures me it met and engaged with employers of the handlers (Racetech and ARC), as well as with its own starters in formulating the protocols, which include disinfecting of equipment. There was a test at Lingfield on Friday with six handlers, which apparently went well and no concerns were raised, I’m told.
A supportive tweet from the travelling head lad to Newmarket trainer Hugo Palmer
Credit where credit is due @NewcastleRaces @JRFArmstrong free hampers for racing staff great gesture much appreciated @NARSnewsinfo @RacingPost @davidmilnesHQ @NTFnews @BHAPressOffice pic.twitter.com/XWr6SWT6dB
— peter mcculloch (@pjmcculloch01) June 1, 2020
Mick Appleby has got on the scoresheet thanks to Edraak, after a disappointment in the first race with Stone Mason. The trainer is currently self isolating for a fortnight, having been over to Sweden with a couple of runners last week.
Edraak (16-1) quickens away to win the novice race impressively. He was having his first start since joining Mick Appleby, a system that Greg mentioned earlier, and is evidently a lot closer to the finished article this year. In the field of 10, he was one of only three to have raced before. The withdrawal of two horses at the start will be a big talking point - it shows that fractious horses will not be given so many chances under the current regime as they would be in normal times, to spare stalls handlers from having to do too much work in close proximity to each other.
Two horses withdrawn at the start of the third race! Freedom Flyer refused to go in the stalls and Ejtilaab was so upset by the delay that he was taken out as well.
Cruddace: ‘I fear for some racecourses’
Martin Cruddace, the chief executive of Arena Racing Company, said this morning that it is “a pressure and a real privilege to be the first sport back”, and that he is “acutely aware that the eyes of the sporting public and other sports and the industry” will be on Newcastle this afternoon.
Speaking ahead of the first race meeting in Britain since mid-March, Cruddace said that the course had “planned meticulously” for today’s card behind closed doors. “It’s a pressure but I don’t want to be anywhere else, and nor does anyone working here,” he said. “There’s an excitement, there’s a pressure but also it’s a privilege.”
Today’s return to action is hugely welcome for a industry that employs tens of thousands, but Cruddace also warned that a prolonged period of racing without paying spectators could see some racecourses going out of business.
“It will clearly take a while to recover,” Cruddace said. “I hope we’ll be able to take this year and put it into the box that ‘we got through it’ and then next year pick up where left off at the beginning of this year when a lot of good things were happening.
“In a way, we [at ARC] are very fortunate, our shareholders are with us for the long term. But it’s tens of millions of pounds of lost attendance income across the industry. Say your ticket is £30 and you have 30,000 tickets, it starts to get extremely expensive and it will take racecourses some time to recover, at least until the backend of next year.
“I think there will be a reshaping of the industry, but I’m not quite sure exactly how that’s going to play out. In our case, at least until September we’re not racing at Brighton and Worcester and it could be that we narrow even further the tracks that will race this year. When you get to that position, you do have to wonder whether an individual racetrack, where you’ve got declining retail media rights [from betting shops], is able to have a future.
“I sincerely hope that there won’t be any casualties but I do fear for some racecourses.”
“Very gluey, very testing,” is the verdict from jockey Ben Robinson, who won the second race on Little Jo. He reckons the beaming sun has acted on the all-weather surface to make it more of a slog today than normal.
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A view from the Racing Post’s form editor
That track at Newcastle looks really gluey, no horses making up significant ground
— Ron (@awoodII) June 1, 2020
An interesting outsider in the French 1,000 Guineas
In the Pouliches half an hour after the first French Classic of the day, Tropbeau looks unquestionably the right favourite and the most likely winner. But there’s some 16-1 around for Speak Of The Devil (3.25), who was having just the second run of her life when a promising second at Longchamp three weeks ago and that looks on the big side.
Shinning Ocean, who beat her that day, runs in the Poulains, so a good run from him there would be a pointer, though he had things all his own way at Longchamp. Speak Of The Devil, meanwhile, walked out of the stalls and was free at the back of a slowly run race before quickening through traffic to nick second. It looked more like an exercise gallop than a race for her and hopefully she can improve for it. Drying ground might not be in her favour, however, as she’s a half-sister to that noted mudlover Morando. I’ve seen the going described as soft but I expect it’ll have dried out to good by the time of the Classics. Ellerslie Lace doesn’t look good enough to win but she might nick a place at 50-1. She was only three lengths behind Tropbeau last time and drying ground looks a plus for her.
The betting market got a bit closer to sorting that race out, Little Jo being a previous winner at this course and therefore easier to spot than our first winner. But Mutasaamy has become a second disappointing favourite on the card after racing a bit keenly - perhaps too keenly on a day when Newcastle’s Tapeta is riding slow, according to the SSR team.
Another thriller! Little Jo (9-1) has pipped Saisons D’Or (33-1) for the second race, the pair clear
A 25-1 shot for the French 2,000 Guineas
Today also brings the first Classics of the year in France, where their versions of the two Guineas races will be staged at Deauville. Ordinarily, they’d be at Longchamp but the Parisian tracks have been closed for the time being because Covid-19 remains too much of a problem in the area, so French racing is focused on the Normandy coast.
It may make a difference because Deauville’s mile is straight, whereas the trials have been run on turning tracks and often at a false pace. Today’s Poule d’Essai Des Poulains ought to be run at a stronger clip, because of the status of the race and also because there are no fewer than three runners who made all the running last time. Each of them was gifted a soft lead, which surely won’t happen today; will they fight for the lead? I think the circumstances give a chance to Kenway (2.50pm BST), a 25-1 shot. You’d think he’d be exposed after nine runs and he was well held by some of these at Longchamp in October but that came at the end of a busy year for him and the closing surge he produced to win a Group Three the previous month was deeply impressive.
He got a lot closer to the likes of Victor Ludorum three weeks ago, when he again finished well after being held up out the back in a steadily run race. He comes from the yard of Frederic Rossi, who isn’t well known in Britain but currently tops the trainers table in France. “I’m delighted with the move to a straight track and I think the rhythm of the race will help him,” Rossi has told today’s Post. At 33-1 or bigger, I’d also be interested in Reshabar, who has achieved least of today’s field in pure form terms but looks very progressive and unexposed. He’s trained in Germany by Markus Munch, who appears to be a version of Clive Brittain in that he’s happy to turn up in big races with outsiders. Munch’s 50-1 shot Spectre was fourth of 16 in the Queen Anne three years ago.
There’s some runners from Newmarket in the next race and one thing to consider is that they will have had to travel that 245-mile trip this morning. Normally, trainers would at least have the option of sending their horses the day before when the track is so far away but, for obvious reasons, overnight accommodation is not available for the time being. Mark Johnston was telling me on Twitter recently that he likes his horses to be at the track at least four hours before they run. These Newmarket runners would have had to set off at 5am to meet a target like that. Horses are naturally happier about rising early than your or I but will that sub-optimal build-up undermine their efforts today?
“That was hard work from three furlongs out,” says the winning jockey, Jimmy Sullivan, who was blowing more than the horse. These riders work hard to keep fit but they always tell me there’s a big difference between being gym-fit and race-fit, and Jimmy looked like he was feeling the difference there!
UK RACING IS BACK!
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 1, 2020
Zodiakos wins the first UK race since March in the opener at @NewcastleRaces… pic.twitter.com/2HnHmnNupf
Updated
So that’s a 22-1 winner to get things going and most bookies will now be feeling a little happier about life. But some punters may have taken a chance on Zodiakos at those odds, considering he has run well at Newcastle in the past and had cheekpieces refitted for the first time this year. Roger Fell evidently has his string in good health and it’ll be interesting to see if his remaining four runners today also go well, starting with Global Spirit in the next.
It’s a thriller! Zodiakos prevails by a head from Al Ozzdi after a long battle between the pair. Roger Fell would have been content with either outcome, since he trains both of them.
Updated
Off! For the first horse racing in Britain since March
They’re going in stalls for the first at Newcastle. These veteran horses are behaving themselves, thankfully
The PA’s Nick Robson is getting a lot of use out of his phone’s camera...
Each jockey stands on a designated spot in the paddock. Minor hiccup for Ali Rawlinson who needed a new mask before mounting. pic.twitter.com/CBvQvRZX9U
— Nick Robson (@ValueRacingPlus) June 1, 2020
The return of horse racing also means a return of the print edition of the sport’s daily paper, The Racing Post, reduced to an online presence two months ago. The staff remain on reduced salaries for the time being. Its editor, Tom Kerr, told me: “During the shutdown, with all domestic racing at a standstill, the paper on ice and betting shops closed, our revenues were reduced virtually overnight to close to zero. Like many other businesses, we were forced into drastic action, furloughing around 80% of our staff and asking most of our employees to accept temporary salary cuts. These averaged about 25%, but went up to a maximum of 50% for higher earners. This was an enormous sacrifice to ask of our hard-working team and I’m deeply grateful for everything they’ve done to ensure we could survive this devastating period and come back so strongly. Now that racing is resuming, and with it our daily and weekly newspapers, we’re focused on restoring everyone to full salary at the earliest possible point.”
67 days. It’s so good to be back pic.twitter.com/tDXpJ5Hznz
— Tom Kerr (@ThomasKerrRP) June 1, 2020
In this Twitter thread by racing’s PR wing, there’s some detail on the precautions being followed at Newcastle today, and for all racing in the immediate future. Social distancing is to be maintained wherever possible and all attendees must pass a temperature check on arrival. However, officials decided a regime of Covid tests for participants would not be practical.
#RacingReturns
— Great British Racing (@GBRacing) May 30, 2020
A thread showing the new raceday safety protocols. pic.twitter.com/t6VvKM3cR1
Updated
Nick Rust, chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, said on Sunday there are “10,000 horses in Britain desperate to run”, and cards like today’s 10-race, 120-horse epic are likely to be the norm over the next few weeks, so punters will need to proceed with a little caution.
That said, there is also more than 70 days’ of pent-up demand among the betting fraternity and the Levy on bookmakers’ profits will be the sport’s primary source of income until at least the end of August, so a bet or two is almost obligatory as the daily action resumes. But what is the best tactic to pick a route through the bear-traps as horses, jockeys and trainers try to pick up the threads of the Flat season after nearly three months off?
Punters have latched on to the tried-and-tested “first run for Mick Appleby” system in the opener, which has shown an 18% profit on turnover since the start of 2017 with 30 winners. These include the likes of Merryweather, who won her first start for Appleby in December at 22-1 just a few weeks after leaving Ralph Beckett’s yard as a twice-raced maiden, and has since added two more wins and run well in a Listed race at Deauville, with other winners on debut for the yard at 16-1, 14-1 and 10-1 twice.
Appleby suggests in this morning’s Racing Post that Stone Mason (1.00), a recruit from Roger Charlton’s stable, might need the run, so while many punters are happy to take 6-4 about the four-year-old, there are probably more appealing bets elsewhere and Ice Pyramid (5.05) could be the pick of the card.
Philip Kirby’s gelding put up a career-best to win over track-and-trip in February, travelling smoothly and winning with something to spare in a very good time. He is up another 7lb in the weights but is certainly up to bridging the gap if he is anywhere close to his best and a current price of 7-2 looks generous.
Little Red Socks (2.10) knew her job when making a winning debut for Karl Burke in March and has decent prospects of following up at around 7-2, while a step back up to six furlongs could be just what Heath Charnock (3.20) needs a couple of races later.
Simon and Ed Crisford, British racing’s first officially licensed training partnership, will be keen to hit the ground running with Rock Of Diamonds (3.55), while Newcastle specialist Be Proud (4.30), a dual winner over course-and-distance, is the solid option at around 100-30 in the five-furlong handicap.
Greg Wood has ploughed through the form to bring you tips for today’s resumption card at Newcastle. He hopes to hit the ground running with Stone Mason in about 25 minutes...
Newcastle
1.00 Stone Mason 1.35 Mutasaamy 2.10 Little Red Socks (nb) 2.45 Magical Journey 3.20 Heath Charnock 3.55 Rock Of Diamonds 4.30 Be Proud 5.05 Ice Pyramid (nap) 5.40 Thibaan 6.15 Valyrian Steel
Finally the day is here, arrived at Newcastle pic.twitter.com/TsGukFUbJh
— Magnolia Bloodstock (@Tom_MBS) June 1, 2020
On a related note, I can confirm that a panel of stewards will be present for each race-meeting. I must say, I thought these unique circumstances would be a good moment to trial centralised stewarding, with a panel of stewards keeping tabs on the action from 75 High Holborn, the London base of the British Horseracing Authority. There would still have to be at least one steward at the track to make decisions on things like whether it’s safe to race if something goes wrong, so, on a day like this, with just one card, it wouldn’t make much difference. But we have two cards or more per day from tomorrow and a central panel could have ruled over all of it. Evidently, the BHA have decided that these circumstances bring enough challenges without trialling remote stewards. But racing should get around to trying it some day.
Just for clarity, I’m not at Newcastle, much though I’d like to be. Naturally, racing wants to restrict the number of people present at the track for this return to action. So, for the whole of June, only two reporters will be allowed on-site for each race-meeting; one from the Press Association and one from the Racing Post. For the time being, I’m watching Sky Sports Racing like the rest of you.
The "new normal". Face masks, packed lunches for those on course, empty bars and reminders of social distancing. pic.twitter.com/20neAygqvT
— Nick Robson (@ValueRacingPlus) June 1, 2020
Welcome to The Guardian’s live coverage as horse racing resumes in Britain. A Monday afternoon card on the all-weather at Newcastle has never been so keenly anticipated as this one, which will be the first racing in Britain since mid-March.
Strict security precautions are in place to counter the risk of Covid transmission and racing’s officials have been keen to stress how seriously they take the responsibility of being allowed to return in these circumstances. We’ll hear more on that subject through the afternoon. Plus, there’s some very high-quality action in France, where the first two Classics of the year take place at Deauville. Greg Wood and I will be trying to pick some winners for you and we’re very keen to do so, having been kept to a strict ration of Hong Kong racing for the past two months. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and good luck if you’re getting involved. I’ll be with you until today’s bumper Newcastle card ends in about six hours...
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