The chance of a famous clash between Golden Horn and Gleneagles taking place next week has not been undermined by the wet weather which has washed over so much of Britain for the last two days. While the going at some racecourses is now soft and getting softer, conditions at York are not far off ordinary summer ground, with plenty of time to dry out before the Ebor festival begins there on Wednesday.
Having had plenty of warning that a drenching was on the way, William Derby, York’s clerk of the course, allowed the track to dry out over the week to Thursday, producing a surface that was firm in places. Although 14mm of rain had fallen in 12 hours to mid-afternoon on Friday, that turned the going no softer than “good” in Derby’s estimation after he walked the circuit. With drying conditions dominating the forecast to Wednesday, the expectation is that York’s ground should be fast enough to allow Gleneagles to take his chance.
“We’ve got a heavy, persistent drizzle just now,” Derby said, “but the course has taken it all very well and I’m pleased with it. There are some further showers about until this evening, which should clear overnight, and then we’re forecast to be brighter for the weekend. I’m calling it “good” just now and I would hope would be predominantly “good” in the morning but we’ll reassess then and see where we are. We’re aiming to produce nice, good to firm, summer ground [for Wednesday].”
There was a certain amount of controversy over the non-appearance of Gleneagles in Glorious Goodwood’s Sussex Stakes last month, when his trainer, Aidan O’Brien, ruled him out two days in advance because of heavy recent rain at the course. Although Goodwood dried out to “good” going by the time of the race, O’Brien said he did not regret that decision, an indication that the Ballydoyle team would prefer proper fast going for their star colt. That will be so much more the case for this step up in distance to 10 furlongs, for which Gleneagles’s stamina is unproven.
Derby said he and his staff had been “tremendously excited” to learn in midweek that Gleneagles would be aimed at their race, having been switched away from an alternative target this weekend at Deauville, where the going is soft. “Of course we never prepare the racing surface for one horse,” Derby said, “but, like all racing fans, we hope we can provide a stage for some of the best milers and middle-distance horses around.”
Wednesday’s Juddmonte International will feature the first meeting between reigning Guineas and Derby champions at the intermediate distance of 10 furlongs since the Guineas winner, Rodrigo De Triano, with Lester Piggott aboard, beat Dr Devious in the same York race 23 years ago. But, as Derby noted, the appeal of this year’s race does not end with Gleneagles and Golden Horn.
“We’ve got a local hero and the winner of last year’s Dante Stakes here in The Grey Gatsby. And there’s Criterion from Australia, where he’s won three Grade Ones, let’s not forget.”
Ten horses remain in the race after the five-day entry stage, including Dick Doughtywylie, supplemented into the race at a cost of £75,000 to be a pacemaker for Golden Horn. Time Test, Cougar Mountain and The Corsican are also in the field for now.
Derby said the track had seen a surge in ticket sales after Golden Horn was confirmed for Wednesday and again after the news that Gleneagles would take him on. Ticket sales for the four days of racing at York this week are up 12% on the equivalent stage last year, when the course set a record for advance ticket sales for the Ebor meeting.
In a touch that will be popular with many, the top jockey award at the meeting will be named after Ray Gilpin, a veteran of the press room who died this week. The leading rider during the four days will wear a red armband as a reference to the red scarf which Gilpin always wore through the winter.
There was some relief for the British Horseracing Authority, who learned that the big three high street bookmakers will not join the on-course layer Geoff Banks in suing racing’s ruling body for losses caused by mishandling of last month’s stewards’ inquiry involving Speculative Bid at Ascot. However, there were harsh words from the BHA from two of the major firms.
Ladbrokes’ David Williams said: “We’ve no appetite to go down the legal route but that shouldn’t be mistaken for apathy. We welcome the mea culpa issued by the BHA but there’s a lot of frustration that we’re expected to pick up the tab for first-rate bungling.”
For William Hill, Jon Ivan-Duke added: “This incident cost layers and the authorities need to learn from it but we have moved on. It is far better to work with the BHA to help build and promote the sport, rather than throw stones over a single race event.”
