Moment of truth for St Nicholas Abbey
Aidan O’Brien’s colt is set to run in the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster and it will be his first real test.
Favourite for the Epsom Derby, he is already very much a hype horse, mainly due to the waffling of a member or two of the press corps and the mutterings of some of those bookmakers’ representatives.
St Nicholas Abbey, a son of Montjeu, is unbeaten in two races and has done all that has been required of him thus far.
He was easy enough to back on his debut at the Curragh in August, but cruised away with a maiden to score by four lengths.
The form isn’t worth the proverbial hill of beans, but he could only beat what was put in front of him.
Then he stepped into Group 2 company, in the Juddmonte Beresford Stakes at the Curragh, and won with a bit to spare by three parts of a length.
But that didn’t seem the strongest of races, with the runner-up, Mark Johnston’s Layali Al Andalus, very much exposed.
This then has to be regarded as St Nicholas Abbey’s moment of truth, at least as a two-year-old.
He may be the business and, if winning, will certainly head to winter quarters a warm order for Epsom.
But you really would like his form to have a more solid look, for what appears to be a hot contest.
For me this is a heat which has to be regarded as purely educational. It will tell us a lot more about St Nicholas Abbey than his first two races combined.
lI CANNOT get my head around the fact that there are people within racing who actually think Sea The Stars should be a candidate for Sports Personality of the Year.
It is so ridiculous, so silly as to beggar belief. Look, for those peering in at the game, racing is difficult to understand and, essentially, of no interest to them.
As well as that, for many of those who are in positions of power in the media, racing can often be seen as an irritation.
They know it’s there, that it has to be covered, in some shape or form, but if racing disappeared off the face of the earth tomorrow, they would shed not a tear or lose a wink of sleep. That’s just the way it is.
The notion that Sea The Stars somehow captured the imagination of those outside of racing is fanciful, to say the least.
I mean, less than 10,000 turned up at Leopardstown to see him win the Champion Stakes. I’ll bet if you went out onto the street and asked people if they have ever heard of Sea The Stars, the majority would say no.
If you asked them what races he has won this season, then chances are you could throw your cap at it it altogether.
And the idea there might be something special about his personality is another good one. I’d say his personality is one you would normally associate with HORSES.
lTHE beauty of the double-result in betting offices reared its delightful head again when Classic Frontier was disqualified after winning at Downpatrick on Saturday.
A heavily-backed favourite, disqualification became a real possibility, after he had drifted right, under Brian Byrnes, in the closing stages.
The winner banged into Ceasen Desist, who was awarded the race, after the stewards decided the result had been affected.
Punters in the offices, however, unlike those who backed Classic Frontier on track, had no worries and it was of no concern to them what the stewards did.
One such office punter sent me a text within seconds of the horses going by the post. It read as follows: “Yummy, I hope B C Byrnes gets a light sentence.”
There’s nothing like good old-fashioned sarcasm to bring a smile to the craggy face!
