Ballydoyle keeps the punters guessing
Johnny Murtagh may be stable jockey to Ballydoyle-Coolmore, but recent events have taught us you should never take it as read he will be on the horse most fancied from that quarter.
There are several examples of late which can be cited, a couple of them as recently as last weekend. Take the Curragh on Sunday and the Group 2 Keeneland Debutante Stakes. Aidan O’Brien’s Together, partnered by Murtagh, looked the clear form choice, having beaten Laughing Lashes an easy length at Leopardstown previously.
Laughing Lashes showed a tendency to swish her tail on that occasion and it was hard to envisage a reversal of the placings.
But Together was uneasy in the market and those who suspected before the contest that the writing was on the wall were vindicated in their suspicions. As Together drifted, however, O’Brien’s Misty For Me, with Seamus Heffernan aboard, came in for hefty support, finding 8-1 from 12’s.
Misty For Me had won what looked a moderate maiden at the Curragh, so you can be sure it wasn’t ‘ordinary’ punters who rolled out of the cot on Sunday morning and decided, suddenly, she was the right one.
In any case those who invested on Misty For Me were somehow inspired and though she only managed second, a length behind Laughing Lashes, did finish three lengths in front of third placed Together.
Another example is the opening two-year-old maiden for fillies at the Curragh, with Murtagh on the short-priced favourite in the morning, Spin, and Joseph O’Brien teaming up with the apparent no-hoper, Luxurious.
Now Luxurious hadn’t shown much on her debut at Galway, trailing in ninth of 16 behind Dermot Weld’s Zaminast. But the 12’s and 10’s disappeared in the morning and she was taken from 6-1 to 7-2 on track.
As a result, Spin was a big drifter, going out as far as 9-4, which seemed unthinkable some hours earlier.
Of course, Spin proceeded to annihilate Luxurious to the tune of four and a half lengths, which made it even more comical.
Then there was Tipperary a week last night and a maiden for two-year-olds. This time Murtagh rode Eastern Light, owned by Michael Tabor, a key part of the Coolmore set-up, and trained by David Wachman, with Joseph O’Brien on Tom Sawyer for his father.
Eastern Light was relatively easy to back, with Tom Sawyer finally going off favourite, 3-1 from 9-2.
When push came to shove it was Tom Sawyer who had the answers, beating Gossamer Seed by a head, with Eastern Light well beaten in third.
And there was Galway and a maiden for three-year-olds. Ballydoyle had three runners, Falcon Flight (Murtagh), Quest For Gold (Sean Levey) and Battleoftrafalgar (Joseph O’Brien).
Those of us who assumed Falcon Flight was the best of them could not have been wider of the mark. He actually did worst of the trio.
Battleoftrafalgar was all the rage in the morning and shortened with just about every off-course layer.
The touch was almost landed and it took a ferocious ride from Pat Smullen (God bless him), to force Raffaello Santi home a head in front of Battleoftrafalgar.
It is important to state that when it comes to other top stables in this country you can literally set your clock by them.
Kevin Manning rides the best Jim Bolger has to offer, it’s Pat Smullen for Dermot Weld, Fran Berry, weight permitting, for John Oxx and Declan McDonogh or Chris Hayes, depending on the ownership of a horse, when it comes to Kevin Prendergast.
We’re not stupid and know this game is far from an exact science and there are occasions when stable outsiders do the business.
Ballydoyle-Coolmore can make any riding arrangements they want, they invest million in racing and that is their prerogative.
But some of what has gone on of late could at least be described as less than punter-friendly.
