Rhythm beats the blues in Guineas triumph

KIEREN FALLON pounced to win his third Sagitta 1000 Guineas at Newmarket yesterday as Russian Rhythm showed why some rumours are best ignored.

Sent off a 12-1 chance, Russian Rhythm had been half that price with the bookmakers only a fortnight ago before gossip started to circulate that all was not well with her. But she silenced any doubts with an emphatic success, beating the luckless French challenger Six Perfections, the 7-4 favourite, by a length and a half with her compatriot Intercontinental (5-1) a further one and three-quarter lengths back in third.

Drawn in stalls one and two on the inside of the field, both Fallon and Thierry Thulliez, the rider of Six Perfections, would have expected to meet trouble in running as they attempted to negotiate a path through their 17 rivals.

But whereas the winner was only briefly interrupted as she attempted to gain a run, Thulliez found every pathway closed off to him and had to snatch his mount up with just over a quarter of a mile to run in a manoeuvre which left him in last place.

Switched to the outside of the field, Six Perfections made relentless progress throughout the closing stages but the winner had flown.

Inevitably, as soon as the runners passed the winning post, Stoute was being asked about the negative vibes which had been so prevalent in the days running up to the race.

“She wasn’t really blooming and wasn’t eating as well as she can, because she is a very good doer,” he said.

“She’s got a little bit better lately with the advent of some good weather but she is only just coming in her coat now.

“I felt in her last bit of work she showed a little bit more sparkle than before, so we just had to be patient.

“It may be that as she has matured she no longer works with the sort of sparkle she always did as a two-year-old, but I certainly didn’t come here confident.

“She wasn’t working or eating like she did last season. It could just be her growing up.

“It was a team effort and a lot of care and attention has gone into this filly to get her here today. I have no idea where she will run next.”

The inevitable conclusion to be drawn from the performance was that if Russian Rhythm could be this good without being in peak form, surely her future performances could be even better. But, as usual, Stoute was keeping his feet on the ground. “I will settle for that standard again,” he said. “It was a high-class performance.”