New Approach in injury scare, but Tartan the value in any case
The Epsom hero is odds on to complete the Derby double but the Coolcullen handler has outlined some concern over the fitness of his stable star.
Bolger said last night: “New Approach is not 100% comfortable in his box. We do not as yet know the extent of the problem.
“It appears it may be a foot bruise and we will know more tomorrow evening.”
But, even if Bolger gives his stable star the go-ahead to run, Tartan Bearer looks very much the value bet in the classic in any case.
The pair were separated by just half a length when New Approach beat his rival in the English equivalent at Epsom.
Of course, New Approach is likely to be, assuming he runs, a particularly tough nut to crack, having overcome all sorts of obstacles last time.
His idiosyncrasies have been more than well documented at this stage, but we discovered a ‘new;’ side to his character once the stalls opened at Epsom.
He pulled like the proverbial train in the early part of the contest and that was something we hadn’t seen before. The son of Galileo also had far from a clear passage in the straight, but it all worked out in the end and he simply had too much toe for Tartan Bearer.
So how can Tartan Bearer be fancied to reverse the placings? Well, Ryan Moore rode him like a speed horse at Epsom and an analysis of the video certainly indicates that’s something he’s not.
Also, he made up his ground very quickly from the back of the field and didn’t have a lot left when attacked by New Approach.
Casual Conquest, who was well held in third at Epsom, is surely the other to consider. He has plenty to find, but went there woefully short on experience and that could well have made a man of him!
There is going to be absolutely no hiding place in this classic, with the likes of Hinda Kush, Bashkirov and Upton Grey sure to bring them along at a furious pace.
Maybe, the Ballydoyle pair, Alessandro Volta and Washington Irving, will benefit greatly from that, but all the evidence is that neither of them is good enough.
If New Approach runs as freely as he did at Epsom, then the chances are he will not get home on this much stiffer track.
Moore’s tactics on Tartan Bearer will be fascinating. Hopefully, he will ride him more for stamina than speed and Michael Stoute’s charge is the choice.
The three-year-old Myboycharlie is fancied to beat the older horses in the William Fry Sapphire Stakes. A high-class juvenile, he can leave a disappointing seasonal debut solidly behind him.
Myboycharlie only finished fifth behind Astronomer Royal on this track, but never settled on an unsuitably firm surface.
Mastercraftsman, who created a big impression when winning at the Curragh in early May, can land the nap in the One 51 Railway Stakes.
At headquarters today, Septimus has to be a confident choice to make a winning reappearance in the At The Races Curragh Cup. He rounded off a light, but lucrative, campaign last season with a stunning five lengths defeat of Geordieland in the Group 2 Doncaster Cup.
