Henry navigates Sussex glory
Trainer Aidan O’Brien has now reached 16 Group One victories this season – nine short of the greatest ever total accrued by the American Bobby Frankel – while four of them have been provided by the lavishly able Kingmambo colt.
This latest triumph was by no means clear-cut as the pacemaker Windsor Palace struggled to give Henrythenavigator (4-11 favourite) a strong enough tow, leaving the dual 2000 Guineas winner in the front rank sooner than jockey Johnny Murtagh would have liked.
Just as on his previous run in the St James’s Palace Stakes, Murtagh was surveyed by Jimmy Fortune aboard Raven’s Pass, with his old rival eating into the advantage inside the final furlong and still seeming to have enough time to tame Henrythenavigator if he had been able.
The official margin was a short-head compared to three-quarters of a length at Royal Ascot.
O’Brien rates Henrythenavigator his best ever miler – above even Rock Of Gibraltar and Giant’s Causeway – but his ultimate aim this season may be to step up to 10 furlongs for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
“I was very worried with two furlongs to go,” admitted the trainer.
“Obviously David (McCabe, jockey) did his best on Windsor Palace but he was flat out all the way.
“We run pacemakers so the best horse can win but Windsor Palace was the only one we had in this race. We knew he had not run this year and he went as fast as he could but you need very high-class horses to do it.
“Henrythenavigator would have preferred a faster pace, but this is a very special horse as he has so much speed but gets the mile well.
“He doesn’t do a lot in front and Johnny felt he was never really in any danger coming to the line.
“He’s had a break already and has done nothing wrong today. He has all the mile races to look at – the Jacques le Marois in France (next month) – races like that.”
It was owner John Magnier who offered the American view, where Ladbrokes quote him as 7-2 favourite. He said: “We had to take on the older horses and have done that. I am not saying he won’t run over a mile again but we are thinking of 10 furlongs for his next start.
“All options are open and at the moment we’d be thinking about the Breeders’ Cup Classic, although we don’t need to decide now.”
