Canford Cliffs to show his class
The mantle of top miler in both the classic generation and amongst the older horses is up for grabs and in one hedonistic hour of horse racing thisafternoon our appetite for a plausible successor to Sea The Stars could besatiated by any one of half a dozen horses.
The three-year-olds contest the St James’ Palace Stakes, in which English 2000 Guineas winner Makfi will attempt to reassert his superiority over the Richard Hannon trained pair, Dick Turpin and Canford Cliffs.
Trained by Mikel Delzangles in France, Makfi caused a real upset when running out quite a comfortable winner of the first colts’ classic of the season and the form received a real boost when runner-up Dick Turpin filled the same place behind Lope De Vega at Longchamp and when Canford Cliffs routed the opposition in the Irish equivalent.
If there’s a semblance of doubt about the substance of the form and, consequently, a plausible reason to oppose the French raider this afternoon, it’s from the fact that the early part of theNewmarket race was run at a slow pace and it effectively turned into a sprint.
Makfi coped best with the conditions but it would be dangerous to underestimate him given that he’s yet to taste defeat and open to further improvement.
Dick Turpin’s case for reversing the Newmarket form with the winner hinges on his subsequent effort at Longchamp where he finished second behind Lope De Vega. The winner went on to boost the form with a swaggering success in the French Derby so it was most encouraging that Dick Turpin was closing him down rapidly in the French Guineas, where he was beaten just half a length.
He’s not unappealing at odds of 9-1, but he’s likely to have to settle for a minor role once more. It’s also been quite clear from the very start of their careers that he has always played second fiddle to Canford Cliffs in the affections of trainer Richard Hannon.
Ballydoyle send three runners to today’s race and, though Beethoven is the Group 1 winner amongst the trio, Steinbeck is their main hope. Injury plagued hisjuvenile season when his second ever outing yielded a fourth place finishbehind his aforementioned stablemate in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes.
His delayed seasonal debut came in the Irish 2000 Guineas where he travelled noticeably well at the back of the pack before making late headway into fourth place behind Canford Cliffs.
Improvement is sure to be forthcoming, but there must be grave doubt that he can make such significant strides as to turn around a deficit of five lengths with the winner.
The other interesting runners in the race are Siyouni, who was unlucky-in-running when ninth in the French Guineas, and American raider Noble’s Promise, whose best form came when he pushed subsequent Preakness Stakes winner Lookin At Lucky to a head in a Grade 2 at Oaklawn back in March.
From a good draw, it’s possible the transatlantic traveller will try and burn them off from the front and that should tee up the race for the more fanciedrunners. A fast pace on equally fast ground at The Curragh last monthrevived memories of Canford Cliffs’ Coventry Stakes victory of this day last year and conditions look perfect for a repeat performance from the colt this afternoon.
On that occasion, he travelled superbly and weaved his way through the field with ease before powering clear in the closing stages to dispel previous doubts about his stamina for a mile.
Those were the fireworks connections expected when he disappointed in the Greenham at Newbury and in the Guineas at Newmarket, but now he’s rediscovered his very best form, Canford Cliffs can go on to vindicate his home reputation and establish himself as the top miler of his generation with victory today.
