The Flat season is all but over as the Persian War meeting’s already finished and Champions Day approaches. It doesn’t seem a minute since Urban Lion took the Lincoln Handicap at the back end of March, although Flat fanatics still at least have the Breeders’ Cup on the horizon before the National Hunt season ramps up.
After what’s been another action-packed campaign, here are our end of Flat season awards.
End Of Season Awards for the Flat
Andrew Balding could be crowned the British Champion Trainer this weekend and deservedly so after his Juddmonte team have flown the Kingsclere flag, but Joseph O’Brien has had a tremendous season across the globe and gets the nod.
For a dual-purpose trainer, his ability to remain successful at the top level throughout the whole year under both codes and across many countries is nothing short of genius, unsurprisingly given his own pedigree.
Eighth in the British trainers’ title, Joseph O’Brien took two of the five British Classics. Fresh off the back of two Cheltenham Festival wins, O’Brien won the Epsom Oaks in scintillating fashion with Thundering On. A day later, he finished third in the Derby with James J Braddock.
Later in the year, O’Brien won his second St Leger, following on from Galileo Chrome in 2020, as Highwayman took the Classic. Remarkably, the Persian King colt was beaten over 57 lengths in his first three runs, and got off the mark in a Killarney Auction Maiden two races prior to the St Leger. O’Brien had the runner-up too, with Enceladus.
At Royal Ascot, O’Brien had five winners and the forecast in the Ascot Stakes. At the Goodwood Festival he had two winners, and at York’s Ebor meeting he also had two winners. An Irish Oaks, the Chester Plate, a National Stakes, the £152k Curragh Auction Stakes and a whole host of other valuable contests ensued in what’s been his best season by far.
It was a history-making season for Saffie Osborne as she became the first female jockey to win a British Classic when teaming up with Joseph O’Brien in the St Leger. Saffie sits 10th in the British jockeys’ championship and has ridden 79 winners this calendar year, her best yet.
Having been granted more opportunities on the big days, her innate talent has been showcased on a wider scale throughout the campaign. She registered a 274-1 Saturday treble in July, capped off by Amazing Journey winning the £150,000 International Handicap.
Her formidable partnership with Richard Spencer and Phil Cunningham has also blossomed. Speed Of Sound took a £28k fillies’ handicap at the St Leger meeting, a resurgent Twilight Calls won at the Goodwood Festival and also finished second in the Portland Handicap, Zigazig Ah picked up plenty of prize money when finishing second in two Auction Stakes, and Wild Thoughts won five of his 11 races this season, including the Kilkerran Handicap.
Riding regular winners at the big meetings has taken her form as a jockey to a new level, with a British Classic the cherry on top.
Some notable horses such as Daryz, Item and Scandinavia could’ve taken this prize, but Bow Echo undoubtedly deserves the plaudits.
The Night Of Thunder colt confirmed the promise of his two-year-old campaign when bolting up on seasonal debut in the 2000 Guineas. It was the best performance in the race since Frankel, pulling just shy of three lengths clear of Gstaad. He pulled ten lengths clear of the third.
Bow Echo followed that up with Royal Ascot success in the St James’s Palace, defying unfavourable circumstances having been hampered and keen early on. The initial inkling from some was that he got away with that and perhaps his Guineas was the crescendo of his career, but he proved the doubters wrong when landing the hat-trick in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood, again beating Gstaad.
Sadly, his career was brought to a halt after an injury at home, but he finished the campaign as the fourth-highest-rated horse in the world and a highly exciting stallion prospect.
Katie Scott has just 21 boxes in her Scottish-based yard and has sent out just 8 winners this season from 174 runs, but four of those came with Naana’s Shadow. The Havana Grey filly began the season on a mark of 72, and is now rated 37lb higher.
She took the 3yo Dash at Epsom, and 22 days later she took the Dash handicap at York. She then won at the Goodwood Festival before placing at the Ebor meeting, and her fifth success of the year saw her win a Group 3 at Longchamp, before being beaten just over a length in the Abbaye.
Her progress has been nothing short of remarkable, and she’s been expertly handled by Katie Scott.
For most trainers, a 123-rated Wootton Bassett colt – who’s won the Dee Stakes, the French Derby and the Eclipse, and finished third in both the Juddmonte International and the Irish Champion Stakes – would be a horse of a lifetime.
But, if you believed the narrative beforehand, I think Constitution River has been seriously disappointing given what we were all told.
Aidan O’Brien said he’s the best of their three-year-olds, and told the media that Ryan Moore doesn’t think he’s ridden a better horse. For a man of few words, that was some serious praise. However, at York, he raced keenly throughout and despite seemingly being well positioned, he failed to stay the ten furlongs strongly.
It wasn’t a poor performance by any means, and he reversed the form with the pair in front of him in the Irish Champion Stakes. But again, he was third to two older types, again not looking all that mentally furnished.
Not only is he a flop on the track, but for Coolmore’s stallion profile it would’ve significantly weakened his stud fee.
