With the conclusion of the Flat season proper closing in, Matthew Sutcliffe looks back on a racing campaign full of flavour. He picks out his top five performances of the season in Britain, with his list including stayers, sprinters and a sprinkle of stardust from an unbeaten hero.
5. Highwayman – Group 1 Betfred St Leger Stakes
The St Leger was one of the highlights of the season for a multitude of reasons. On the face of things, it appeared to be a strong enough renewal with the Derby winner Christmas Day bidding to add a second classic.
Pierre Bonnard was bidding to reverse the Classic form with the stamina test looking to suit, while Enceladus was looking to make it a hat trick of wins at festival meetings.
If you’d have told me that a horse who’d been beaten a combined 62 lengths in Maiden’s, including over six and a half furlongs, would we the winner of the St Leger, I’d have simply shut my eyes and gone back to whatever bizarre dream state I was in.
Nevertheless, it was Highwayman for Joseph O’Brien and Saffie Osborne who took the oldest British Classic. He capped off a remarkable season for O’Brien following his Oaks success with Thundering On, and it was a historical moment for Saffie Osborne who became the first female to win the prestigious classic.
Her pure, raw emotion in the immediate aftermath heightened the nature of the success, and captured the unpredictable brilliance of our sport.
4. Sparks Fly – Group 3 Princess Elizabeth Stakes
It’s been an unprecedented year weather wise, with the dry spell wreaking havoc across the country. Ironically, the bulk of the rain during the season appeared to come on Derby day. Epsom was met with a biblical downpour, and that played perfectly into the hands of the mud-loving Sparks Fly.
The Muhaarar mare has been partnered by Laura Pearson on 22 of her 28 races, with all but 2 of her 11 career victories coming under Pearson. The rider has been given nowhere near the amount of opportunities to ride on the big stage particularly since losing her claim, but she demonstrated her nuance when making a mockery of all the jockeys in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes.
Sparks Fly made all under Laura Pearson, but while the rest of the field tracked across the idiosyncratic track to the far-side, Pearson bravely kept it simple under Sparks Fly by sticking to the inside rail to tear the field apart by nearly a furlong.
It was a remarkable performance by both horse and jockey, exemplifying why the latter has become criminally underused by others.
3. Bacio – Group 1 Coolmore City Of Troy Nunthorpe Stakes
The sprinting division has lacked a star in the last few year’s, possibly since the likes of Battaash and Blue Point. That’s possibly doing a disservice to the mares in Highfield Princess and Asfoora, but nothing has quite been able to rip apart the field with some authority and the Group 1’s have been something of a lottery.
There’s scarcely a better sight than seeing the thoroughbred gallop at maximum speed, and we witnessed something special in Bacio’s Nunthorpe performance. He made a mockery of the handicapper when let in off 100 for the Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes at Royal Ascot, making all in scintillating style to win going away just shy of four lengths.
The International contingent always adds further intrigue to our festivals, such was the case in the Nunthorpe as Wesley Ward kept his sprinting star stable in Britain for the event. Taking on the older sprinters, Bacio again made all under Juan Hernandez and he barely had to move until the furlong pole.
He undoubtedly stole the race from the off, but being able to sustain such blistering early speed is a rarity among the British sprinters and it was a performance that will struggle to be matched on the Knavesmire in the coming years.
2. Item – Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes
The Juddmonte International is one of my favourite races in the calendar. The field this year was strong. The Dante winner Item was back to that level after taking the Great Voltigeur following his Derby blip, and fellow three year old Constitution River was out to confirm connections belief he was one of the best colts they’ve had, mentioned even in the same breath at Galileo.
Last year’s winner Ombudsman, who sat firmly toward the top of the global rankings, was bidding to be the first back-to-back winner of the race Hailing in 1996.
The race had a personal incentive for myself and the lads I was with, as the majority of us were keen on Almaqam. I’d walked over to the track from a nearby pub, and was one of the very few delighted to be caught in the treacherous downpour on the walk. Within the 10 minutes, he’d shortened from 20/1 to 10/1.
Despite the last drift, it looked for all the world he was going to get up, we’d even began celebrating the success. I couldn’t believe our luck when Item switched right and came with a late run, remarkably chinning Almaqam. It was an excellent performance from the winner to dig deep and regather his stride late on. I’ll never forget that final furlong, we witnessed every single emotion you possibly could in racing.
1. Bow Echo – Group 1 Qatar Sussex Stakes
Part of the reason that most horse racing fans feel a sense of personal attachment to the National Hunt discipline as opposed to the flat is the return of the gallant stars.
With the flat, particularly in recent years, the cream of the classic crop are generally shipped off to stud at the end of the season. As a result, the flat needs big stars to heighten the interest throughout the campaign.
Unfortunately, the likes of Sea The Stars and Frankel were before I developed my passion for the sport. Baaeed was the closest I’ve come to witnessing similar greatness, but this season, along came Bow Echo.
An unbeaten, beautifully bred miler with the potential to strengthen the breed as a stallion for years to come. Every one of his six wins were excellent in their own right. He was the most dominant 2000 Guineas winner we’ve seen since Frankel, but it was his Sussex Stakes performance that stamped him as one of the modern greats.
Bow Echo was taking on a field that between them had a combined Group 1 accolades. It was the trilogy between him and Gstaad, who’d twice previously seen his rear end, including a short head defeat at Royal Ascot.
The pair were taking on the older horses, such as the impressive bet365 Mile winner Opera Ballo, who was second to Ten Bob Tony in the Queen Anne, who also lined up here. Throw in last year’s National Stakes winner Zavateri mark, a former Queen Anne winner in Docklands and a pair who’d ran in the Lennox Stakes the day before, the Sussex was billed to be one of the hottest races of the season.
However, Bow Echo made them look mere mortals. Settling perfectly well in midfield, he angled outside for a run and charged home to once again beat Gstaad. The race lived up to the billing, and while it’s a huge shame that Bow Echo was sadly retired due to injury, there’s no doubt we can look forward to seeing his progeny shine in the coming years.
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