Arcano Beat Canford Cliffs in Darley Prix Morny
Those who follow two-year olds rarely get carried away with exceptional performances like the six-length victory of Canford Cliffs IRE (Tagula IRE) in the Coventry Stakes, Royal Ascot.
Veteran trainer Richard Hannon and jockey Richard Hughes did--along with all the major bookmakers who made Canford Cliffs favourite for the 2000 Guineas in 2010.
He went off as 4.9 favourite in the Darley Prix Morney (Group 1), 6f for 2yo, Deauville, August 23. He came third by a neck.
According to Hughes, he ran flat and never fired. He was scoped afterwards and shows no sign of illness or injury.
Special Duty (Hennessy USA), a smashing chestnut filly, led almost all the way, fended off Canford Cliffs only to lose the race on the line to Arcano (Oasis Dream) by a short neck.
Both the first and second horse are Juddmonte products.
Arcano, recently purchased by Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum after he landed the Newmarket July Stakes, broke the course record by two seconds at 1m07.9sec on good ground.
Trainer Brian Meehan is sending Arcano to the Dewhurst Stakes (Group 1) at Newmarket October 17. This 7f race is often a stepping stone to the 2000 Guineas in May 2010.
Meehan made the point that Arcano is still "a bit of a baby".
Angus Gold, Sheikh Hamdan's racing manager, said "That is very much what Richard Hughes felt too...which is a good sign that he can do that when he is not quite tuned mentally".
Arcano is now leading the betting odds for the 2000 Guineas replacing Canford Cliffs and Special Duty leads the fillies for the 1000 Guineas.
Many experts still hold out hopes for Canford Cliffs; surprises happen and we have months before the end of the 2009 season.
Racing International www.racingint.com
Veteran trainer Richard Hannon and jockey Richard Hughes did--along with all the major bookmakers who made Canford Cliffs favourite for the 2000 Guineas in 2010.
He went off as 4.9 favourite in the Darley Prix Morney (Group 1), 6f for 2yo, Deauville, August 23. He came third by a neck.
According to Hughes, he ran flat and never fired. He was scoped afterwards and shows no sign of illness or injury.
Special Duty (Hennessy USA), a smashing chestnut filly, led almost all the way, fended off Canford Cliffs only to lose the race on the line to Arcano (Oasis Dream) by a short neck.
Both the first and second horse are Juddmonte products.
Arcano, recently purchased by Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum after he landed the Newmarket July Stakes, broke the course record by two seconds at 1m07.9sec on good ground.
Trainer Brian Meehan is sending Arcano to the Dewhurst Stakes (Group 1) at Newmarket October 17. This 7f race is often a stepping stone to the 2000 Guineas in May 2010.
Meehan made the point that Arcano is still "a bit of a baby".
Angus Gold, Sheikh Hamdan's racing manager, said "That is very much what Richard Hughes felt too...which is a good sign that he can do that when he is not quite tuned mentally".
Arcano is now leading the betting odds for the 2000 Guineas replacing Canford Cliffs and Special Duty leads the fillies for the 1000 Guineas.
Many experts still hold out hopes for Canford Cliffs; surprises happen and we have months before the end of the 2009 season.
Racing International www.racingint.com
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