A Castle without a King, A Season without a Star
As we sit here right in the middle of the flat season we see ourselves asking each other the same question, who is the star? And the truth is, is there one that actually shines brightest of the lot? In what has been a messy year of form with many reversals and excuses tossed about, especially when talking about the current crop of three-year old's, it has lead me to think whether we're dealing with a slightly below average bunch of stallions this year.
At this current stage leading up to the Juddmonte at York, the horses with their reputations still slightly intact from a stallion point of view are 2000 Guineas 1,2 Churchill and Barney Roy. However, even when discussing those two animals in in question, both have had their bubble burst on separate occasions, the most notable being Churchill's massive flop at Royal Ascot when trailing in 4th in the St James' Palace. Barney Roy has been a very consistent and progressive type this year but looks vulnerable as has been beaten in the Guineas and the Eclipse. With both horses looking set to clash at York next week, that should indicate which is the superior of the two. Unfortunately, in similar fashion to the clashes between Galileo Gold, The Gurkha and Awtaad last year, one doesn’t feel that were dealing with world beaters on a decade by decade basis.
That leads us to the Sprinters and the talking point of recent weeks, what has happened to the seemingly invincible Caravaggio? Having looked very impressive on seasonal debut as Naas and then knuckling down to win readily at Ascot, the son of Scat Daddy has bombed out at Newmarket in the July Cup and over in France since. Instead of priming right at this stage of the season, we're questioning his actual ability as he must clamber onto the road to recovery.
The one argument people might make to me when contesting the statement of the lack of stars in this year's division might think I'm forgetting Enable. This isn't the case. The vastly improved John Gosden trained three-year-old has been flying the flag for the fillies alongside Aiden O'Brien trained grey Winter. As much as everyone was amazed by her in the King George you must remember she was receiving over a stone from tough types like Highland Reel and Ulysses on ground to her liking. I think this brings into question the filly/mare and weight for age allowances that hold no type of feeling in my mind, a disgrace if you ask me.
As always with Horse Racing, a lot of it is down to individual perception and that’s how I view it at this current stage with certainly no Frankel's or Sea the Stars' blossoming, not even a Golden Horn. This still could change with many a big race left to go and Enable could continue her winnings ways, but when she receives so much weight all the time, does that really merit her to be a deemed a star?