Captain’s blog – July 26
26 Jul
On Saturday Harbinger proved that the speed figures he had been running all season were legitimate and the manner of his success stamped him as being an exceptional colt.
Workforce ran a flat race and was not himself. After the Investec Derby Ryan Moore was concerned that he had given the horse too hard a race and those words were proved to be somewhat prophetic as Workforce checked out tamely.
When horses run as hard as he did in the Derby sometimes they are physically incapable of going there again and mentally they may not want to face the pain barrier again. He may yet return and repeat his Derby effort, but that is unlikely.
Harbinger is the new kid on the block, the brightest star, who, as of yet, has not had to reach deep into his mental and physical reserves. There will be those who will now use the King George as a stick to beat the Derby form, but they would be wrong to do so because the Derby form was not really tested with Workforce running so poorly.
There is nothing wrong with this year’s Derby. The massive speed figure of 132 that Workforce ran is completely legitimate but the effort that it took to run so fast has simply taken its toll.
I am playing golf today at Goodwood with a load of other hacks, hackers and bandits form various racing organisations. I am a terrible golfer and have not played for 18 months so I really do pity those who have to play with me.
The key to me enjoying the whole thing is to secure the use of a buggy because if I walk around, my erratic shots will mean I have to cover miles and miles. With a buggy and a lot of luck I should be ok, but I am a little bit nervous about the whole thing. The tournament is a prelude to the Glorious Goodwood meeting for which I will be in the booth for Racing UK every day other than Saturday.
For this reason I will not be staying for the after golf dinner and prize giving ceremony. I need to get home and get some kip before a busy week and after all I am not going to be picking up any prizes!
Time for me to find the golf clubs and get the cobwebs off them. Have a great day.
Today’s Selections
4.30 Wolverhampton – Athakeel (each way 11/2 Bet365)
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