The turf
Stable confidence
Robin Oakley
There may have been rain clouds glowering over the Downs, and the odd fat shower, but Goodwood was as glorious as ever on Saturday. Blessed with friendly officials, an attractive new paddock layout and a backdrop to make any landscape painter salivate, it is one of those courses where people are always in a mood to enjoy themselves.
What was even more cheering on Saturday than the liberal supply of Jammy Dodgers and custard creams with the press-room coffee was that most of the contests were won by people we all like to see winning. Had the showers turned up half an hour before the race Henry Candy would have taken Goggles out of the Listed mile but as it was the three-year-old, who had won at Goodwood last year too, ran on well under Chris Rutter's driving to hold off a determined challenge from Sonatina under Kieren Fallon. And they don't come any more determined than that.
Goggles is the first flat horse owned by jolly Jenny Powell, who gives all her horses (like the jumpers Gaelstrom and Gulshan) names beginning with 'G' and calls them her `G-string'. Secured for his connections by David Minton at the Doncaster breezeups for just £20,000, perhaps because he was on his fourth trip through the sale ring at only two. Goggles has repaid them well, winning the Doncaster sales race last year. That victory made him hard to place but his ever-courteous trainer has a shrewd eye for foreign opportunities and I took note of his view that 'now and for the next few weeks, this is his time of year'. Henry calls Goggles 'a tough, sound beast' who likes it 'the firmer the better'.
I asked him about Kyllachy, the sprinter who carries the burden of being one of this column's Ten to Follow and who has not been seen out in Britain since scoring at 8-1 at Sandown in the spring. Henry, to some subsequent regrets, had sent Kyllachy over for a Listed race at Deauville last week where he was narrowly beaten by one of four Sheikh Mohammed runners, who completed the six furlongs on good-to-soft going in 57 seconds. After his three-month lay-off Kyllachy got a bit warm and ran a little too freely but he clearly carries plenty of stable confidence and is likely to be seen out soon in a conditions race at Nottingham and then the Dubai Duty Free contest at Newbury. Good luck to him.
Milton Bradley, the Chepstow farmer with the rumpled cherub look and a smile for everyone, has been a phenomenon of the past two seasons with his ability to win a string of races with cheap horses. Many had hoped he would knock up his 50th winner of this season from as many horses by taking the Stewards Cup with Brevity, winner of eight races already this season, during which he has moved up from a rating of 54 to 97, It was not to be. Brevity found it just a bit too loose for him.
But there was consolation for Milton when Bali Royal took the five-furlong handicap. 'Not a bad little race to take with a horse that couldn't win a seller last year,' he beamed. 'With some horses it's a waste of time giving them extra time but this one has benefited from it. She lost her form last year and the best we could manage was second in a seller. But what she needed was a bit of cut in the ground and an extra year.' It sounds simple when they are standing in the winner's enclosure, but choosing when to hold back as well as when to get on with a horse is what sorts the good trainers from the less good.
Another winner to give widespread pleasure was Ed Dunlop's Lailani, who took the Group One Vodafone Nassau Stakes. We had seen some courage from the young lady who was wandering through the milling crowds in the Ring in bare feet, with toenails painted a fetching silver, but Lailani showed real resolution, as well as advertising the qualities of Frankie Dettori. After such an impressive week from Jamie Spencer there had been some speculation about Godolphin swooping one day to acquire his talents as a successor to Dettori. But Frankie is a young man still in jockey terms and he could not have advertised his qualities better than in that race.
Spencer had sought to steal it, setting up a big lead on Aidan O'Brien's Snowflake and favourite backers were ready to tear up their tickets. But Frankie did not panic although his mount took time to get to the two leaders. He did things steadily and left Lailani with enough to wear down the leader in the final furlong. It was a ride of real maturity and a truly gutsy performance by the filly who began the season in handicaps, won the Irish Oaks, and will now seek to round it off in either the Prix Vermeille or the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
'I'm good with fillies,' said racing's best entertainment value afterwards. Watching Frankie charming sponsors and children and delighting the crowd with his trademark flying dismount you could not help but feel that was an understatement. He is good for racing. We need him around as long as he feels like doing it.
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