Beaten brigade looking ahead to bright future
Alan Aitken
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Sean Woods. Photo: Kenneth Chan
Trainer Sean Woods believes King Dancer will ultimately prove himself the best horse from yesterday's Hong Kong Derby after a slow pace saw him finish fifth to Super Satin.
"He needed a true pace and he just didn't get it, simple as that," said Woods. "He's run well and he did get tangled up between horses at one stage in the straight, but at the end it was the pace that was his undoing. He won't go to the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, he's a stayer and I'll give him his chance in those two 2,400m Group races towards the end of the season. I still think he's the best horse and he'll prove it in time. He'll be an international horse next season."
Felix Coetzee did all but land his second Derby in three years with Tony Cruz's Super Pistachio, but wasn't offering any excuses: "I had a lovely run, I was really happy with the timing when I went and hit the front but the winner was just a bit better on the day."
Cruz, too, was prepared to admit to finding better ones on the day, with his other runner, $31 favourite Beauty Flash, finishing in fourth: "Frankie Dettori gave him a great ride, I thought, but Beauty Flash didn't stay and he'll be dropping back to the mile now. He'll run in the Champions Mile and he is entered for the Yasuda Kinen, too.
"I did think Super Pistachio would improve again today and he has. His options are fairly narrow because I don't think he can drop back to 1,600m and 2,400m might be too far, but the QE II Cup is certainly a possibility," he added.
Brave Kid was keen in the middle stages of the muddling-run Derby, but lived up to his name in third, and trainer John Size said he didn't think the race a proper guide to the gelding.
"I wouldn't take anything away from any other runner but I don't think it was a good guide to Brave Kid's capabilities with that slow tempo. There's no firm plan at this stage, but if he pulls up well he might come back to a mile for the Chairman's Trophy," he said.
Caspar Fownes won the race with Super Satin, but warned punters not to discard Fair Trade, who had a tough run going around the field midrace after settling last from gate 14. "We had to take a chance, you only get one chance at a Derby, but the preparation wasn't right, the draw made his job impossible and once you see him back at a mile you'll see that he is something special," Fownes said.
"He'll run in the Chairman's Trophy next time out and nobody should hold this run today against him."
Boom colt Irian will likely be a boom gelding when next he appears, with trainer John Moore targeting the Queen Mother's Memorial Cup (2,400m) for him in May. "He was only beaten a few lengths but his focus isn't in the right place. I'll recommend he be gelded and, if he is, he'll have a break and be back to the races in six to eight weeks and we'll try 2,400m at handicaps."
Jockey Darren Beadman was probably more forgiving than Moore: "I wasn't too disappointed, I think it's all happened a bit fast for him. He hasn't fully acclimatised but was better in all aspects again today - behind the gates, during the race.
http://racing.scmp.com/freeservice/news/news20100315d.asp
勇敢小子、君子一言下場應該跑主席錦標
締造美麗目標冠軍一哩賽
締造美麗亦已報名角逐安田紀念
至勇威龍唔跑QE，將會跑季尾兩場2400米賽事
大摩建議閹左魔法幻影:fff: :yyy: ，稍作休息後可能會出戰皇太后盃
威利旺旺應該會跑QE，告仔覺得佢千六太短二千四太長:ddd:
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本帖最後由 Galileo 於 17/3/2010 01:26 PM 編輯 ]
