New Approach棄爭凱旋門及育馬者盃，強攻主席錦標
New Approach will sit out both the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the Breeders' Cup after Jim Bolger yesterday disclosed that he is instead training him for the Emirates Airline Champion Stakes at Newmarket on 18 October.
Whether on two legs or four, those under Bolger's supervision all know the meaning of hard work. Lush Lashes, for instance, will contest her ninth race of the season in the Prix de l'Opera, at Longchamp on Sunday week. But not even Bolger would contemplate running a Derby winner either side of the Atlantic within seven days, so the decision not to send New Approach to Paris with Lush Lashes also ends any possibility of taking on Big Brown, the Kentucky Derby winner, in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
That seems a pity, but the Arc would hardly have been the ideal preparation for that assignment, either. Effectively it came down to a choice of only one race between the three, and Sheikh Mohammed – who bought New Approach from Bolger last year as a present for his wife, Princess Haya – will presumably not be averse to seeing the colt run on a card that showcases their Dubai homeland.
New Approach won the Darley Dewhurst Stakes on the equivalent afternoon last year and again excelled on his return to the Rowley Mile, beaten only in a photo by Henrythenavigator in the 2,000 Guineas.
"All things considered, the Champion Stakes is the best race for the horse," Bolger said. "A mile and a quarter is probably his best trip, and the Arc could turn out very awkward if you drew the outside in a big field."
Few were impressed by the manner of New Approach's latest success, in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, but he seems increasingly indolent and the man who knows him best was adamant that he had plenty in reserve. "He did not have a hard race," Bolger confirmed. "He was bucking and squealing the day after. He's idle enough in a finish, but at the same time he wouldn't give it away, as he has proved in the past. Given another stride or two in the Guineas, he would have got back up again."
It seems likely that New Approach will end his career at Newmarket, the Sheikh being eager to add the son of Galileo to the regiment of expensive young stallions being charged with invigorating his torpid breeding empire.
When he first went to stud, nobody had greater faith in Galileo than Bolger and he looks like being rewarded by the next generation, too. Cuis Ghaire may yet prove herself top-class next season, while a colt named Gan Amhras beat one of the best
Balldyoyle juveniles, Masterofthehorse, over a mile at Naas in July. "He hasn't run since but he hasn't had his ground all summer," Bolger explained. "We're going mercenary with him next weekend, when he'll run in the Goffs Million at the Curragh."
Bolger added that Maoineach, an American-bred filly who won a Group race on her debut three weeks ago, would accompany Lush Lashes to Longchamp, where she will contest the Prix Marcel Boussac.
If the news about New Approach seems to leave a void in the Arc field, it now appears likely that another Irish star, Duke Of Marmalade, will take his place. Aidan O'Brien had been toying with the idea of running his colt in a race at Great Leighs on Saturday, as a possible prelude to the Breeders' Cup Classic. But he has now been offered an alternative opportunity to test the colt on a synthetic surface, at Dundalk on Friday week. The timing of that option, just two days before the Arc, will enable Duke Of Marmalade to go to Longchamp if the ground does not turn soft – and, at long last, the forecast is very encouraging in that regard.:fff: :fff:
[ 本帖最後由 willandgrace 於 22/9/2008 12:21 PM 編輯 ]
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