Byword and Twice Over ready to take on Harbinger
Racing tends to be different things to different people, and rarely are all factions brought together over any subject.
The news that Sir Michael Stoute could run Harbinger in the Juddmonte International at York on August 18th would be good news for the sponsor and the breeder of a colt who made the news with his record-breaking win in the King George VI and Queen Stakes at Ascot last month. But it would be a concern to those owners who had already targeted the prize.
Happily for Prince Khalid Abdullah he has all bases covered. His Juddmonte Farms breeding operation has sponsored the race for over 20 years and their stallion, Dansili, is second in this year’s sires list primarily because of the four wins of Harbinger. And the prince’s racing arm may provide the sternest test as Harbinger attempts to supplement his King George win with the 10-furlong victory at Group One level that is apparently so coveted by breeders.
Standing in his way is a pair of colts who have won both of the Group One 10-furlong races contested in Britain so far this season. Byword (pictured centre) led a one-two for the owner when he beat Twice Over in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot in June and then Twice Over won the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park the following month. Both the colts’ trainers, André Fabre and Henry Cecil, have targeted the York race and the owner has no objections.
Teddy Grimthorpe, the prince’s racing manager, said: “Putting the sponsor’s hat on, it looks to be a very interesting race no question.
“Both are intended to go to York. I think they’re both top notchers –there’s no question about that. Byword will need to have a little bit more improvement in him if he’s going to go on. Twice Over is pretty well exposed now – if anything Henry thought he’d improved before he went to the Eclipse.”
The odds suggest that Byword has the best chance of the two of eclipsing Harbinger, who was rated the best horse in the world after his 11-length win over Cape Blanco at Ascot, but Grimthorpe thinks that his owner’s runners are not there simply to make up the numbers. “I would hope and expect that Twice over and Byword would be good enough to beat him – otherwise we wouldn’t be running in the race,” he said. “But, from a Juddmonte point of view, having a horse who won the King George in the fashion that he did is very important.”
Retiring Derby winners at the conclusion of their three-year-old seasons has become a fashion that has been hard to break. One of the last was the Abdullah-owned Quest For Fame, who won at Epsom in 1990, and Grimthorpe has not ruled out the possibility with Workforce who, like Byword and Twice Over, was bred by the owner.
Workforce’s record-breaking, seven-length victory at Epsom has been somewhat muted by his subsequent tame run when only fifth in the King George, but Grimthorpe feels that it would be wrong to judge the colt on his most recent performance. “In the Derby he won by seven lengths and you can never take that away from him and we’re pretty sure he didn’t give true running at Ascot. It was no doubt very perplexing and disappointing. He has been checked out with a fine-toothed comb - nothing significant has been revealed – so we’ll just have to let him tell us when he’s ready to go back to the races. We’re not going to put a programme on him – I think realistically the one remaining race Europe in for him is the Arc. But the most important thing is that the horse is back on song and giving everyone the vibes we’re looking for.
“We want to be convinced that he is going to do himself justice. All the signs were that he would at Ascot and he didn’t. Therefore we have to give him the time. You don’t want to condemn him too quickly – it was only his fourth race – and he’s a big, scopey horse and it may need a bit more time to strengthen up and get back into gear again.”
A 26% strike-rate with his older division in Group races this season underlines why Sir Michael Stoute is considered a master of bringing the best out of horses who need time – just look at Harbinger – and Grimthorpe conceded that Workforce could well be one to improve if allowed to race for a third season.
“If he improves as much as Harbinger did from three to four, we’re going to have something quite special aren’t we?” he said. “It’s certainly a possibility; we haven’t really got there yet. Obviously that will be Prince Khalid’s decision.”
If so, a plan including a 10-furlong Group One – the Juddmonte perhaps? – would keep owner, breeder and sponsor very happy.
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