Kingsfort finally starts to pay his way for Godolphin
Deep pockets and even deeper reserves of patience are a good idea for owners. Sheikh Mohammed is known for having the fiscal power but that has never made him immune to the setbacks that come as part-and-parcel of racing.
Having written a cheque with a fair amount zeros for Kingsfort, after he won last year’s Group One National Stakes at the Currgah, the sheikh was doubtless hoping that he had bought a Classic prospect. What he ended up with was a classic long-term prospect who finally took a belated first victory of the season in the Listed bet365 Ben Marshall Stakes.
Saeed bin Suroor had not been able to get the colt on the track until he ran in a Listed race at Redcar earlier this year, where he could finish only fifth. With the choice of three Godolphin runners it was little surprise that Frankie Dettori looked elsewhere. But while Alexandros finished down the field as last of the eight runners, Daragh O'Donohoe found himself going well into the final furlong on Kingsfort as he collared The Cheka to win by one-and-a-quarter lengths.
Blue Bunting, trained by Mahmood al Zarooni and ridden by Ahmed Ajtebi, put herself forward as Classic contender for next year and completed a good afternoon for Godolphin when she won the Listed bet365.com EBF Montrose Fillies' Stakes.
Frankel is already the market leader for next season’s Derby and, after two unbeaten starts, Picture Editor was thought to be another proper contender for the Henry Cecil stable.
However, those pretentions looked to be set aside when he could finish only third to Brian Meehan’s Indigo Way, who got up under a strong ride from Ryan Moore to beat Measuring Time by a short-head in the bet365 Zetland Conditions Stakes.
Picture Editor was being ridden by Ina Mongan with a quarter-mile to run but found little and never looked like troubling the first two, but Cecil was not inclined to write the colt off yet. “He’d been working brilliantly at home but he seems to have just gone over the top,” Cecil said. “He’s run flat but I’m not worried about it.”
Cecil at least finished the day on a good note when Timepiece won the Listed bet365 James Seymour Stakes.
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