Sea Lord sails home in totesport Mile
When Mark Johnston talks, people tend to listen. The trainer is rarely short of an opinion, or 12, on various matters but the fact that those opinions make sense means that his views colour those of others.
So when the man who has been the leading trainer at the Glorious Goodwood meeting seven times previously, puts his neck on the block over which of his horses had the best chance the markets were going to take notice.
When he nominated Sea Lord in the totesport Mile, the colt’s price went into freefall. He was sent off as the second-favourite and the faith was not misplaced as he became the trainer’s fourth winner in the race.
Although the draw on the sprint course is an oft-debated subject, over a mile the statistics are more clear-cut. In the previous five years only one winner - Laa Rayb 12 months ago – came from a single-figure stall and the overall score in that period had only five runners from that end of the draw making it into the first four places, and several of those would have got closer but for their run being compromised by the vagaries of the draw.
The time the first three home were drawn 16, 17 and 21 while the fourth was from stall 9.
Sea Lord (pictured left) broke from stall 16 and Royston Ffrench wasted no time in making the most of his advantage as he bustled the front-running three-year-old to bag a rail’s lead from where he could dictate the pace on the swing into the home straight.
Behind him Aspectus, Mahadee and Charlie Cool were leading the pursuers but it was the unseen menace that would deliver the most potent challenge. When Invisible Man won the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot last month, Frankie Dettori rode him almost like a non-trier as he kidded the horse into race without him realising it.
Dettori again smuggled this quirky horse through the field with a dream run up the inside rail to challenge in the final furlong. But Johnston horses are so often hewn in the image of their trainer - pugnacious and with a will to win - and Sea Lord just kept finding for Ffrench to win by three-quarters of a lengths with Webbow in third. “He’s a typical Johnston horse,” said Ffrench. “He’s done nothing but improve and, when something comes to him, he goes again. They don’t know when to give up.”
Aside from one poor run in the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot, where he did not get much luck in running, Sea Lord has been a model of both consistency and improvement winning twice both sides of that Ascot run and yet that haul of five handicap wins, which could be described as a master-class in training, did not have the man himself beaming with pride.
Johnston also had Sea Lord entered for a Listed race on the final day of the meeting - which he may still run in - but economics will always win over prestige for him which is something that rankles. “I’ve had a terrible dilemma with a horse like this, who’s clearly a little bit above handicap level,” He pointed out. “Do you run in the handicap for the prize money or do you go for the Listed race - which is really what he should be in?
“I’ve got so many handicappers and it does get frustrating when good horses are getting beaten by the weight, rather than by horses of better ability.”
Tropical Paradise’s previous victories had never come above handicap level but she showed she had the ability when she won the Group Three Oak Tree Stakes.
http://www.senore.com/Everything-just-Dandy-for-David-Nicholls-a19422
http://www.senore.com/Glorious-moment-for-Barry-Hills-at-Goodwood-a19414
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