Irish 2000 Guineas

Desert Orchid said:
I reckon he left today's race behind at Newmarket. But the stable seems out of form anyway.
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He was trained to the bone for his trial, which caused him to look visually impressive in that. He then ran a great race in the Guineas in the form of his life, but you get the feeling he was tried to his extent there, whereas those that finished around him were still short of their peak.

I agree that Delegator will struggle to find a Group 1 race this season.
 
davidjohnson said:
Ok whatever.
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Not win though. I had Recharge and the Oxx horse (although I didn't think that one would win either) in front of Delegator and was quite strong on Mastercraftsman to win. So about fourth was the best I could see for him.

If Mastercraftsman couldn't win I thought Recharge would.

Delegator is a good horse, but I agree with one or two others on here that it will be hard for him to win at Group 1 level.
 
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In fairness to Steve, he was fairly strong on Mastercraftsman (as was Gal) and fair play to both of them.

Reminded me of the Heinz in that Murtagh got a perfect sit the whole way and was never going to be caught in that sort of ground. That said, there's no doubt the best horse won.
 
Galileo said:
Another quality Group 1 winner from Ballydoyle that had a proper campaign as a 2 year old. Mastercraftsman already made his debut at this stage last year.
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Indeed he was well exposed last season. In fact they probably should have stopped short of taking him to France after the slog he had in the National Stakes. No one can accuse them of wrapping him in cotton wool though, he's been exposed to the teeth of battle.
 
SteveM said:
The good horse won with a minimum of fuss. Shame they didn't have him ready for Newmarket, the "blunt instrument" would have given Sea The Stars a race.
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Judging on this season, and the burly Henrythenavigator that turned up the year before, an angle to oppose a Ballydoyle horse in next years 2000 Guineas is that he is likely to be well undercooked. Very much seems a lesser priorty now....fair enough they'll be there to go close if they are good enough but expect big improvement next time out.
 
I thought Mastercraftsman looked like the only horse in the race remotely able to cope with the ground. Delegator patenty hated every minute of it and I think Meehan was foolish to run him on it.
 
It will be interesting to see what they do with Mastercraftsman from here. He looks like he could be effective up to 10F however all of Mastercraftsman's wins have been at The Curragh,where he looks like a monster, but when he travels overseas he has shown to not be the same force so far.
 
I'll be surprised if they race him over 10f before the autumn, if at all.

They don't seem to have any other milers this year, unless Westphalia is brought back to a mile after the Prix du Jockey Club, which I think is unlikely, and there doesn't seem to be any shortage of 10f+ horses in Ballydoyle.
 
I think it will be a toss up between Mastercraftsman and RVW as to who runs in the G1 10f races in summer/autumn.

Breeders Cup Classic will be on the agenda also for both. The American fillies may be the biggest danger at the moment.
 
Powerscourt said:
It will be interesting to see what they do with Mastercraftsman from here. He looks like he could be effective up to 10F however all of Mastercraftsman's wins have been at The Curragh,where he looks like a monster, but when he travels overseas he has shown to not be the same force so far.
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I agree that it looks like Ballydoyle is determined these days not to lose the end of season international races by overtraining the colts for our Guineas. Gives a chance to a few other yards at least!

Maybe Mastercraftsman will get better at the travelling with experience - I hope he does. A very likeable horse, though I think he's going to be my seasonal bogey LOL - I've only backed him so far when he's lost

I'm sorry niow I didn't place lay Delegator. I'm quite glad he didn't win btw. I know a few people who have horses with Meehan, but no longer do! - not a trainer I care for.
 
Galileo said:
Judging on this season, and the burly Henrythenavigator that turned up the year before, an angle to oppose a Ballydoyle horse in next years 2000 Guineas is that he is likely to be well undercooked. Very much seems a lesser priorty now....fair enough they'll be there to go close if they are good enough but expect big improvement next time out.
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Yes this does seem to be the trend. I'd rather Ballydoyle got any sort of race into them early on to be sure of peak fitness. Many other yards seem to show less improvement between the first and second outings. All of AOB's are coming on a ton second time out.
 
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