Sprinters- How good is Deacon Blues?

Tout Seul

Tout Seul

Senior Jockey
Joined
May 2, 2003
Messages
2,628
Another superb performance today. Where does he figure amongst the top current sprinters?
 
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He travels so well in all his races, even over 5 today he was hard on the steel 1f out.

It'll take a serious horse to beat him back at 6f with any ease in the ground.
 
Though he's never contested anything higher than a gp3, I'd say he's probably the best we've got by at least a couple of lbs, and worthy favourite for the Quipco sprint.
 
He’s a fine sprinter and Fanshawe has kept him in good form all season, perhaps by keeping him slightly under the radar. The Ascot race is of course a Group 2, so that would be the sensible next step.

I’d say better than Dream Ahead’s worst but not so good as Dream Ahead’s best. There would only be a handful ahead of him though.
 
Does anyone else think his campaign post-Ascot has been a bit wasteful? What was/is wrong with running him at the highest level this season?
 
That’s the question… is he an under-achiever or has Fanshawe managed him impeccably? Without seeing what would have happened had he had been aimed at the Group 1s we can only guess. Fanshawe has probably kept him lower key for a reason though. His season has been highly successful. Maybe it could have achieved even more, but such horses when they are pitched too high have a habit of being beaten a length or so into third or fourth. Then we would have been saying the yard should have been more realistic.
 
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As reet says, Haydock was the plan prior to having a problem. I think he's been campaigned wonderfully this season. Brought to a peak to land a big handicap prize with a group class performance and then confirming as much in 3 subsequent starts. The way he's diminated his last 3 races, never looking out of his comfort zone at any stage suggests he's special.

Connections must be ruing gelding him at the end of last year, though of course, that could have been the making of him to some degree.
 
…a good point, which also means he’s running for realisable money rather than Group 1 prestige (that would get him into the breeding sheds) as such. Given that he missed the Sprint Cup due to scoping, perhaps they've done as well as they could of done with him.
 
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davidjohnson said:
As reet says, Haydock was the plan prior to having a problem. I think he's been campaigned wonderfully this season. Brought to a peak to land a big handicap prize with a group class performance and then confirming as much in 3 subsequent starts. The way he's diminated his last 3 races, never looking out of his comfort zone at any stage suggests he's special.

Connections must be ruing gelding him at the end of last year, though of course, that could have been the making of him to some degree.
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The snip has been the making of him imo. He has always travelled well in his races but didn't always go through with his effort (again imo) before he was cut, and they thought he needed to be produced as late as possible.

This year he certainly isn't stopping when he hits the front.
 
Gelding a horse can make an appreciable difference, sometimes a dramatic one. Breeders don’t like geldings winning Group 1s, which is why they’re excluded from some of them.

 
Another reason trainers think geldings winning Gr 1s is unfair is that they are much easier to handle than entire horses and can have longer careers. It's very hard to keep an entire's mind on racing, and it's not always for economic reasons that they go to stud earlier than racegoers would like.
 
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