Sussex Stakes

Goldikova and Delegator the only real possible dangers left at a mile? Cannot think of much else...Champion miler looks assured.
 
Gareth Flynn said:
Sea The Stars still has that QEII entry... :D
Click to expand...

Actually when you think about it, bar some serious to Sea The Stars we are absolutely guaranteed some cracking races to finish off the season. Usually there is a two big horses that could clash but now we have...

Sea The Stars vs Mastercraftsman at Juddmonte
Sea The Stars vs Mastercraftsman or Fame And Glory at Leopardstown
Sea The Stars vs Fame And Glory at the Arc
Fame And Glory vs the top French colts/fillys plus Sariska in the Arc
Sea The Stars vs Rip Van Winkle in the QEII.

Its shows the importance (and what a loss a succesful Godolphin is) of serious competition outside of Ballydoyle to really make a top class flat year.
 
the golden drifter said:
Lydia is a f*cking clown of the highest order.
Click to expand...

I wish we had a few more clowns like her. Knowledgeable about racing, prepared to state her opinion and doesn't always toe the party line. I don't agree with her all the time but I'm always happy to see her presenting.
 
Last edited:
It's all relative, innit?"

He may have looked poor in comparison with the rest, he may have still looked better than he has before and as these judgements are probably being made from a television screen, what are they worth anyway.

I would have taken any or all of them home, thank you very much.
 
Colin Phillips said:
It's all relative, innit?"

He may have looked poor in comparison with the rest, he may have still looked better than he has before and as these judgements are probably being made from a television screen, what are they worth anyway.

I would have taken any or all of them home, thank you very much.
Click to expand...

Yes that is what I meant - he is far from the best looking horse, far from it. In fact there is not that much to get excited about at all in terms of looks - but in terms of conditon and overall appearance I thought he looked on much better terms with himself as to say the Guineas or Epsom (cannot remember Sandown). He looks to have bulked up or put on a fair degree of muscle behind - but again I take on board that judging from the TV is pretty difficult.
 
davidjohnson said:
Timeform's View

http://www.sportinglife.com/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=racing/09/07/30/manual_101533.html
Click to expand...

I knew they'd start catching up with me eventually :p

Raceform will probably do likewise. The difficulty with them is that once they're in print they won't change. It will be the master rating at the back of the form book that will show the change. (I suppose it will be different in Raceform Interactive.)

As I said before, they'd have been reluctant to go with the higher figures from the outset as they wouldn't have wanted to leave themselves open to criticism if the horses hadn't continued to frank the form.
 
Last edited:
Not bad with me;

102.94

To give you some idea of a performance benchmark (even if the trip is different), Conduit I had at 102.58 (about half a length down).

His Eclipse was faster but it was always going to be, and I doubt Rip will ever run a figure like that again
 
Racing Post go 131 for Rip (same as his new Eclipse rating), 126 Paco Boy (same as his Queen Anne rating, 1lb short of his Foret best), Ghanaati 112 (3lbs lower than her Guineas win, 9lbs lower than her Coronation win), Forgotten Voice on 114 (1lb lower than his Hunt Cup win), and the rest all well below their previous bests.
 
Brilliant tactics from Ballydoyle with their use of Malibu Bay - well done to all who kept the faith with Rip, don't think 131 is too far off the mark though Ghanaati running below par won't help matters.

STS looking exceptional now :)
 
By Tony O'Hehir6.54PM 31 JUL 2009
AIDAN O'BRIEN on Friday reported Rip Van Winkle to be feeling the effects of his impressive two-and-a-half-length win in the BGC Sussex Stakes at Goodwood on Wednesday.
The colt's participation in the 1m event had been doubt the evening before the race because of a hind leg foot problem and, although the son of Galileo overcame the late scare to land his first Group 1, he is unlikely to be seen again until the autumn.
O'Brien said: "Rip's foot is quite sore and we don't know how long it will take for it to come right.
"The plan is to aim him at the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in September and it's safe to say that he won't run before then."
 
Assuming he recovers, it is an ideal time to give him a break ahead of Ascot and the Breeders Cup. Loving the campaign O'Brien is scheduling for these horses this year (Fame And Glory in the Irish Champion aside!).
 
FAG - Niel/Arc
RIP - Queen Elizabet/BCC
Golden Sword - Irish Champion/Champion
Mastercraftsman - International/Irish Champion/BCC

That would do for me :)
 
From The Guardian:

Rip Van Winkle won Wednesday's Sussex Stakes at Goodwood in great style following a last-minute injury scare, and it emerges that his passage in early life did not always go smoothly either. Aidan O'Brien's Galileo colt, who also had an hiccup in the lead-up to finishing fourth in the 2,000 Guineas, was bred in Italy and Cristiana Brivio Sforza, who raised him, recalled: "The people at the farm called him 'morituri' [a Latin word meaning 'future dead man'], because he had every problem that a yearling can have. One day I found him lifeless, stretched out on the ground in the paddock. He got up 20 minutes later and we never understood what happened."
Click to expand...
 
Back
Top