Behind the stable door godolphin have classic blues

Lily

B.R
Staff member
It's the final Classic of the British flat season at Doncaster on Saturday and 11 horses currently remain among the entries for the St Leger. Dating back to 1776 when a horse called Allabaculia created history under jockey John Singleton (I wonder if he was related to Blue Peter presenter Valerie) the race has unfortunately endured something of a decline in recent years but has been won by some true legends of the turf, notably, Bustino, Nijinsky and Reference Point who collected the 1m6f contest when it was fashionable to win.

Sadly nowadays, Doncaster's showpiece doesn't attract anywhere near the calibre of horses mentioned above, but does often produce a great spectacle, as last year's victory by Arctic Cosmos will testify. John Gosden's charge was deemed to be heading for the hurdles at Cheltenham but connections ditched that idea in favour of a tilt at success at Town Moor. Luckily the decision proved a shrewd one, although the son of North Light hasn't been on a racecourse since and I do keep wondering whether he might actually pop up at Prestbury Park after all!

Godolphin go into this year's renewal mob handed and are represented by no fewer than three runners. Blue Bunting, who proved to be the leading three-year-old filly in Europe after her gritty success in the Darley Yorkshire Oaks last month, heads the three-pronged attack and will be ridden by Frankie Dettori, who bids for a sixth win in the Group One event. Classic Cliché kicked off the lucky run in 1995 while Conduit provided him with his most recent prize in 2008. Blue Bunting, trained by Mahmoud Al Zarouni, attempts to become the 42nd filly to bag the prestigious event (User Friendly was the last female to show the boys how it's done in 1992.) and the daughter of Dynaformer certainly sets the standard and has already achieved much more than any of her rivals have on the track so far.

But she's been on the go since May and seems to have had a few hard races, therefore, might be vulnerable to something less exposed. That said, I couldn't hope for a different winner and pray that she does it for the boys in blue. Genius Beast also hails from the Al Zarouni stable and although his recent form leaves him with a little to find, he sauntered up the Sandown Park hill in Group 3 Company in April and could improve for the step up in trip. Not far behind Frankel on his racecourse debut, don't be surprised if we see another Godolphin second string spoil the Leger party. Rumh is in the race to ensure a good gallop.

TURKISH DELIGHT

It was a case of double Turkish delight at Veliefendi last weekend after resident Purebred Arabian trainer Gill Duffield saddled Periander and No Risk Al Maury to win their respective races at Turkey's big International race meeting, while Mike de Kock added another country to his winning portfolio when Musir absolutely romped home in the G2 Topkafi. Well done to all concerned!
 
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