Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Start of the Flat season

As Dubai racing fades away, the start of Flat season is upon us for hopefully a great season ahead. Lots to look forward to;

- the re-appearance of St Nicholas Abbey, the Ballydoyle prodigy who went missing last year. Has he overcome the problems that plagued his last campaign, and get back his best form to confirm the high expectations of his trainer and fans?

- the confirmation of Frankel, whose potential of being a wonder horse will be the most scrutinized after his stellar 2-year old season, and utmost praises from his trainer Henry Cecil.

- the return of superstar Goldikova for one more crack at the Breeders Cup Mile, Can she yet again put away any new pretender to her crown at a Mile? Or will Canford Cliffs avenge ex-stablemate Paco Boy for all the whipping he got at the hands of the super mare?

- the coming of So You Think, the Australasian superstar, who in my opinion, has no equal in the world in the middle-distance division. He's got he most beautiful action I've seen in a horse.

- maybe, the clash of super sprinters at Royal Ascot? Rocket Man, Black Caviar, Overdose, JJ the Jet Plane... hopefully all these sprint kings can make it on the British shores and give a world-class spectacle on the grandest scene, in lieu of the miserable showing of local sprinters.

Finally, hopefully new stars will emerge from the Godolphin, Ballydoyle and Juddmonte camps. The epic finish between Khawlah and Master of the Hounds in the UAE Derby on Saturday, is hopefully a harbinger of the renewal of hostilities between the 2 racing super powers. Racing has been missing this rivalry. Add a rejuvenated Henry Cecil yard to the mix, and we could have some spectacular racing ahead of us.

2 comments:

  1. Interesting post mate!

    This is an area of expertise that's currently beyond me. I am looking and searching in this are though as i don't feel you can have too many strngs to your bow.

    I have a number of members of my service particularly interested in horse racing so i will mention your blog to them as I'm sure there will be something of interest for them here.

    It's a good read with some interesting observations.

    BFG

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks BFG. You've got a good and nice-looking blog going on as well. Good luck!

    JM.

    ReplyDelete