RACING/WEEKEND PREVIEW:ALAN MUNRO and Godolphin could roll back the years at the Curragh this afternoon where Kite Wood can finally secure a Group One prize in the Irish Field St Leger.
Cutbacks in RTÉ’s racing budget means both the final classic of 2010 and the Boylesports Vincent O’Brien National Stakes are again on the same day, rather than staggered over the weekend, to ensure television coverage for both.
That could work in Johnny Murtagh’s favour, as the champion jockey stays at home for the National Stakes ride on Zoffany instead of heading to Doncaster to team up with Aidan O’Brien’s Midas Touch in the English Leger.
That, in turn, allows him the opportunity to fill in the one blank on his Irish classic cv.
Thirteen home classics to date do not, however, include a Leger, as Murtagh’s requirement to ride Frozen Fire in the 2008 English Leger meant he couldn’t team up with Septimus on the same day at the Curragh.
Murtagh is on the regally bred but inexperienced Flying Cross today, one of two O’Brien-trained three-year-olds against six older rivals. Only one member of the classic generation, Vinnie Roe in 2001, has won the Irish Leger in the last 20 years, so the trends definitely favour the older horses.
They include the ante-post favourite Profound Beauty, who is aiming to provide owner Walter Haefner, 100 years old on Monday, with an early birthday present ahead of a possible return to the Melbourne Cup, as well as a trio of cross-sea raiders, apparently led by Sans Frontieres.
The ace French jockey Olivier Peslier travels to the Curragh where he has an enviable classic record to ride Sans Frontieres, who impressed in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes at Newbury on his last start.
Kite Wood was well behind that day, but the Godolphin horse, who Sheikh Mohammed paid a reported £6 million for as a juvenile, lost his action on the firm going.
It won’t be like that now and a cut in the ground has always looked important to the heavy-topped Galileo colt, who narrowly failed to his stable companion in the Doncaster Leger last year.
With Frankie Dettori riding at Doncaster, Godolphin have engaged Alan Munro for the ride, which is a welcome boost for the 43-year-old jockey who first hit the Group bull’s-eye 20 ago with Mac’s Imp in the Phoenix Stakes.
Godolphin won back-to-back Legers with Kayf Tara in 1998-99, and with Rewilding a hot favourite for the English Leger, Kite Wood may kick off a very successful 10-minute period for Sheikh Mohammed’s team.
Godolphin have supplemented Janood into the National Stakes, but the Group One prize hosts the cream of Ireland’s juvenile talent seen out so far in 2010, with the other €20,000 supplementary entry Pathfork defending an unbeaten record against Zoffany.
Jessica Harrington’s colt has been impressive to date, but he is taking on Ballydoyle’s A-Team now in the shape of Zoffany, who showed an electric turn of foot to land the Phoenix Stakes. It’s not hard to visualise Zoffany tailing Pathfork to the furlong pole and then out-kicking his rival.
The Listed Blenheim Stakes can fall to Longhunter, but there will also be plenty interest in the €56,000 Amateur Derby where Natural High is on a retrieval mission after blotting his copybook at the Galway Festival.
