This weekend saw the curtain come down on the European Turf season. However, as one season closes another one begins and last Friday saw the first meeting at Meydan in Dubai, where the winner of the 2-year-old maiden really caught the eye. Alongside that I also wanted to bring something for fans of Jumps Racing by celebrating the performance of Boombawn in the Rising Stars Novices’ Chase at Wincanton.
Meydan
Awab shines on debut and there is surely more to come.
Emirates Holidays Maiden Stakes
In a race with over $1.5m worth of talent on show, it was perhaps a surprise to see the €90,000 purchase Awab step forward, but this was a superb showing. Although technically his debut, it should be noted that he had finished 4th in a Barrier trial at the track in October. In a small field, it is perhaps not surprising to see one of the faster finishing speeds on the card (100.94%), but it is his closing sectionals that offer the most hope. He closed in 11.37 and 12.08s, the fastest finisher of any horse on the card and his winning time of 84.72s was just 0.53s slower than the older horses over the same course and distance in race 6. Compared to his 4 rivals he had a relatively short stride with a maximum stride length of 23.20 ft, but a peak stride frequency of 2.49 strides per second was a clear best in the field. His run-out speed of 34.72 was the 2nd fastest on the entire Meydan card and would suggest that there is more to come from this son of Street Sense.
In a more general point, I think it is important to highlight the need for early speed on the dirt track at Meydan. If we rank Friday’s races based on the time it took the runners to reach 30 mph from the stalls, the winners were 3rd, 1st, 1st, 6th, 2nd and 3rd. Despite winners coming from draws ranging from 5 to 12, this early speed was the consistent theme, with only Imperial Emperor (R5) not in the front rank over the opening furlong. This was the opening card of the season and the quality of racing on show will improve as we head towards the carnival, but given this bias towards the early speed, I think we can upgrade the efforts of Shamikh (R5) and Alhadja (R7) given the way they finished their races.
Aqueduct
Red Smith Stakes
An electric turn-of-foot in the closing stages sees Integration pull off an unlikely victory.
A turf race over 2,200m is about as far as horses are asked to race in the US, yet despite the distance, this race was all about the sprinting speed of the winner in the final 2-furlongs. Having waited patiently in mid-division, it looked as if Flavien Prat had left his mount too much to do in the home straight as he turned in fully 5-lengths off the lead, but Integration responded superbly to finish in 11.51 and 11.31s, the 2 fastest furlongs in the race. A top speed of 41.07 mph was over 1.4 mph faster than any of his rivals and proved decisive. If I were to be critical, perhaps Frankie Dettori’s decision to push Limited Liability (2nd) forwards at the halfway stage was an unnecessary move in a relatively truly run race. He ran 11.97s for the 5th furlong, the only horse in the field to have dipped below 12s at that stage of the race and which ultimately left his mount unable to match the winner in the final 300 metres. Limited Liability quickened 3 times in the contest, but even allowing for a less efficient ride, his fastest individual furlong was 0.44s slower than Integrations and the winner looked likely to have come out on top regardless. In a relatively shallow pool of horses over this trip, the winner should continue to pay his way at this level.
Wincanton
Boodles Rising Stars Novices’ Chase
Boombawn delivers on his Chepstow promise. Although this may not have appeared to be the strongest Grade 2 on paper, Boombawn was not winning out of turn for the Skeltons and I think his performance has been underplayed. In a truly run race with a finishing speed of 100.61%, he has run down the long time leader Soul Icon, closing in 14.77 and 14.84s and taking 0.73s out of the runner-up in the process and his top speed of 34.85 mph was a clear best. He had finished 3rd at Chepstow in October, but despite being given a quiet ride on that occasion, it is worth noting that he once again had the highest top speed (36.69 mph) and the highest run-out speed (32.86 mph). The Jumps data we have from the Chepstow race showed that he does need to improve his fluency over fences, losing an average of 12% of his speed over his obstacles, but this is a fast horse and provided the ground remains in his favour, he may be able to confirm this form at a similar level, at least before the Irish horses arrive.