Double Continues Great Start To August
The season has slowly been building up with more winners coming in each month. Over the last few weeks the horses have really hit a good vein of form and August has kicked off well. When Princess Des Sables and Master McGrath both won it took the tally to 7 winners in the first week of August, a timely run of form with Ebor week fast approaching.
Last season Princess Des Sables was a winning machine, racking up four wins on the bounce. Unfortunately this season hasn’t really started on any sense of the word and two runs had ultimately been very disappointing. Well she bounced back to form in the most impressive fashion when running away with the 6f Roscoe Roofing Fillies’ Handicap at Haydock.
Sometimes you can get an idea at home that a horse, especially a filly, may not have trained on from 2 to 3 yrs old. This definitely wasn’t the case with Princess Des Sables but from her first engagement this year things didn’t go right. Her intended return was set for Newmarket, where the filly decided the stalls were no longer as inviting and she refused, ending up getting loose. There was only one thing for it and Princess Des Sables was immediately sent to the experts, Gary and Craig Witherford, to reintroduce her to the stalls and iron out any kinks.
Having been educated back into the stalls process Princess Des Sables duly passed her test and could get back on to the racecourse. Her two runs following were well below her best and the chestnut just didn’t fire at all. With her homework being good, both runs were real head scratchers and no excuses could be found. The handicapper did give her a little leeway and Princess Des Sables saw her mark drop to 84, the same as her last win.
There were plenty of options for the filly but Kevin waited until a fillies’ only race came along. Haydock offered that opportunity and there were 8 runners declared for the contest. There was rain forecast but it didn’t come in time so the field ended up with 6 going to post. It was a tight looking race and coming off two poor runs, Princess Des Sables was set to go off as the 12/1 outsider.
Tom Eaves got the leg up on the filly but was quickly back off when they got down to the start. Going down early, Tom then dismounted for Princess Des Sables to be loaded by Craig Witherford. Once in the stalls Tom could then get on board, all a process to keep the filly relaxed. She was just that until the gates opened. As they crashed back Princess Des Sables was straight out and jumped into the lead. Quickly into stride she took control of the race as Tom allowed her to stride on. She wasn’t given a soft lead and as the field settled down behind her they kept her honest, sitting as close as possible. Through the first furlong the entire field was separated by only a couple of lengths.
Princess Des Sables was setting a strong gallop and with no hanging about they were soon heading down to halfway. Tom had given the filly a loose rein and she strode on to stretch the lead to just over a length. The field were just starting to separate as the tempo continued to increase. Although going well on the front end there was 3f to run and Princess Des Sables had been going great guns so it would still take a strong second half to maintain this pace being shown.
Between the 3f and 2f Princess Des Sables really began to open up and her lead continued to grow. Now she had them all at it and moving to the 2f marker she was over 2 lengths clear. Initially there was little able to match the leader and suddenly she had them all on the bak foot. Tom had little option but to kick on but he knew there was still a way to go. Starting to push his filly along Tom got the desired response and Princess Des Sables pulled away, quickening clear from her rivals. Well over a furlong to go the chestnut had slipped the filled and just poured it on, doubling her margin.
Suddenly the race seemed as though it could be over. Moving to the final furlong Princess Des Sables held a 5 length lead and if anything she was getting stronger all the time. Any worries that she had gone too hard were dispelled. The stride was still strong and although there was a battle going on behind her it was only ever going to be for the runner up spot. Princess Des Sables pressed on and the distance to the rest just grew and grew. Although Tom ensured she kept up to her work, Princess Des Sables just blitzed the field and won by an astonishing 8 lengths.
Shock? Yes but not that Princess Des Sables bounced back to wining ways but just how impressively she did it. Making all on a strong gallop she didn’t just grind them into the ground she quickened away and showed a good turn of foot. From almost halfway she had the race at her mercy and there won’t be many more impressive winning margins than this over 6f. It is great to see her back to her best but no doubt the handicapper will not take it easy on her now. With two entries this weekend there is no doubt that she will have to take a chance under a penalty because a double figure rise is sure to come her way.
It’s always important to get a good team of 2yr olds, they are the future of the yard and can set a trend moving forward. Kevin has built a good reputation of sourcing and training juveniles with this season being no different. The juveniles have really been firing, if not winning then making some very positive starts to their careers. Master McGrath did just that on debut, going close and it only took him one more run to get off the mark when he took the 5f Slug And Lettuce Christmas Party EBF Maiden Stakes at Sandown.
The son of No Nay Never had come form one of the very best breeze up consignors, Grove Stud. You know when they have put the groundwork in that the horse is coming with the best possible chance of reaching their potential. Master McGrath was no different, a strong colt who looked like you run him the next day. It wasn’t quite that quick but after showing all the right signs at home, Kevin took the colt up to Ayr for his debut. Showing inexperience in the preliminaries, Master McGrath put that to one side when trying to make all over 6f. He just got caught late on but had shown all the right signs, suggesting that a win would be coming sooner rather than later.
Having shown plenty of speed on debut, Master McGrath opened up plenty of options with races over 5f and 6f looking equally as good for him. Sandown was plumped for and it would mean a drop to the minimum trip for the colt. He would be due to take on 9 rivals but Master McGrath arguably was the one bringing the best form to the table. Kevin Stott made the long journey south for the ride, retaining the partnership from debut. Vasari was the only other in the field who had finished in the frame on debut and was vying for favouritism with Master McGrath. Eventually it was McGrath who would get the nod and was sent off 13/8 fav to go one better this time around.
Sandown does pay to be on the pace and against the rail. Kevin wanted to utilise both the horse’s speed and experience and bounce the colt from the gates. Master McGrath was fast away but Kevin wanted to ensure that he didn’t give away that advantage and bustled his mount along. His market rival Vasari was also well away and too showed speed which mean that Kevin couldn’t quite get right across to the rail. With a narrow advantage through the early stages Master McGrath set a strong gallop which had a couple struggling to get into stride.
The field blitzed through the first couple of furlongs and Master McGrath’s rivals were not letting him get away with things easy in front. They pressed throughout and really forced the issue. Kevin took the brave call and just kept on kicking from the front ensuring the pace was rapid. The field bunched up around and behind Master McGrath, there was no hiding place.
Passing halfway and Master McGrath was almost joined for the lead, first on his outer and then up the inside by Vasari. Kevin had been nudging away for the last 1/2f but now heading into the final couple of furlongs his colleagues became more animated. Master McGrath was going nowhere and repelled those out wider but was getting a strong challenge form his market rival who drew up alongside, going eyeball to eyeball. This move spurred Master McGrath on and once he felt the presence he drew away for a few strides, pulling a neck clear of Vasari.
Kicking on down to the final furlong the challengers who had threatened were now starting to toil in Master McGrath’s wake. Kevin now asked for everything and although the colt did go to quicken up he just edged left initially. Kevin quickly rectified that and once he got him back on an even keel the lead opened up to 3/4 length. Vasari couldn’t respond to this and just dropped off the leader leaving the fast finishing Sand Diego to throw down a challenge on the outside. Master McGrath held a length advantage but he had 150 yards to repel his rival. One trait he had already shown on debut was that Master McGrath was game and he would see out every yard of his trip. His rival got to his flanks but Master McGrath found that little bit more and with 50 yards to run that was decisive enough. Kevin felt that in the saddle and knew it was job done. He already began to ease his riding and the pair crossed the line with a 1/2 length margin.
It was nice performance from Master McGrath and he has got his career off to a good start. Showing blistering speed he did it the hard way and showed a tenacious attitude to fend off challenges from all around. He saw the trip out well whilst also showing speed so going forward he looks like he could be equally adept over 6f and 5f. He does hold some nice entries and Kevin will assess the colt along with talking with connections, The Masters, before deciding what route to go down. He is a lovely colt and has certainly shown plenty of promise.