Saturday Double Is Far From A Consolation

With big races comes big prize money and in turn this attracts plenty of entries. Luckily the big handicaps usually provide a consolation race for those they didn’t quite make the cut off for the main event. This doesn’t mean they are weak races and most of the time prove far from it. Ripon’s big day is the famous Great St Wilfred handicap, a sprint that has produced many top class winners throughout the years. Unfortunately Teruntum Star just missed out on the race but made up for it by taking the consolation Silver Trophy Handicap. The day got better later in the card when Brilliant Vanguard earned himself a well deserved win in the 1 Mile attheraces.com Handicap, his second victory at the Yorkshire track. 

Teruntum Star has been a sprinter that Kevin has always been sweet on. The chestnut has some fine form to his name and on his day can be devastating. In fact he has looked like a potential group horse in the past but his career has been very stop start throughout. Unable to get a clear run with him, Kevin has found times frustrating with Teruntum and the 5 yr old has never been allowed to reveal his true potential. Having won last year at the Craven meeting he was once again limited to just 3 more runs and with no further successes. 

Patience has been important this year and after a good pre-season and a clear run Teruntum came back to himself. His first outing was much needed following a long time off but he built on that. At York he showed good speed, chasing the runaway winner before just paying for that pressure late on. It was a massive step in the right direction and showed that Teruntum was getting back to his best. Having won off 95 last year and been as high as 101 he had dropped to a dangerous mark of 91. This was positive as he looked well handicapped but it meant that he would be struggling to get into the top handicaps. That proved to be true as he missed out on the feature Great St Wilfred and line up in the Silver Trophy.

Despite being the consolation race there was plenty of quality lining up. The 20 strong fiedl consisted of old favourites who were just coming down the handicap and new guns who were going the opposite way, working up through the handicap. Kevin Stott was booked for the ride and decided to keep it simple. The field was bound to split and with Teruntum drawn in stall 20 he had no choice but to ride his draw. This meant he would be racing stands side, which nobody could know yet whether it would be positive or negative. 

Once the gates opened Teruntum was quickly into stride and was sent forward positively, sitting prominently. With the large field the split was about 70/30 to the stands side as the two groups settled into the race. There was plenty of pace on both sides and Teruntum was one who was forcing the issue, sitting close to the leader on the stands side. With the ground riding good, Teruntum really enjoyed himself and moved like a dream through the early stages. Travelling comfortably on the front end, Kevin was happy to sit and let him roll along chasing the pace. 

When fields split across the track it is quite difficult to get an idea of who’s leading and where you are positioned in relation to the entire field. You begin to get an idea by halfway when the camera angle pans round. Both sides were showing great speed and it was hard to split with the naked eye. As the camera panned round there was a slight advantage to the stands side group but this would become a little more exaggerated come the business end. 

Between the 3f and 2f marker the stands side group just began to edge ahead with more front runners in the group. Teruntum travelled well into the contest and next to the rail he had a perfect sit for the finish. Kevin was primed for his challenge and as the leader of his group began to wain, Teruntum moved up. Passing the 2f marker Teruntum hit the front and Kevin was keen not to give anything away now. Getting lower in the saddle the Dane kicked for home and his mount responded. Now leading the pair made the best of their way home. 

It was now clear that the stands side had the advantage and it was Teruntum who held the lead. He was powering on and moved into a length advantage. Although looking good in front, the challengers were rallying in behind. Teruntum Star had opened up a length lead moving into the final furlong and although he had repelled the pace horses, it was the finishers who were now moving up to press. Coming under pressure he began to wander of a true line with Red Pike flying home. Just edging to his right, Teruntum now had a battle on his hands. The two began to draw clear as Red Pike now really threw down a massive challenge. Teruntum was brave and unwilling to go down without a fight. Neck and neck the two drove for the line. Red Pike managed to almost get up to Teruntum but when the chestnut felt his presence his head got lower. He was not to be denied and in the dying strides managed to find a little bit more. Stretching with every muscle fibre Teruntum just edged ahead again, finding that little extra. The two flashed past the winning post well clear of the rest but it was Teruntum Star who had managed to eek out a neck margin to secure victory. 

It was a great win for Teruntum Star not only for the performance but to get him back near to his very best. He has always shown the ability to be a top sprinter and hopefully now he can still progress to take a big one. Although this was not the feature it was still a very good race and Teruntum took it the hard way. Ayr is on the cards next but which race will be decided by the handicapper. The Gold Cup has improved in quality that much that last year the final horse getting in racing off mark of 98. Teruntum ran off 91 and a rise of 5-8 pounds could be viable. Either way he will be the form horse going into the Silver or Gold Cup and there would be confidence behind him in either race. 

When it has been a year since a win then saying a horse could be progressive may sound a bit strange. Although he has failed to get on the scoresheet, Brilliant Vanguard has been looking like a horse going in the right direction and he put his best foot forward when taking the 1 Mile attheraces.com Handicap at Ripon. 

With both his wins coming over 6f last year as a 3 yr old, Vanguard has been primarily running over 1 Mile this year. Having shown good form in the winter over 6f & 7f it looked like this year may be a fruitful one. Unfortunately he couldn’t take this into the turf season and began with a few disappointing runs, stepping up to the new trip of 1 mile. It wasn’t until last month where he turned the corner and recaptured his form. Going very close at Ascot, Vanguard backed that up with another good run at Newmarket where he showed a different attitude. Learning to settle better before and during the race meant he was able to perform at his best and this gave connections plenty of confidence that he may be close to getting back into the winners enclosure. 

The 1 Mile contest at Ripon was a similar contest so he lined up against 10 rivals with plenty of support behind him. With a win at the track on his resume it was a positive and Kevin Stott took the ride looking to steer the 4 yr old to an overdue victory. There looked to be plenty of pace on paper and as the stalls opened it was confirmed as a group of 3/4 pushed forward to chase the early leader Sands Chorus. This led to a strong gallop and Vanguard again settled nicely into a rhythm with Kevin happy to sit just off the initial gallop in around 5th position. As his rivals went forward, Kevin was able to sneak across to the rail and save plenty of ground as he tracked the pace. 

Travelling well throughout, Brilliant Vanguard had a lovely position to pounce on any weakness shown by the leaders. The field quickly passed halfway and were well bunched despite the strong gallop. Unfortunately there was a horrible incident around 3f from home as Mount Rock came down, fatally injuring himself and also jockey Nathan Evans. This occurred just behind Vanguard and while it was a terrible accident the race went on. 

Vanguard made smooth headway and really closed up to the leaders moving up to the 2f marker. Sands Chorus was still showing the way and proving very game out in front. Everyone was at it trying to get a run going but Kevin was still riding with extreme confidence. Although he looked to have plenty of horse under him, Kevin was starting to look for room as he was locked up on the rail. The ones in front of him weren’t giving up but with Vanguard tanking in behind he was now climbing over the heels of his rivals. Passing the 2f pole he squeezed into a small gap and Kevin asked him to go through with it. Vanguard showed plenty of bravery and burst through. 

Showing a great turn of foot, Brilliant Vanguard grabbed the lead in a few strides and kicked clear. There was still just under 2f to run but Vanguard had taken the lead and changed the complexion of the race. Although he edged right, back to the rail and slightly crossing Sands Chorus, Vanguard was clear and there was no stopping him. From 1 1/2f to the line he just stretched clear and grabbed the win emphatically. The turn of foot had burnt of his rivals so much that Kevin could afford to ease his mount down. Even with the brakes being put on Brilliant Vanguard still won by a convincing 2 lengths. 

It was an emphatic win and one that was well deserved. Brilliant Vanguard is learning to race properly now and he showed a great turn of foot. Within strides he put the race to bed which was very impressive and the winning margin could have been much bigger. The handicapper will have a big say now but on this form he will be hard to stop.