FRENCH SUCCESS SHOWS ENGLISH LIMITATIONS

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 28002, 23 June 1956, Page 6

FRENCH SUCCESS SHOWS ENGLISH LIMITATIONS

[By ROSS MORTIMER in the “Sunday Times”]

I With the French virtually sweeping the board at Epsom—they took some £45,000 in prize money back across the Channel—the outlook for the English horses for the rest of the season is singularly bleak. The limitations of our three-year-olds have been fully exposed, and the four-year-olds, now that Nucleus is dead and Acropolis has deteriorated, are entirely lacking in distinction. Our weakness has been fully and humiliatingly revealed, and the French will be after our remaining big prizes like a pack of wolves. It was a sad Derby for those who like to see the greatest race of the year won by an English thoroughbred. As the rain swept across the downs and into the stands, the finish was fought out by two horses from France. It was the fifth victory by French horses in the Derby since the war. The chief reason for this run of success lies in the different structure of racing in England and France. In England the emphasis is on sheer speed. About one-third of the races each season are for two-year-olds, and most owners are on the look-out for horses that are likely to mature rapidly and to provide a return of the money they cost during their first season's racing. In view of that, commercial breeders can hardly be blamed for producing the type of horse that is mostly in demand not only for the home market but also for the American market. To make matters worse, great studs such as those of Lord Rosebery, Lord Derby and Lord Astor, which do not breed for the sales but which traditionally aim to produce the high-class middle-distance horse, have all been going through a lean period in recent years. Two-year-old Racing In France two-year-old racing is of far less importance and the prize money allotted to it is considerably smaller. There are few opportunities for the older sprinters, and nearly all the important races are run over a mile and a half or more. In consequence, prospective stayers that are not expected to pay their way as two-year-olds are bred in far greater numbers. In addition, top-class French horses frequently remain in training for several seasons, so their temperament and racing capacity are thoroughly tested. In England the majority of socalled classic three-year-olds are whisked away to the stud or exported before the end of the season. It is sometimes alleged that modern English trainers do not know how to prepare a stayer. Most of them get very little practice in that difficult art. Under existing conditions, therefore, the probability is that over distances of a mile and a half or more the French will usually have more good horses and they will continue to win the Derby at least as frequently as they have done in the last 10 years. The lack of classic sires in England also contributes towards the French victories. Nearco and Hyperion are coming to the end of their splendid careers and there are no other sires comparable with them, or with Blandford and Fairway in pre-war days. This was not a good Derby. The time was indifferent considering the fast conditions and five horses finished roughly within three lengths of Lavandin, which can be classed with previous winners such as April the Fifth and Mid-day Sun. Montaval, second, beaten a neck, had been defeated five lengths by a three-year-old. Ambiax. at level weights in his previous race and there are probably a score of French three-year-olds better than hp is. It is unlikely that Lavandin is the best three-year-old colt in France. He is probably inferior to Tanerko and. possibly, to Florados as well. However he won the Derby entirely on his’ merits and, if the ground had been softer, he would probably have won more decisively. A very powerful horse

with greath depth, he did not look the ideal type for Epsom with the ground as hard as it was. Lavandin ran only once last season. Not one of the post-war French winners of the Derby ran more than twice as a two-year-old. The English horses that competed were very moderate. They were not merely outstayed, they were outpaced as well, and the vast majority were not in the picture at all after the first 4CO yards. Pirate King lost balance, action and confidence as soon as he had to gallop downhill. His was sealed long before Tattenham Corner . was reached. Induna sulked, refused to line up and did not take hold of his bit throughout the race. He is by Migoli and, like many of that sire’s stock, he is temperamentally unreliable. Articulate and Full Measure were both outclassed and Gilles de Retz ran so badly that his success in the 2000 Guineas seems more remarkable. First English Runner The first English runner to finish was the Hyperion, colt Hornbeam, which earlier in the season had been beaten in a little handicap at Nottingham. Inches behind him was the Queen’s colt. Atlas, which was running on well at the finish after meeting with sundry obstacles in the early stages of the race. That he was able to finish within three lengths of the winner makes one wonder how High Veldt would have fared had he been left in the race, for High Veldt is rated considerably the better of the two at home. Neither the Oaks nor the Coronation Cup brought any revival to the fortunes of British bloodstock. The French filly, Sicarelle, won the Oaks easily from two other French filles, Janiari and Yasmin. Honeylight was the only English filly to show any fight at all, but she found the last two furlongs too much for her, and even then was not within 12 lengths of the winner at the finish. Sicarelle, the fourth French filly to win the Oaks since the war, is a charming little animal by the Grand Prix winner, Sicambre, out of a mare by Valtellor, sire of two Derby winners. She was going smoothly throughout the race, and, like Lavandin, she always looked an assured winner once the straight was reached. She did not race at all as a two-year-old. The French four-year-old, Tropique, led from start to finish in the Coronation Cup, and won with ease. It is possible that he would have had more to do had the rider of Daemon shown a little more enterprise, but he would almost certainly have won however the race was run. He has improved a lot. and will not be an easy horse to beat in the Eclipse Stakes.

FAMILY FINISH POSSIBLE

WINTER HANDICAP AT HASTINGS

The finish of the Winter Handicap, first leg of the double at Hastings today, could well be a family affair. Gold Caste and Chateau, the early favourites for the race, are half-brother and sister.

Both horses have raced encouragingly since the tracks softened, and Gold Caste, especially, will appre iate any further deterioration in the going.

Gold Caste was twice placed in the main handicaps at the recent Wanganui meeting. He showed outstanding ability in heavy ground when he won the Kia Ora Hack Handicao, of one mile and three furlongs, under 9-13, at the last winter meeting at Trentham. Gold Caste is by Golden Souvenir from Cointreau, and is now a five-year-old.

Chateau, a four-year-old Panair mare, won the Avonhead Hack Handicap at the last Grand National meeting. Last week she was third to Rutillant and The Vandal in the Palmerston North Handicap at Awapuni.