French Victory In Guineas?

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31045, 28 April 1966, Page 4

French Victory In Guineas?

Kashmir II and Village Square, the two principal challengers from France, were expected in some quarters to dominate the finish of the 2000 Guineas today. A narrow yet decisive winner of the Prix Djebel at Maisons Laffitte already this season, Kashmir had better form as a two-year-old than any colt in the race with the exception of Young Emperor. By Tudor Melody, whose sire. Tudor Minstrel, was one of the easiest winners of the 2000 Guineas in living memory, Kashmir is a halfbrother to Sebring, a stayer which finished third behind Tambourne II and Arctic Storm in the ’ Irish Sweeps Derby. Their dam, Queen of Speed, is by Blue Train out of Bishopcourt, which is by His Grace out of Jurisdiction, a daughter of Lady Juror, the great grand-dam of Faux Tirage, the dam of Fair Trial, and a half-sister to Mumtaz Mahal. The Irish colt Young Ecperor is the problem horse of the field through his failure to finish better than a mod-

erate third at Kempton Park earlier this month. Some observers feel that Young Emperor would need to improve out of all recognition in a short time. One writer estimated that Young Emperor ran about 211 b below form at Kempton. The Australian jockey, Des Lake, was having his first experience of English conditions at Kempton. “It would be a grave distortion of the facts to say that he mastered all the unfamiliar problems they present,” “Audax” wrote in “Horse and Hound” after that race. “Audax” criticised Lake for not allowing Young Emperor to make use of his speed to stay handy for the start of a short run home. He suggested that the Australian could do a lot worse than get hold of a film of the first Classic in 1950—and copy the tactics employed by Charlie Smirke on another brilliantly fast grey colt, the Aga Khan’s Palestine. “Audax” suggests there Is no reason, on breeding, why Young Emperor should not stay a mile as well as Palestine did.