A 2000 Guineas Reflection.

Two weeks after the finish of a vintage NH season,the great and the good descended on Newmarkets wind blown Heath for the first Colts Classic.Camelot,a juvenile of untapped promise and billed as the next superstar was out to step onto the ladder that would hopefully thrust him into equine stellar status.Days of rain had rendered the ground soft and under lead grey skies the eighteen hopefuls assembled.
As a race i thought that real challengers were thin on the ground,it lacked depth in actual form although there were plenty of colts with varying degrees of promise,Camelot himself being the casing point.For all that top flight junvenile form was in evidence,much of the form was closely matched and the fact that Camelot was so short in the market was probably more down to his reputation than what hed actually achieved in winning the Racing Post.The race itself was a muddling affair,the field split into three groups and to all intents and purposes we had three seperate races.This makes a jockeys life even tougher than normal,you can only ride to win your race and whether that is good enough overall is in the lap of the Gods.Camelot was always just a shade further back than i thought was comfortable and when asked to go about his business from the three he didnt get a trouble free run but once he hit the rising ground he lengthened nicely and was always holding French Fifteen,who followed him through.In winning he showed that he isnt a "bridle" horse,he found plenty for pressure,thats always a worry with horses that have won solely on the bit.The two French colts,French Fifteen and Hermival and the first UK trained horse home,Trumpet Major give the form a solid if slightly unspectacular look.The Prix Djebel form was repeated to almost the pound and Richard Hannons colt seems to have run right up to or very close to his best,that being the case its easy enough to attain a rating of Camelots performance of 124-125,that on the face of it isnt going to pull trees up but a face value moderate Guineas winning rating can hide a multitude of secrets.The fact that Camelot,a horse bred for a mile and a half,has beaten the milers at a mile,has beaten the ten furlong horses at a mile and beaten the ones like he whos bred for further than ten at a mile can only bode well,for what chance have any of those beaten here have of reversing the form over longer trips when surely Camelot himself will take his form to another level? In many ways this race was Camelots "Waterloo",it was too short,on ground too soft with a muddling pace thrown in for good measure,yet he still prevailed.A glance back through the record books shows that nearly all the Derby horses who won here en route were themselves only workmanlike in victory,Crepello,Royal Palace,Nashwan,Sea the Stars,only Sir Ivor and Nijinsky exuded real miler class en route to Epsom but was Sir Ivor really a 12f performer?No,not really,Lester just kidded him,treat him like porcelain,nursed him home and Nijinsky was just three or four notches above anything else in the field.In winning as he did Camelot has joined a very select band of staying bred horses who have shown enough basic speed and precociousness to win first time up over Newmarkets Rowley mile and unless something does literally fall from the skies then he will go to Epsom as one of the hottest properties in many a year.Are there any chinks?...It doesnt look like it,hes guaranteed to stay,hes won on differing ground,hes won on an undulating track,hes shown that he can find plenty off the bridle and he has class in abundance.At this stage if his career,after just three racecourse appearances,he remains a colt of infinite potential.
What of the beaten?..The second,third and fourth have all run with great credit.The eventual second,French Fifteen,came through with Camelot and threw down the gauntlet,it was only close home that he was held at bay,he lost no caste in defeat.He seemed to thrive on the soft ground,so big mid Summer targets could be hard to find and after a hard race here it may be that the Curragh comes a shade too soon for him.Nevertheless,the big pots up for grabs in the Autumn could prove a happy hunting ground for the Gallic raider.Hermival gets a special mention,he got left all on his own on the far side when the pace over there fell to pieces,if he'd been with or among the principals in the middle or near side then i think he'd have been a deal closer.He looks almost certain to win top flight events over a mile in the course of the coming season.Trumpet Major,the first UK trained horse home,ran a stormer and when he quickened into the lead three out i thought hed take some pegging back but a combination of the stiff track and soft ground just seemed to catch him out.Back on better ground and with a less demanding track then he,like Hermival,looks destined for more success.The St James at Royal Ascot looks an obvious stepping stome for both of these talented colts.Of the ones who finished further back i must mention Fencing,he looked fabulous,he'd really developed over the Winter into a lovely stamp of a horse.He travelled away nicely just behind the pace on the near side but like many he couldnt really quicken on the holding ground and he ran on at one pace to finish sixth.He is crying out for ten furlongs and being by Street Cry then he almost certainly wants better ground,i will be shocked if he doesnt prove his worth later in the season.
In summary,a solid if unspectacular renewal as far as form is concerned but plenty of promise and potential in many of the principals,none more so than the victor,Camelot.