A 1000 Guineas reflection

The leaden grey skies,howling wind and squally rain that had plagued the Heath in the run up to the Guineas Festival came back with a vengance as the runners cantered to post,in those circumstances Newmarket can be an awfully desolate arena.The grey,sombre weather matched the mood a few moments later when Gray Pearl "got down" in the stalls and caused herself hideous injuries,cant imagine how polarised her owners must have felt,they themselves watching their pride and joy fighting for her life,in the knowledge that the racing public were doing the self same thing.If ever the agonies and ecstacy of racehorse ownership went hand in glove then this was it,one minute you have a filly running to post to take part in the Blue Riband for her generation over a mile,the next you are watching in horror as she is loaded onto the back of an equine ambulance,about to begin her final journey.A very public and agonising demise,thoughts to her and her connections.
How this episode affected the other fillies in the race i really wouldnt know,the loading,unloading,trotting around then reloading may well have upset some of the field,some may well have lost their race before it was run but to say for definite that it did affect some of the fillies would be total conjecture.
As a bunch i thought these fillies brought much deeper form to their respective Guineas than the colts the previous day,top class juvenile form was evident in a handful of runners and solid trial form was brought to the table by others.Physically i thought there was very nice types particularly Mashoora,The Fugue and Starscope.
In the race itself we witnessed a truly remarkable performance from Homecoming Queen,in her dozen or so starts previous to this she had shown that she was a fairly useful performer but nothing remotely close to the effort she produced to win here.Bounced out,she set a strong pace(i thought too strong at the time!) and then she quickened away again on the run past the two pole,ran right through the line and in reality she absolutely routed what looked before hand a decent field .She covered the mile in two seconds quicker than Camelot,thats 20lb in form terms and the time was only five seconds above the standard,on that prevailing going that is some performance.Aidan O Brien had said that she had really come to herself in the two weeks after her Leopardstown victory but i think even he,the master of understatement,wasnt expecting that sort of run.Whilst it would be folly to take her run as a one off,a fluke, you must also put into context her previous runs,none of which had come within 30lb of this effort.Homecoming Queen loved this ground,being by Holy Roman Emperor you would expect that,she is also very light framed and almost floated over the mire but those two plusses hardly equate to one of the greatest Guineas runs in living memory.To many hardnosed racing pundits this was the original "too good to be true".
Starscope ran a stormer to finish second,she had shown real promise in the Nell Gwyn when staying on strongly to finish fourth and she again powered up the Hill to finish a clear second best.As long as John Gosden can keep a lid on her temperament(she wears a hood)then nice prizes await this bonnie looking filly,particularly when raced over trips in excess of a mile.
Maybe ran a solid race but she shaped like she may well have needed it,she travelled away nicely but rolled about when asked to quicken up running into the Dip and she could only muster the one pace.She will improve for this,i'm sure,and it might be a benefit for her to be ridden closer to the pace in coming engagements.I wouldnt be writing her off yet.
In fourth was The Fugue,a lovely scopey filly.On only her second run she performed with massive credit and displayed limitless potential.She made relentless progress to throw down a challenge at the furlong pole but she couldnt carry it through and ran home at the one pace.A longer trip is guaranteed to suit and she looked the real Oaks contender among this field,however post race reports suggest that she has suffered on overreach and her participation at Epsom must now be in some doubt.
La Collina finished a never nearer fifth and its through this filly that i think we can accurately rate this renewal.She has run to the pound with Maybe on last seasons Moyglare and their proximity to each other gives what looks dubious form to the naked eye,a certain validity.
Ive found this just about the hardest Classic to rate and analyse in many a long season but with Maybe(116) and La Collina(114) both looking to have run their race then i HAVE to rate Homecoming Queen at 136-137,the best part of two and half stone above anything shes shown before.I wont say that she cant or wont do this again under similar conditions but that sort of sudden improvement has to be treated with caution,although whilst watching it unfold and then thinking about it in the aftermath,i cant think of a 1000 winner ive seen that would have got anywhere near her.If this form is gospel,it isnt a one off or her "Hawk Wing"moment then there isnt a three year old in training,colt,filly or gelding that will lower her colours.