American Turf Magazine
/ December-January 2015-2016
18
Overseas Report
skills and getting a good reputation
among trainers for his hard work
allowed him to firmly establish himself
in the professional ranks.
Riding for the powerful Mark John-
ston barn in the North of England soon
propelled De Sousa into contention for
the 2011 jockeys’ crown. Although run-
ner-up that year to Paul Hanagan, the
former Brazilian champion appren-
tice took full advantage when through
injury, retirement and owner commit-
ments, his rivals fell away to leave him
top of the pile. Perhaps one of his least
popular wins in his championship year
came when he drove home the 50-1
shot Arabian Queen to win the Group
1 Juddmonte International Stakes at
York by a neck – in doing so he denied
a certain Golden Horn and spoiled a
perfect win/run record.
While De Sousa’s services are going
to remain in high demand and he is
well worth watching out for throughout
the Dubai Carnival at the start of the
year, the return of former champ Ryan
Moore to racing in September was a
real boost to the sport. Moore took
almost three months to recover from
a neck injury he suffered in a starting
gate incident in early July. This break
interrupted his new role as first rider to
Aidan O’Brien and owners Coolmore
– a position vacated by the trainer’s
son Joseph, whose natural weight had
always threatened to undermine his
riding opportunities. The new partner-
ship certainly started with a bang when
Moore guided the impressive Glenea-
gles to land the English 2,000 Guineas,
following up in the Irish equivalent.
The New Year will see Moore take
on a one-month stint in Hong Kong
before gearing up for what may be one
of his best-ever seasons. The reason for
such optimism comes in the form of
the future book favorite for the Eng-
lish 2,000 Guineas, Air Force Blue and
the highly-rated filly Minding. Both
horses are under the meticulous care of
Aidan O’ Brien and announced them-
selves as leading contenders with their
respective juvenile wins at Newmarket
in October.
O’Brien is known for his understated
and measured manner but was clearly
excited when describing Air Force Blue
as his best-ever – a remarkable state-
ment given the depth of talent that has
passed through his barn over the years.
“He’s something we haven’t had
before. I’d say there’s no doubt he’s the
best two-year-old we’ve had. The size
of him, the scope, the way he travels,
and when you let him go he delivers,”
enthused the trainer.
This son of War Front has posted
three Group 1 wins, culminating in an
impressive three-length victory in the
Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket. That
commanding effort put him up as the
highest-rated Dewhurst winner since
the peerless Frankel back in 2010. The
oddsmakers wasted no time in quoting
him as their 6-4 favorite for the 2,000
Guineas in May.
Just a day earlier, the same team
carried off the Group 1 Dubai Fillies
Mile with Minding, who put her rivals
firmly in their place and herself to the
forefront of the 1,000 Guineas and
Epsom Oaks betting. Her memorable
and easy win was put into context by
O’Brien when he informed Moore that
as impressive as she was, the filly’s abil-
ity was some way behind that shown by
Air Force Blue in his preparations. As
we now know, Moore rode the colt 24
hours later with the patience that such
a confident prediction allows, and the
duo proved once again that O’Brien
really does know his stuff.
Golden Horn’s golden year proved
that no new season follows a blueprint
and that many horses will emerge to
challenge the leading juveniles of last
year. John Gosden is certain to develop
his promising Shalaa beyond the sprint
distance that reaped five wins last year,
and Mark Johnston has the similar
task of adding stamina to raw speed
when he returns the eye-catching filly
Lumiere – a very likeable gate to wire
runner – to compete in her Classic year.
Before the Flat prizes are handed
out, the jumping game takes centre
stage in Britain and we will have our
first new champion jockey for two
decades. There is not insignificant
pressure on Richard Johnson to take
the crown, as he has been leading the
applause as runner–up to the retired
Tony McCoy for more years than he
would have wished. But as Frankie
Dettori can testify, if you stick at the
game for long enough the breaks will
continue to come. Johnson, like Det-
tori, is certainly good enough to take
advantage.
Frankie Dettori
Photo by Horsephotos.com/NTRA
