The Ascot Gold Cup 2007

It was not to be Sergeant Cecil's day at Ascot. Perhaps he does not like the course after what happened to him in his previous attempt in this race, or maybe it does not suit his style of running as much as York does.

The competition was oputstanding, more than perhaps we even know at this stage. Yeats is probably the best stayer since long gone days when Le Moss and Ardross charged up the straight, or even further back when Sagaro made history as the only one who could steal three Ascot Gold Cups. Dualling with Yeats was never going to be easy for any horse, ot even Cecil.

But his fans were pleased to see him and he looked a picture in the parade ring. There was alarm when he finished last, and then elation when we knew that he was fine and the old warrior lived to fight another day.

James Willoughby wrote a wonderful tribute to him and Yeats prior to the race.

courtesy of www.racingpost.co.uk

Prepare for an epic of Biblical proportions

by James Willoughby

"AND verily it was that in the land of Berkshire there came a giant among stayers. Clad in dark blue, the monster shook the ground with his powerful stride and caused those who pursued him to fall into exhaustion.

"This raider quickly assumed the reputation of a menace. The many women present could not enjoy the day while this tyrant continued to destroy the tote dividend for the race they had come to see.

"The people demanded to know if anyone could defeat this beast. Was there really a chink in his armour? Was there really a challenger within the kingdom brave enough and good enough to take him on?"

THE odds faced by Sergeant Cecil in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot today are much better than those of David against Goliath, but a roughly similar narrative is applicable to hisencounter with the champion Yeats.

This is a match between horses of very different origin. It is superpower versus smaller man, blue blood versus blue-collar, Coolmore versus Cullompton.

The Devon town, which is set within the finest scenery in the West Country, is the home of trainer Rod Millman. Victory for Sergeant Cecil may well result in a highly charged atmosphere at the town picnic on Sunday. Indeed, the ginger beer and fairy cakes could be hit as never before.

Victory for Yeats, in contrast, would be just another brick in the wall for the ruthlessly efficient Coolmore machine which feeds the world's greatest stable at Ballydoyle.

Don't be mistaken: Yeats himself is held in a great deal of affection by those closest to him, and nobodywho works for Aidan O'Brien is allowed to take success for granted, but the impact of victory for Sergeant Cecil would far exceed that for Yeats on a strictly emotional level.

As David realised before commencing his own unequal struggle, defeating Yeats will not be achieved without everything going to plan. In both cases, a single, well-placed blow is the key to slaying the giant.

If Sergeant Cecil's in-form jockey Jimmy Fortune allows his mount to become mired in a protracted struggle with Yeats, there is only one result. The Irish horse owns the rare capacity to maintain both his concentration and his effort for an unusually long period.

O'Brien himself commented upon this at an early stage of Yeats's career. While most of the top horses within the brilliant trainer's influence are conditioned to stalk and pounce, Yeats showed that he could keep pouring it on from the front. Most Flat horses will simply not relax into the beat of their stride like Yeats. They tend to reach maximum speed for very little urging, and deceleration soon sets in as a result.

Yeats, in contrast, has unusual sustained pace. He seems to be able to switch up from one cruising speed to another. Any rival who tries to go toe to toe with him for very long isdoomed.

Where David had his sling, Sergeant Cecil is also equipped with the perfect weapon to pierce the champion's armour: a vicious turn of foot. Just as the shiny stone hit Goliath in his only vulnerable spot, so must this acceleration be deployed with perfect timing.

What gives Sergeant Cecil a serious chance of defeating Yeats is that he is a different type of horse. Inclined to pull himself up in front, he is best when delivered as late as possible. His rapid acceleration for a stayer enableshim to pass horses quickly, but he has only one big run and must creep into the action stealthily.

Fortune gets on really well with the Sergeant and knows exactly how to maximise the threat he offers to Yeats. Last year, under Alan Munro, the chestnutwas never able to get in a blow after being hampered. Yeats had flown before he could get a run.

O'Brien reports that Yeats - who must have fast ground - is showing more speed in his work this year. That suggests he couldhave improved again, but his increased enthusiasm may just lead him into a battle with other horses racing prominently, softening him up for Sergeant Cecil's late run.

We must not underestimate the opposition, particularly Geordieland, Cherry Mix and Lord Du Sud. But by far the most interesting of the opposition is the quirky mare Montare, who hails from the excellent Jonathan Pease stable. The combination of this marathon trip and fast ground will really suit her.

For most, however, there are two results that tower over all others. Yeats, the champion, who would raise his reputation as one of the truly great stayers, and Sergeant Cecil, the upstart, who would simply just raise the roof.

Image:

Sergeant Cecil in the parade-ring - with Rod Millman being dressed proper
Photo: Carol Morrison

from www.racingpost.co.uk.:
3:45 Gold Cup (Group 1) (Class 1) (4yo+) 2m4f

[off 3:47] £127,755.00, £48,420.00, £24,232.50, £12,082.50, £6,052.50, £3,037.50

Draw TRAINER Age Wgt JOCKEY SP

1 Yeats (IRE) 2 A P O´Brien 6 9-2 M J Kinane 8/13F —
2 1½ Geordieland (FR) 5 J A Osborne 6 9-2 Jamie Spencer 12/1 —
3 3½ Le Miracle (GER) 7 W Baltromei 6 9-2 D Boeuf 50/1 —
4 3½ Finalmente 3 N A Callaghan 5 9-2 J Murtagh 66/1 —
5 1¼ Montare (IRE) 14 J E Pease 5 8-13 p O Peslier 12/1 —
6 7 Lord Du Sud (FR) 8 J-C Rouget 6 9-2 C-P Lemaire 25/1 —
7 2½ Baddam 6 M R Channon 5 9-2 Ian Mongan 20/1 —
8 1½ Cherry Mix (FR) 9 Saeed Bin Suroor 6 9-2 t L Dettori 14/1 —
9 nk Allegretto (IRE) 13 Sir Michael Stoute 4 8-11 v Seb Sanders 14/1 —
10 5 Bulwark (IRE) 1 Mrs A J Perrett 5 9-2 eb Jim Crowley 66/1—
11 2½ The Last Drop (IRE) 4 B W Hills 4 9-0 Kerrin McEvoy 66/1 —
12 5 Rising Cross 10 J R Best 4 8-11 Ted Durcan 66/1 —
13 1½ Tungsten Strike (USA) 11 Mrs A J Perrett 6 9-2 Ryan Moore 50/1 —
14 25 Sergeant Cecil 12 B R Millman 8 9-2 Jimmy Fortune 13/2 —

14 ran TIME 4m 20.78s (fast by 1.72s)
1st OWNER: Mrs John Magnier & Mrs David Nagle BRED: Barronstown Stud & Orpendale
TRAINER: A P O'Brien
2nd OWNER: Mountgrange Stud
3rd OWNER: Gestut Hachtsee

This was a strong Gold Cup field, and YEATS won with complete authority once again, albeit by a much narrower margin than 12 months ago. In doing so he joined a surprisingly long list of top-class horses who have won the race in successive years - LeMoss, Ardross, Gildoran and more recently Royal Rebel figure among them from the last 30 years - and in the process raised the entirely realistic hope that he might go on to match the achievement of the brilliant French stayer Sagaro, who went one betterthan them and won the race in 1975, 1976 and 1977. With Sergeant Cecil and Geordieland joined by triple continental middle-distance Group 1 winner at the head of the home defence, and Lord Du Sud, Le Miracle and Montare all among the pick of the Europeanstayers, this looked well up to scratch, but if one was to fault it the pace set by confirmed front-runner Lord Du Sud dropped significantly running downhill towards Swinley Bottom and the winning time was more that two seconds slower than that taken by the steeplechaser Full House when winning Tuesday's Ascot Stakes. That was hardly Yeats's fault though, and the six-year-old made good headway on to the heels of the leaders inside the last 6f before hitting the front going to two out and settling it in strides. Once in front Yeats was soon a couple of lengths clear, and although Geordieland emerged from the pack to chase him a furlong out and momentarily look a possible threat he was always holding him in the last 100 yards. Yeats came here following a different preparation to last year, when he was making his reappearance, but his subsequent programme is likely to be broadly similar, with the Irish St Leger (in which he might not have been himself in 2006) and the Melbourne Cup (where connections admit they got the tactics wrong and he was ridden too aggressively) on the agenda again in the autumn. The Goodwood Cup, where he was tremendously impressive last year, is not sure to be in his programme this time, although it could prove hard to resist. Interestingly, Aidan O'Brien said Yeats has put on weight and is 12 kilos heavier than a year ago, and he certainly isn't a typical stayer on looks. O'Brien also reckons he has got quicker, so it would be fascinating to see him back at a mile and a half in theArc, in which Ardross was placed all of those years ago.
Geordieland has a very good cruising speed for a stayer but had got there too soon when second to Sergeant Cecil in the Yorkshire Cup, so connections were determined to hang on to him longer here. Such tactics were never going to be easy to execute against a stayer with Yeats's speed up Ascot's short straight, and while he came through the field strongly to go second approaching the furlong marker the task was just beyond him. It was a cracking effort nevertheless to pull nearly 4l clear of the others, and he would merit every respect in a rematch with Yeats on handicap terms at Flemington, where he bled last year.
The German stayer Le Miracle, a close third to Sergeant Cecil in lastyear's Cadran, ran an excellent race in third, taking second place briefly before Geordieland took his measure.
The surprise package, however, was Finalmente, who is a useful handicapper but had around 20lb to find with Yeats on both BHB figures and Racing Post Ratings. He has a somewhat ungainly head carriage, but this was clearly a step up from him and he would have looked nicely handicapped in the Northumberland Plate, were he entered.
The Prix Royal-Oak winner Montare, in cheekpieces, was never that far away and finished well clear of Lord Du Sud, who had her back in third when winning a muddling Group 2 last time.
Baddam, who completed the Ascot Stakes/Queen Alexandra double here last year, had earned his place in this line-up, but the lack of pace would not have played to his strengths and after being held up in rear he was inclined to hang when making his effort. He will have to come into the reckoning again, however, if turned out again tomorrow.
Cherry Mix's connections admitted the grey was a far from certain stayer, and although it was worth trying him here he got quite keen running down to Swinley Bottom and then his stamina appeared to give out in the home straight.
The Henry II winner Allegretto sweated up and didn't really settle, while Bulwark once again looked tricky, needing firm handling before consenting to go out on the final circuit and then hanging both ways in the straight. St Leger second The Last Drop disappointed again, having raced handily, while the diminutive Rising Cross didn't run much of a race for once either on this first attempt at an extreme distance. Tungsten Strike disappointed here for the second time.
The race's biggest letdown was Sergeant Cecil, who trailed in last, finding little in the straight after racing towards the rear, where he was never really on an even keel and was particularly keen for a spell heading towards Swinley Bottom. Connections found nothing physically wrong with him and concluded that he possibly remembered last year's unhappy experience here, where he got messed around straightening for home and finished fifth. He evidently doesn't like being crowded, and there is a school of thought that reckons he is better dropped right out, as he was in the Cadran and as Geordieland was here. It was a shame he didn't run his race, as he came here at the top of his form and looked the one most likely to trouble Yeats. [GD]