NEWS
Freshman sire blog: Royal Ascot babies for Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Posted: Wednesday, June 15, 2011 11:27 AM
John Egan's Freshman Sire Blog appears weekly as part of the 2011 Freshman Sire Contest presented by Markel and Thoroughbred Times
by John Egan
Royal Ascot got underway Tuesday with a fantastic renewal of the Queen Anne Stakes (Eng-G1).
As expected, it turned into a two-horse race between Canford Cliffs and Goldikova (Ire) approaching the line, and in the end, Canford Cliffs got the better of the French superstar filly. With Frankel remaining undefeated in seven starts by winning the St James’s Palace Stakes (Eng-G1) two races later, I hope these three horses will meet over a mile distance sometime this year.
What a race that would be!
Freshman sires went 0-for-2 on opening day in the two-year-old races at Royal Ascot. The victory of Power in the Coventry Stakes (Eng-G2) does suggest that Tough As Nails, a son of freshman sire Dark Angel, has the caliber to win a group race of his own in the future. Tough As Nails finished a short-head second to Power on his last start at the Curragh and will likely return to that venue at the end of June for the Railway Stakes (Ire-G2).
After noting some progeny of freshman sires that could have had an impact on the two-year-old races at Royal Ascot on Tuesday and Wednesday, part two of this blog aims to highlight similar prospects for the races on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The Norfolk Stakes (Eng-G2) will be the first race on the card on Thursday and will be run over five furlongs. Everyday Dave, by freshman sire Weather Warning, destroyed a small field of four other horses on debut at Chantilly and should run well here. He has a good draw from post 16, as the results on opening day suggested a bias toward high numbers over the sprint distances. I would be very surprised if this horse does not break very fast from the stalls and try to stay out in front the whole way.
Friday’s only two-year-old race is the Albany Stakes (Eng-G3), and I was delighted to read this week that Jim Bolger declared Teolane, by Teofilo, as a runner. Already a winner over seven furlongs, Teolane will have no problem shortening up to six furlongs for the Albany. Her trainer already says that she will get further in time and she is being talked about as if she is a potential Epsom Oaks (Eng-G1) filly of the future. Teolane made every yard in her last win at Naas and appeared to have plenty in the tank; she could be a very special filly if she lives up to early potential.
There are not many seven furlong two-year-old races run by the third week of June, but that is the distance of the Chesham Stakes which is the final juvenile race of Royal Ascot and will be run on Saturday.
This is a race that sets up for those sires that may just be more of an influence for stamina, and I think that the distance will suit Snowflake Dancer, another Jim Bolger-trained horse, but this colt is by Dylan Thomas (Ire).
Dylan Thomas was three times a Group 1 winner over 1 ½ miles, but he won the first two races of his career as a two-year-old, both over seven furlongs. Snowflaker Dancer has shown the speed to win over five furlongs and has not been disgraced in two second place finishes over six furlongs. He should enjoy every bit of seven furlongs and will be a big danger if declared to run here.
The Freshman Facebook page will continue to post reviews and results of the two-year-old races at Royal Ascot, so I would encourage those of you who use Facebook to visit this page. As always, there are updates, links and results on freshman sire related news on a daily basis for racing all over North America.
Previous Freshman Sire blogs:
Spring at last
It's a marathon, not a sprint
Alright son, you're nicked!
Remembering Rags to Riches
Is 2011 a safe bet for a Darley double?
What is your name? What is your favorite color?
A change of pace
Small victories
Spin around
The passing of a legend
Zen proves to be good karma
Let's Sheikh on it
I saw him first
Royal Ascot, Part 1
About John Egan
A native Londoner, John Egan has been a racing enthusiast from a very young age and even owned interests in Thoroughbred racehorses with his parents. After graduating from University with a business degree in 1997, John spent three years working in the London insurance market before pursuing his desire to work in the racing industry. He began work as an assistant to a trainer and was predominately based at Wolverhampton racecourse in England. After a spell in training, John then went to work for Lord and Lady Lloyd Webber's farms of Watership Down in England and Ireland before relocating to Kentucky and Lane's End Farm in 2002. After two years at Lane's End, John decided to combine his experience in the horse and insurance industries and became an equine insurance agent, which he did for three years, before making the transition to underwriter for a large multi-national insurance company. In 2008, he became underwriting manager of the Lexington office of Markel Insurance Company, which was opened in October of that year with the primarily focus of writing Thoroughbred equine mortality insurance.
With the launch of the Lexington office, John has become actively involved in Thoroughbred media to help promote Markel. He appeared on the Horse Racing Radio Network's Saturday morning show in 2009 and 2010 to discuss horses on the Kentucky Derby trail. In 2009, John also began a freshman sire competition and created a newsletter with that competition called The Freshman. That contest caught the eye of THOROUGHBRED TIMES and a partnership was formed to present the Freshman Sire Contest together in 2010. The partnership continues with the 2011 competition also being presented by Markel and THOROUGHBRED TIMES.
John lives in Lexington and is married to Melissa, who is a small animal veterinarian.
