When Mums Tipple took apart the 2017 running of the 21-horse Goff’s 2YO Sales race to the tune of 11 lengths, we all said, “It’s inconceivable that he isn’t at least a stakes horse”, writes Tony Stafford.

That was the second win for the Richard Hannon-trained colt after a narrow success on debut. He was still going until July at Ascot last year when, as an 8yo gelding, he won for the eighth time. His owners, Marian Lyons and Patricia Zanelli, also had nine places to enjoy from a career total of 55 outings.

From a high mark of 116 after that initial explosion onto the scene as a juvenile, at one point he was as low as 78, but ended (if he has ended, I presume so) rated 92 following that Ascot win off 86.

So many lovely days out for the duo, who had paid £45k for him via the services of long-standing Hannon family talent spotters Peter and Ross Doyle. Even if that initial jackpot success worth £147,540 was never quite replicated, to this point he has earned a highly respectable £384k.

It was inevitable that the name of Mums Tipple came up when last week’s renewal of the Goffs race, now carrying a winner’s pot of £293k, was also a one-sided affair even with 20 juveniles taking part.

Sun Goddess, the even-money favourite, who boasted a Group 1 victory last time out in the Keeneland Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh, where she won comfortably from the Joseph O’Brien colt Folsome Blues, was drawn unfavourably high in stall 17.

Beforehand, Ryan Moore was planning to “go straight down the middle” but mindful of the disadvantaged position stalls 18 to 21 had - those on his outside broke a little more alertly - and the drift for Ryan towards the inside then became inevitable.

Strong finishes had been her trademark in five previous runs – three wins and two second places – but that still wasn’t quite enough to determine the outcome of the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot.

There she had worked into an apparently winning position, when the George Boughey-trained Libertango came from out of the clouds to catch and pass her in the final 100 yards. When Libertango won the Sky Bet Lowther Stakes, run over the same six furlongs immediately preceding the sales race on Thursday with a similar late finish having tacked across the field from her high draw, it could only be a boost for the Coolmore filly in the much lower quality, and slightly higher quantity, sales race.

So, straightforward then. Well, not quite. Having been manhandled into the middle of the pack, Ryan was looking to navigate a way through from a long way back when one horse abruptly changed direction, causing Sun Goddess to snatch up and almost fall.

I was standing next to a pretty good judge at the time. “That’s it”, he said, a comment replicated all over the racecourse, often accompanied with a gasp as her momentum was halted. But then, you saw Ryan manoeuvre to the outside and there wasn’t much more than a furlong to run, so only seconds after my friend’s words of resignation, and with the filly still probably only fifth or sixth, I replied, “It isn’t, she’s won!” Maybe wishful thinking, but I swear not.

 

 

Mums Tipple’s finish all those years ago was impressive; Sun Goddess’s demolition of her field, drawing six lengths clear, admittedly of horses that Ryan realistically described as ordinary, was spectacular. Then again, to take out six (or probably ten lengths once she got going) in around a furlong is rare. Talking of rare, I’m rarely excited by a race – seen too many I suppose – but I was this time. And she did it marginally faster than Libertango.

 

 

In fact, I was embarrassingly excited. I've lost count of how many friends have called to suggest I was trying to hog the camera after the race when I did find myself standing next to Aidan. I was even grabbed around the shoulders to stand next to him – “come on Tony!” - when they took the “connections” photo. I’m not one of them, of course, a point the Racing Post acknowledged when the sub-editor in the office cropped the picture with just my umbrella – never needed to be true – and a sliver of a grey jacket left for posterity.

The bookmakers reacted by making Sun Goddess favourite for the 1,000 Guineas. Rightly so, I thought. She stayed so well on Thursday and while I know Aidan likes to keep his bases covered, she does have the Moyglare (7f) and Fillies Mile entries this year.

Even the day after the race, Derrick Smith, in whose colours she runs along with Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor and Westerberg (George von Opel), was repeating in disbelief, “She cost 120 grand! I can’t believe it.” Putting that remark in context, the usual Coolmore partnership had earlier in the week forked out €4.6 million for a Wootton Bassett yearling colt at Arqana sales in Deauville. Derrick’s shock is understandable.

As Anita Wigan, wife of bloodstock legend James, responded, “She was there for everyone to see. Your team was clever enough to buy her.”

Even with all that evidence to call on, the team’s in-house grading of their two-year-old fillies still had plenty of opinion favouring Alpha, a daughter of Sea The Stars out of 1,000 Guineas winner Alpha Centauri. There was a little pre-planning I’m sure that put her in Saturday’s Group 2 Alpha Centauri Debutante Stakes at the Curragh, and she did start odds-on with a couple of nice wins on the board already.

The snag was always going to be Joseph O’Brien’s maiden filly Green Empress, running in the green and white of my old associates, the Thoroughbred Racing Corporation, revived over the past few years by the son of the late Prince Ahmed bin Salman. She had run only twice: initially second, five lengths behind Sun Goddess; and latterly runner-up at less than a length to the same filly in a Group 2 between Sun Goddess’ Ascot run and her Group 1 in August.

On Saturday Alpha cut out the running, but after manoeuvring out of a pocket, Dylan Browne McMonagle got Green Empress up close to the line, passing his own stablemate Dancing Destiny. That filly, a 12/1 shot, had only been beaten a head behind Alpha in her previous start. There might be a domestic realignment of the Ballydoyle juvenile fillies, but Ryan wasn’t on hand so no doubt Alpha will get a chance to re-establish herself, maybe at the Irish Champions meeting next month.

Green Empress was the fourth of four consecutive winners for Dylan Browne and he added a fifth later. Four of them were for his boss Joseph. Aidan struck back with two Group winners of his own on the card, namely Queenstown in the Irish St Leger Trial and Group 2 winner Giant Sequoia, easier to write than to pronounce even for some close to the team. Still, what can you expect with four consecutive vowels?

It was just as well for O’Brien senior that the York sales race carried such a massive prize, considering Andrew Balding’s amazing run at the fixture. The highlights were Item for the sponsors in the Juddmonte International where, with hindsight, 10/1 was an astonishing price as his only career defeat was on that awful ground in the Derby, and the gallant Kalpana in the Yorkshire Oaks.

A couple of big pots always helps, but it’s the overall numerical strength and depth of quality of the Balding stable that counts. He is now on 138 wins for the season (although none since Thursday – what’s happened?!) that has aggregated more than £7 million, almost exactly £700k less than O’Brien’s £7.7million.

I think everything will come down to how they do in their head-to-heads at Ascot on Champions Day, October 17. There are five Group 1 races, the first three of £500k each. The Queen Elizabeth Stakes over a mile carries £1.1 million, while the Champion Stakes is the most valuable at £1.3 million. In the red corner!

York was fantastic! Oisin Murphy had a great week, joining in much of the Balding success, but Tony Hind kept Billy Loughnane mostly at the back-up meetings and he consequently extended his lead over the champion by a couple more in this year’s title race.

When your luck’s out, though, not even the champion can help you. Oisin spent the entire week wriggling though tiny gaps to get the job done but when it came to my day’s best bet in the last race on Saturday, he ran slap bang into a pocket just as it seemed Bourbon Blues was going to give Brian Meehan a welcome winner and me a 16/1 nap. Still, another Cambridgeshire winner for the Manton stable would be an acceptable consolation.

Staying as usual in York with Jim and Mary Cannon was uniformly great. Dinner on successive nights at Thompsons Famous Fish and Chips on the Malton Road; Del Rio’s Italian (venue for all the stars – yes even me occasionally!) and Lal Quila, an Indian restaurant in Bishopthorpe Road, accounted for my first three nights. I stayed home on Friday at Jim and Mary’s to watch the Arsenal game. No restaurant, then, just Jim’s post-match patented cheese on toast – Carlisle Rarebit- and that was another summer holiday done.

- TS