SIMON has already covered the Dante meeting, but I was keen to make a quick mention of Too Darn Hot and where his future may lie. Trainer and jockey felt he was too free and that his stamina ebbed away, both nominating the St James’s Palace (over a mile) as his chosen destination. My instinct is, like a self-fulfilling prophecy, they had perhaps doubted his stamina pre-race and that the decision came a little too easily as a result.
My visual impression was that he actually saw the trip out quite well. He had to make headway against the efficiently ridden winner who, as a result of the more economical ride, found a little extra when challenged. The data is interesting too. The individual sectionals provided by York racecourse indicate that Too Darn Hot ran each of the last seven furlongs in either a faster, or time equal to, Telecaster.
Throw in the fact that Timeform rated that performance only 3lbs inferior to his all-time peak of 124, this being achieved on his first start in over six months as well as on the back of a troubled preparation.
I think it’s hard to say conclusively that stamina was his kryptonite. We’ll know more next time, and his exuberance means that he’s unlikely to stay the 12-furlongs that his breeding suggests he should, but I would be fairly confident that the best we’ll see of Too Darn Hot will come at a trip farther than a bare mile.