THE Qatar Goodwood Festival was what summer racing should be. Top class competition on fast ground producing good times where the temptation to put plenty of water on the track was resisted by clerk of the course, Ed Arkell, who deserves plenty of credit for his approach.
The race times when compared with the RaceiQ par times give us a good indication of how the ground rode throughout the five days, and they suggest the ground was a little slower on the last two days of the meeting than on the preceding three, but on all days the ground enabled horses to let themselves down and produce good times.
The average Time Index scores on a scale of 0-10 for the meeting are detailed below.
Day 1: Time Index Score: 8.62
Day 2: Time Index Score: 7.90
Day 3: Time Index Score: 8.06
Day 4: Time Index Score: 6.17
Day 5: Time Index Score: 5.23
These scores are just an indicator of how the ground rode as slowly run races can result in slow times which can lower the Index figure, but overall, they tell us that the ‘Good to Firm’ ground on the first three days was much closer to ‘Good’ on the last two,
The meeting produced some interesting data and Ryan Moore was imperious in the saddle, something that we expect, but should not take for granted.
There were plenty of good performances to analyse from the meeting but in terms of data the following three stood out.
AUDIENCE was carrying a 5lb penalty for his win in the Lockinge, but under a good ride from Robert Havlin in the Group 2 HKJC World Pool Lennox Stakes was clear cut four-length winner from Art Power. He was suited by the return to seven furlongs on fast ground with speed being his main asset.
The RaceiQ break speed data details how quickly horses get out of the stalls by timing how long it takes them to go from 0-20mph. Audience and Art Power were the fastest in the race as detailed below.
Audience 0-20mph: 2.67secs (1st)
Art Power 0-20mph: 2.72secs (2nd)
Thereafter they dominated this contest, and it seemed that the other jockeys felt they were going too fast and let them go. The perception may have its roots in Art Power being a front-running six-furlong horse who stepping up in trip was probably going too fast.
The RaceiQ data identifies that Robert Havlin on Audience and David Allan on Art Power got the early fractions right.
The first four furlongs can be analysed against the RaceiQ par sectionals, and they show that the first four furlongs were run at nothing more than an even pace.
Below are the early splits with a comparison against what is par for a race of this class on Good to Firm ground.
F1: 15.32secs (Slow)
F2: 12.64secs (Very Slow)
F3: 11.72secs (Par)
F4: 11.00secs (Par)
Audience and Art Power established a lead without exerting much energy - in effect buying lengths from the field cheaply through those first four furlongs.
This meant that Audience was then able to quicken through the final three furlongs to record a Finishing Speed Percentage (FSP) of 105.40%.
Having established a cheap lead, those lengths that were given away were impossible for the others to buy back.
Audience completed the final three furlongs in faster than par.
F5: 10.60secs (Fast)
F6: 10.86secs (Fast)
F7: 11.76s (Fast)
Kinross shaped well in third and should not be written off. He raced too far off the pace in sixth place and then ran the final two furlongs faster than the first two as detailed below.
Final two-furlong splits:
1st: Audience: 22.61secs
2nd: Art Power: 23.16secs
3rd: Kinross: 22.41secs
When Kinross gets some cut in the ground, he will be much more effective, his engine clearly still intact.
KYPRIOS produced a tremendous performance from the best stayer around in the Group 1 Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup Stakes.
He lowered the course record producing a time of 3m 21.53secs which was 7.98 seconds under the Race IQ par for a race of this class over two miles on good to firm ground at Goodwood. His race IQ Time Index score of 9.99 out of 10 was the highest score achieved at the meeting.
What sets him apart from other stayers is his speed. He is a strong stayer, but he does not just gallop his rivals into submission, he can quicken in a way that most stayers find impossible.
The pace was even, but picked up five furlongs from home. Thereafter, Kyprios was fastest through each of the final three furlongs recording the following split compared to his nearest pursuers.
1st: Kyprios: 35.22secs
2nd: Sweet William 35.66secs
3rd: Gregory 35.88secs
If we further break down those splits, we note that Kyprios ran furlong 13 in 11.09secs and followed that up in the 14th furlong with an 11.27secs and a penultimate furlong of 11.55secs. This sustained speed at the end of a two-mile contest was way too much for his rivals.
He has the speed to cope with a strongly run mile and a half race if ever asked to drop back in trip.
His immediate future may involve a slight drop in trip for the Irish St Leger in which he will be very hard to beat.
THIS was a Ryan Moore masterclass in the Group 1 Qatar Nassau Stakes. He made all on Opera Singer who was stepping up in trip and there are some similarities with the win of Audience in the Lennox Stakes in terms of tempo.
Moore seemed determined to lead with Opera Singer the fastest in the race to reach 20mph (2.63secs). According to the Race iQ data, the pace was modest with Opera Singer getting an uncontested lead.
Below are the first five furlongs measured against par.
F1: 15.1secs (Slow)
F2: 12.71secs (Very Slow)
F3: 12.55secs (Par)
F4: 13.63secs (Slow)
F5: 13.40secs (Par)
It was here that Ryan Moore caught the field napping as he kicked home with five furlongs to go, his next two furlongs were:
F6: 11.39secs (Very Fast)
F7: 10.92secs (Very Fast)
He stole lengths through these two furlongs with the field taking a furlong to react. The second, third, fourth and fifth placed finishers all completed the final three furlongs quicker than Opera Singer but that was not enough to reel her in.
Having kicked a long way from home, Opera Singer had to see the trip out well to win and the fact that she ran the final furlong evenly as against the RaceiQ sectionals suggests that she saw the race out strongly. Her final furlong of 12.26secs saw her rally as See The Fire (second) rallied.
This was a superb ride from Ryan Moore on a filly who may well stay 12 furlongs even if her pedigree suggests this may be her optimum trip. A tilt at the Yorkshire Oaks at York’s Ebor meeting could be on the agenda.