Showing no ill-effects for his ultimately wasted round-trip to Ireland at the weekend, Time Test defied a five-pound penalty that would have stopped a lesser talent to mark a significant return to action for the Juddmonte homebred. First coming to the fore over this trip when winning Newbury's London Gold Cup H. May 16 and Royal Ascot's G3 Tercentenary S. the following month, the bay was fourth in the G1 Juddmonte International at York in August before successfully dropping to a mile to win the G2 Joel S. at Newmarket in September. Only 10th in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile when last seen, he was at The Curragh on Sunday for the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup but was unable to line up after the rains came. Anchored in last early in a typically perfect piece of pace measurement by Ryan Moore, Time Test was in his element off the stern fractions set by the ultimately disappointing Intilaaq (Dynaformer) and was threaded between rivals inside the last three furlongs. Angled out to pick up Western Hymn passing the furlong pole, he was always holding that game rival as they put daylight between them and the fair yardstick Scottish in third. “I am really pleased, as I thought that was a really good trial for the future,” trainer Roger Charlton said. “They went a decent pace and he was a long way back and finished really well. Ryan [Moore] was particularly pleased with him and although I think that the Japanese horse was mightily impressive on Tuesday and may be a serious superstar, Time Test is a mile-and-a-quarter horse so the [G1] Prince of Wales's S. [at Royal Ascot June 15] is most likely. I think last year, Royal Ascot was his most impressive performance and Timeform gave him an exceptional mark and then later knocked it down but we are getting back to that region now. In the Juddmonte International things didn't work out for him, but he was finishing his race there and the mistake we made going to the Breeders' Cup was due to us being led to believe that the ground would be firm. We had a wide draw and horrible ground there and luckily Ryan didn't abuse him, but he benefitted from travelling there and back and grew up for it. He was relaxed today and so it wasn't a lost journey, as was having to travel 12 hours to Ireland and back last week, but we treated this as a prep race and I said to Ryan beforehand that I didn't want him to have a really hard race. We will try and win a group 1 race at some point and Ryan was delighted with him, with the first thing he said being that was his trip. It will depend on what Prince Khalid wants to do, but the Prince of Wales's is his race although there might be something in the [G1] Queen Anne [S. June 14] being the easier race of the two. Western Hymn is an old pro around here and had had three runs so was ripened, so it was a fair test and Ryan rode him with lot of confidence. He's quality, top-of-the-ground horse who has mentally improved all the time and is very relaxed now. He's straightforward and genuine to train and looked a good racehorse today. There are wonderful races all around the world and you need a horse that can travel for them.” Western Hymn's trainer John Gosden said of the runner-up, “Without doubt he is back to his best and likes a little bit more juice in the ground than this. He might step up to a mile and a half now and the improvement might come over an extra two furlongs.”Passage of Time was one of the main representative of the late Sir Henry Cecil's Warren Place stables to signal her trainer's great comeback when winning the 2006 G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud, prior to finishing third in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, G1 Prix Vermeille and G1 Nassau S. She is a full-sister to another flag-bearer of that yard in the G2 King Edward VII S. winner Father Time (GB) and a half to the G1 Falmouth S. heroine Timepiece (GB) (Zamindar). This family has a lot of Cecil's influence stamped on it, with the third dam Quandary (Blushing Groom {Fr}) being a half-sister to the Newmarket legend's G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp winner and G1 Epsom Oaks and G1 Juddmonte International runner-up All at Sea (Riverman) and also the second dam of his European Champion and four-times group 1 winner Twice Over (GB) (Observatory). Unfortunately, Passage of Time's 3-year-old filly by Oasis Dream (GB) died but her two subsequent visits to Dubawi have resulted in a 2-year-old filly named Time Chaser (GB) and a yearling colt. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
Thursday, Sandown, Britain
BETVICTOR BRIGADIER GERARD S.-G3, £65,000, SAN, 5-26, 4yo/up, 10f 7yT, 2:06.18, g/f.
1–TIME TEST (GB), 131, c, 4, by Dubawi (Ire)
1st Dam: Passage of Time (GB) (G1SW-Fr, GSW & G1SP-Eng, GISP-US, $651,668), by Dansili (GB)
2nd Dam: Clepsydra (GB), by Sadler's Wells
3rd Dam: Quandary, by Blushing Groom (Fr)
O-Khalid Abdullah; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-Roger Charlton; J-Ryan Moore. £36,862. Lifetime Record: 9-5-2-0, $366,622. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Western Hymn (GB), 126, g, 5, High Chaparral (Ire)–Blue Rhapsody (GB), by Cape Cross (Ire). (50,000gns Ylg '12 TAOCT). O-RJH Geffen and Rachel Hood; B-Newsells Park Stud (GB); T-John Gosden. £13,975.
3–Scottish (Ire), 126, g, 4, Teofilo (Ire)–Zeiting (Ire), by Zieten. (€170,000 Ylg '13 GOFORB). O-Godolphin; B-Knocktoran Stud (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby. £6,994.
Margins: NK, 4HF, 5. Odds: 3.00, 3.50, 7.00.
Also Ran: Not So Sleepy (GB), Niceofyoutotellme (GB), Intilaaq, Fire Fighting (Ire).
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
