By Tom Frary
Sir Michael Stoute was uncharacteristically bullish about the prospects of the G1 Commonwealth Cup's “dark horse” Eqtidaar (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) prior to his Royal Ascot baptism of fire and that proved well-founded as the Shadwell homebred leapt forward to prevail over some high-class peers. Handed an ideal lead from Emblazoned (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) in the centre group, the 12-1 shot who had been second in the course-and-distance G3 Pavilion S. on his penultimate start May 2 was sent up to tackle that rival with a furlong remaining by Jim Crowley. Gaining the edge shortly after, the bay began to veer left and carried the long-time leader with him but was straightened in time to hold the stand's-side group “winner” Sands of Mali (Fr) (Panis) by a half length, with Emblazoned clinging on to third, a length away. “He was one of my best rides of the week and he's trained by a genius,” Crowley said. “It went like clockwork really and I knew he'd been working unbelievably well and you could make excuses for his last two starts. It's a massive step up and massive performance.” Stoute is now on 78 Royal winners and added, “We've always liked this horse and we were hopeful, as he's progressing nicely.”
Off the mark over this trip at Nottingham on debut in August, Eqtidaar was a disappointing fourth behind Invincible Army (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) in the G3 Sirenia S. on Kempton's Polytrack in September and entered winter quarters off that effort. Putting up a respectable display on his comeback when again in arrears of that rival in the Pavilion, he took part in a strange renewal of Newbury's Listed Carnarvon S. May 19 where the very quick ground saw the leader Never Back Down (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) skip away from the field and he was probably worth more than his fourth placing there. This time, the homebred was in the right place from the outset as the much-vaunted Juddmonte representative Equilateral (GB) (Equiano {Fr}) gave him a tow while the G2 Sandy Lane S. third Emblazoned gained the advantage after the first quarter mile.
On the stand's side, Gidu (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) was just off the overall pace leading that smaller pack which featured Sands of Mali but Eqtidaar always had the edge over the horses racing away from the main action and it was only his late drift which threatened the result. Sprinters have not featured prominently at Freemason Lodge in recent years, but Sir Michael Stoute did handle the fast stars Green Desert, Ajdal and Marwell (Ire) (Habitat). “I thought things just didn't go quite right for him the first time he ran here in the Pavilion Stakes and then at Newbury last time, he was on the wrong side of the track and at halfway was too far out of his ground. He worked very well the other weekend under Jim Crowley and he just showed how talented he is.”
Sands of Mali's rider Paul Hanagan was inclined to believe that the ground was a touch too slick for the runner-up, who was putting up another solid effort after his success in the G2 Sandy Lane S. “They went a really nice pace on my side which suited me, he was able to drop his head and he was relaxed and he came home,” he said. “The ground might just have been a shade too quick for my lad, maybe he was just feeling it and not letting himself down completely, but he's run a great race. There are not any excuses. I have been beaten by a very good horse, but I think it was the ground a little bit.” Frankie Dettori said of Emblazoned, “My horse has run a superb race, he's improved and I was closer to the Fahey horse [Sands of mali] than at Haydock.” Trainer John Gosden added, “I am very pleased with that. It was not the plan to be so forward, but the horse took himself there. The form is rock-solid.” Gidu was a fine sixth after taking no prisoners and jockey John Velazquez commented, “I thought he went and ran well. It was a good effort. It was a tough race. Winning is the most important bit, but as long as they run and try hard, you can't beat that. Especially here.” Sioux Nation (Scat Daddy) was heavily-supported into 11-4 favouritism, but found disappointingly little and was 16th.
Eqtidaar is the latest luminary from an esteemed family and is a half-brother to Massaat (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), who took the G2 Hungerford S. and finished runner-up in the G1 2000 Guineas S. and G1 Dewhurst S. and third in the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp. The dam Madany (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), who was a fast and versatile filly for the Charlie Hills yard, is a half to the MSW Zeiting (Ire) (Zieten) who was responsible for five black-type performers headed by the G3 Strensall S. winner and G1 Caulfield Cup runner-up Scottish (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}). Her daughter Zut Alors (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) was third in the G3 Prix Miesque before producing last year's G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine Precieuse (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}) and also the useful sprint handicapper Baccarat (Ire) (Dutch Art {GB}). Zeiting is also a half to the G3 Prix du Bois winner Dolled Up (Ire) (Whipper). The dam, who was purchased by Shadwell for just 130,000gns at the 2009 Tattersalls October Book 1 Sale, also has a 2-year-old colt by Kodiac (GB) named Baraajeel (GB) and a colt foal by their previous Commonwealth Cup winner Muhaarar (GB).
Friday, Royal Ascot, Britain
COMMONWEALTH CUP-G1, £500,000, Ascot, 6-22, 3yo, 6fT, 1:12.12, g/f.
1–EQTIDAAR (IRE), 129, c, 3, by Invincible Spirit (Ire)
1st Dam: Madany (Ire), by Acclamation (GB)
2nd Dam: Belle de Cadix (Ire), by Law Society
3rd Dam: Gourgandine (Ire), by Auction Ring
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN; 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum; B-Shadwell Estate Company Ltd (IRE); T-Sir Michael Stoute; J-Jim Crowley. £283,550. Lifetime Record: 5-2-1-0, $411,260. *1/2 to Massaat (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), GSDW & MG1SP-Eng, G1SP-Fr, $539,369. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Sands of Mali (Fr), 129, c, 3, Panis–Kadiania (Fr), by Indian Rocket (GB). (€20,000 Ylg '16 OSLATE; £75,000 2yo '17 TATABR). O-The Cool Silk Partnership; B-Simon Urizzi (FR); T-Richard Fahey. £107,500.
3–Emblazoned (Ire), 129, c, 3, Invincible Spirit (Ire)–Sendmylovetorose (GB), by Bahamian Bounty (GB). (€340,000 Ylg '16 GOFORB). O-HRH Princess Haya of Jordan; B-M Enright (IRE); T-John Gosden. £53,800.
Margins: HF, 1, HD. Odds: 12.00, 7.50, 12.00.
Also Ran: Stone of Destiny (GB), Hey Jonesy (Ire), Gidu (Ire), Heartache (GB), Fighting Irish (Ire), Invincible Army (Ire), Unfortunately (Ire), Roussel (Ire), Equilateral (GB), Cardsharp (GB), Speak In Colours (GB), Fleet Review, Sioux Nation, Actress (Ire), Laugh A Minute (GB), Main Desire (Ire), Enjazaat (GB), Now You're Talking (Ire), Abel Handy (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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