2011 was all about one horse, the mighty Frankel, and whilst we should count ourselves very lucky that Henry Cecil’s “freak” is returning to the track this year as a four-year-old, there are a number of horses from this year’s classic generation that also look hugely exciting.
I’ve picked out five three-year-olds from across the globe that if you don’t already know you really should, as between them they look set to dominate racing around the world in 2012 and beyond…
UNION RAGS was, by all accounts, very unlucky to lose his unbeaten streak when a marginal second to Hansen in the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs back in November, travelling much further than his conqueror and one could argue being left too much to do as the front-running Hansen, no slouch in his own right, got too far in front of the chasing pack.
Prior to that, a brilliant display in the Champagne Stakes (Gr1) at Belmont had marked Union Rags as something special indeed and his return last month in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (Gr2) confirmed he has retained his brilliant ability and then some.
Although the Fountain of Youth lost some of its sparkle with Algorithms a late scratching, the manner in which Union Rags won instantly cemented him as most people’s pick for the Kentucky Derby at the beginning of May, and it is hard to see anything beating him at this stage.
We’ll know more about his Triple Crown credentials after this weekend though, as Union Rags looks set to take in the $1million Grade 1 Florida Derby on Saturday at Gulfstream Park, for which he is a hot favourite.
WATCH – Union Rags wins the 2012 Champagne Stakes
Having covered the best the Americans currently have to offer, it’s now time to focus on Ireland’s leading hope for the 2012 classics, Aidan O’Brien’s hugely exciting CAMELOT.
It’s hard to believe that a horse with only two starts to his names is such a short-priced favourite for this year’s 2000 Guineas and Derby but such is the manner of his two victories, specifically his win in the Racing Post Trophy (Gr1) at Doncaster at the tail end of last season that he is only as big as 5/2 for both aforementioned classics.
In truth, the Montjeu colt will probably be seen to better effect over the greater distance in time, but the way he easily put to bed a decent field at Doncaster under a motionless Joseph O’Brien has to put him in with a fantastic chance of landing the season’s first classic in a little over a month’s time.
A race course gallop at The Curragh on Sunday didn’t tell us much, but suffice to say Camelot looked a picture and moved remarkably well, only strengthening his position as most people’s idea of the coming season’s champion three-year-old.
WATCH – Camelot wins the 2011 Racing Post Trophy
On the filly side of things, Aidan O’Brien also has an enviable squad with which to do battle this season, and although some of his other fillies are better fancied for this season’s classics at the moment, it is KISSED that I’m most excited to see in 2012.
A headline writer’s dream, Kissed – perhaps most significantly – is three parts sister to last year’s awesome Derby winner Pour Moi. I say most significantly because, like fellow O’Brien inmate Camelot, Kissed has very little actual race course form on which to focus at this stage of her career.
By super-sire Galileo, Kissed tasted victory on her only race course start to date, when comfortably winning a maiden at Navan over a mile back in October, a race from which the form received a significant boost at the weekend with the tenth that day Redoubtable winning an ultra-competitive race at The Curragh in good style and second placed Violet Lashes also running a creditable race on that same card.
The well-related Kissed is currently best-priced 16/1 for The Oaks following a little support in the last 24 hours and 40/1 for the 1000 Guineas, which would seem to suggest that she is unlikely to head to Newmarket at the beginning of May.
Wherever she ends up making her 2012 debut though, for me Kissed is one of the most exciting mostly unknown quantities we have for the coming season.
Staying in Ireland, it’s not just Ballydoyle who have an array of potential superstars at their disposal for 2012, because master-trainer John Oxx, who nurtured the legendary Sea The Stars to world domination just a few years back, also has a strong hand for the coming season.
It may be Sea The Stars’ half-brother Born To Sea that is grabbing most of the headlines out of Oxx’s yard, but it his other main classic contender AKEED MOFEED that I’m most looking forward to seeing on a race course this season.
Akeed Mofeed made a solid enough start to his juvenile campaign when fourth in a maiden at Leopardstown, but it was his second start that really marked him as a future star, looking full of class as he accounted for the O’Brien trained Athens by 5 lengths.
Akeed Mofeed’s two-year-old campaign ended in defeat however when he was beaten at odds-on in the Beresford Stakes (Gr2) at The Curragh by O’Brien’s more experienced David Livingston, the pair were still well clear of the rest of the field though.
Oxx has suggested that the heavy ground that day may have been one of the reasons for his well-fancied runner’s defeat and David Livingston is prominent in the betting for the Derby as well, so I don’t think under the circumstances that this defeat is worth taking too much to heart.
Akeed Mofeed has a lovely action and in addition to having bags of speed looks like he will stay further as well, he’s a more likely Derby winner than Guineas winner I would think, but whichever classic he ends up contesting this season he’ll put up a bold showing.
Finally we head to France and focus on their most promising three-year-old by far coming in to 2012, the mercurial DABIRSIM.
He came on to a lot of people’s radars with that eye-catching victory in the Prix Morny back in August and then pulled off an improbable looking victory on Arc Day under a masterful Frankie Dettori ride to keep his undefeated streak in tact.
Given the Dettori-booking for his last two runs, a lot of people had expected to see Dabirsim in Godolphin’s famous royal blue colours this season, but thankfully owner Simon Springer has insisted that his prized-possession is not up for sale, adding another potentially great story to the upcoming season.
Sadly Dabirsim won’t be heading across the Channel for a crack at the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, but we will more than likely see him back at Longchamp for the French equivalent according to connections.
Dabirsim’s emergence as one of Europe’s leading colts has perhaps been a little surprising in that he is trained by relative newcomer Christophe Ferland, but anyone who’s seen this undoubtedly talented colt on the track knows his success is no fluke; and with a trip to the Breeder’s Cup in 2012 on the cards, by the end of the year Dabirsim may not only have confirmed himself as one of the top colts in Europe but also the world.
WATCH – Dabirsim wins the 2011 Prix Morny
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