WITH CONTINUING doubts over the participation of Epsom hero New Approach in today's Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby – he was still in the field last night – this is one of those times to look down the tissue for value, and there may well be an encore for Curtain Call.
Due almost entirely to the bullishness of trainer Luca Cumani, Curtain Call was a warm order for the Epsom Derby, going off at 7-1 after being at one time the favourite in the ante-post market.
Curtain Call ran a stinker to finish tenth, beaten j
ust over 11 lengths. He was not helped by Jamie Spencer's ride. For much of the race, the joint champion jockey was clearly ill at ease in mid-division on a horse which, like so many before, failed to handle the undulations of Epsom.
When Spencer finally got the jittery colt on to an even keel well into the straight, he hung left, barely quickened, and Spencer accepted defeat a mite too quickly for Cumani – he has not kept the ride at the Curragh and is replaced by one of Ireland's finest, Fran Berry.
It was Berry who rode Curtain Call to his two best performances, both of which came near the colt's original base in Ireland. As a two-year-old, Curtain Call was trained by Jessica Harrington at Commonstown Stables in Moone, just south of the Curragh.
Better known as a National Hunt trainer, Harrington has had some useful sorts on the Flat, but Curtain Call's two-year-old career seemed set to give her a real chance of Classic glory.
The Sadler's Wells colt easily won the Group 2 Juddmonte Beresford Stakes over a mile on yielding ground at the Curragh last September. That maiden win came after an even more indicative performance in the Group 2 Futurity Stakes at the same course a month previously.
On that day, Curtain Call finished second behind New Approach and ahead of Henrythenavigator in third. The latter, of course, has won the English and Irish 2,000 Guineas and the St James's Palace Stakes to prove himself a superstar miler.
Curtain Call did not perform well in the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster but sluiced up on his reappearance at Nottingham for Cumani, to whom he had been transferred for a crack at Epsom by his owners, the shrewd syndicate headed by Paul Cooper.
Curtain Call has not become a poor horse overnight, is back on familiar winning territory on ground he'll relish, and as a Sadler's Wells colt he should improve with age. Cumani said yesterday: "He has been working well and is in good form and happy in himself. I am hoping that his run at Epsom was not his true form and while I would be hard-pushed to say that he would have finished better than fifth or sixth, I would like to think that on his true merits, he wouldn't have been 10th. I will be relieved if he runs a good race."
If New Approach does run, there have to be grave doubts about his fitness. As for the other contenders, Tartan Bearer had a hard race at Epsom, while Casual Conquest is the most likely "home" winner for Dermot Weld, with Aidan O'Brien's Alessandro Volta and Washington Irving looking slightly short of top class.
If New Approach is 100% fit he should win, but Curtain Call is still a good each-way chance, while if New Approach drops out, he is an absolutely outstanding bet to finish in the places. Anything bigger than 8-1 should be grabbed each-way.
What a rollercoaster fortnight it has been for Scottish racing. The best-ever performance by Scottish trainers at Royal Ascot saw Big Timer finally live up to his promise as a two-year-old by winning the Wokingham Stakes. It was the biggest win yet for the "New Firm" of Carluke trainer Linda Perratt and trainer-turned-assistant Ian Semple, and it was nearly a golden tartan double, with Jim Goldie's Dhaular Dhar just pipped in the Buckingham Palace Stakes.
Then came the shocking news that Freddie Williams had died of a heart attack. There is little I can add to the many deserved tributes that have been paid to Scotland's best-known bookmaker, except to say that they broke the mould when they made Fearless Freddie, and the Scottish racing scene will just not be the same without him.
The full article contains 752 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
