Coolmore Stud Stakes, 1200m
A field of 17 accepted for the 2022 Coolmore Stud Stakes; the second biggest line up in race’s history.
Going back to 1980 when back then the race was known as the Ascot Vale Stakes, the Coolmore averages a field of 11, though that has slipped up to 14 in the last 10 years. 20 ran in the 2017 edition won by Merchant Navy and 16 lined up behind Home Affairs last year.
The Coolmore’s standing continues to grow in line with its field size and this year’s three-year-old crop’s stocks are also on the rise.
Wins over their elders in the Moir and Everest show a crop, held back by a wet autumn that saw them go to the races in record low numbers, quickly making up for lost time.
It is with that in mind that this year’s Coolmore can be expected to require an up-to-scratch performance to win and those best placed to post those sorts of numbers are those that already have.
This year’s Coolmore boasts four on the cusp of what is typically required to win a Coolmore. A Big Four if you like, starting with The Golden Rose 1-2; Jacquinot and In Secret.
The Golden Rose has thrown up six winners in the Coolmore in the past 20 years, though only Zoustar was completing that double with five other Golden Rose winners turned over at Flemington.
If that was to mean anything (it probably doesn’t) the temptation would be to side with In Secret turning the tables. Such a view is strengthened by her connections, James Cummings and James McDonald, who are the most potent force in Australian racing at this moment, and the fact that In Secret did start a warm 5/4 favourite in that Golden Rose.
But Jacquinot was running right over her at the finish at Rosehill, his win coming with more authority than the final margin, and he has since backed that up in The Everest where he was at least as good against the older horses in a high-pressure contest.
That provided the platform for last year’s dominant Coolmore winner Home Affairs who came to Flemington rated 118 by Timeform and left rated 125.
Jacquinot arrives rated 120.
In Secret may have been accounted for by Jacquinot in the Golden Rose but she does return to 1200m where she had done something similar to Best Of Bordeaux the start prior.
Best Of Bordeaux has since given that Run To The Rose form a strong look, winning the Roman Consul and running gamely on a hot pace in last weekend in the Manikato Stakes.
Three have run in the Coolmore off the Manikato since it was switched to the Cox Plate carnival a week prior; Sunlight winning after running seventh at the Valley, Bivouac running second from sixth and Ingratiating eighth from third.
Coolangatta was all set to run there before the storm on Friday and opted to miss the Saturday in testing conditions, allowing her stablemate Bella Nipotina to highlight her talents by proxy.
Coolangatta, a place behind Best Of Bordeaux when second in last season’s Golden Slipper, posted a career-best effort when beating Bella Nipotina in the Moir.
Admittedly the runner up looked a touch unlucky given the pattern of the night, which Coolangatta took full advantage of, but it was a smart display any way you look at it and it has held up well since.
An unexposed lot means that several have the right profile to return new peaks but the wave that follows our Big Four does so from a way back.
Each of Sejardan, Buenos Noches, Grand Impact, Economics and Queen Of The Ball have won key trials for this over the spring but all are rated at or around 110 and assuming that one of the four rated ahead of them produces their best, or better, then the task becomes a tough one.
Looking at the past dozen winners none were rated as low as 110 before the Coolmore and that dozen went to Flemington rated 118 on average.
The Coolmore has established itself, and continues to do so, as a destination race.
It is a race for the well-established, the topliners, and 2022 boasts a strong top line.
