Events / Simon Rowlands / 19 September 2007 /

Manduro or not, Simon Rowlands fancied Fortune to bring home the French spoils

It is ironic, given the large number of significant pointers for the future in recent days, that the biggest talking point has been about a horse that has run its last race, Manduro returning from victory in the Prix Foy at Longchamp with a fracture to his off-hind that has forced his retirement.

As mentioned in a previous Rowley File, I had laid "The Best Horse In The World" for the Arc due to doubts about his stamina. A soft win in a slowly run Foy had done little to change my view, for what it's worth.

That is as maybe now, but we saw plenty more of interest on the Longchamp card, not least in the shape of Soldier of Fortune's success in a much faster time in the Prix Niel.

I am quite a fan of Soldier of Fortune - his runaway win in the Irish Derby has generally been under-rated - and stepped in before Sunday's race to back him for the Arc at an average price of 10.7 on Betfair. That looks good now, with Soldier of Fortune down to 5.0, but I still think he is value at the shorter price.

There's little between Authorized (2.98 for the Arc) and Soldier of Fortune at their best, and the latter coped well enough with ground a fair bit faster than the official "good" at the weekend, whereas Authorized would have questions to answer on such a surface.

The Arc principals won't be troubled by anything that ran in the St Leger at Doncaster on Saturday, but that race provided another fine spectacle and a classy enough field to silence its critics for the time being.

It's just a shame that the result was hopelessly wrong! I have cancelled the holiday to Honolulu after the horse of that name seemed weighed down by expectations and finished only third and aim to side with a horse called Bognor Regis, or similar, next year in order that the disappointment of defeat is more bearable...

The two-year-old picture is clearer after the National Stakes at the Curragh on Sunday, with the winner New Approach having the best form on offer among what is looking a fairly strong crop of juveniles. There are a couple of caveats where New Approach's future is concerned, however.

First, he got things his own way to a degree on Sunday. The time was at least a second slower than it "should" have been, and Rio de La Plata - ridden with a disappointing lack of enterprise - is no forlorn hope to push him close another day.

Second, New Approach couldn't even be persuaded to enter the paddock for a race 20 miles down the road, so how on Earth will he fare with a plane journey to England and the razzmatazz of Newmarket on Guineas Day or Epsom on Derby Day?

Raven's Pass (8.8) and Rio de La Plata (10.0) make more appeal at this stage for the 2000 Guineas than the talented but quirky 5.4 ante-post favourite.

There is a bit of a lull in the racing game in the second half of September, with the jumps action not yet fully under way and the big autumn Flat prizes around the corner, but that won't bother anyone who manages to back the winner of the Ayr Gold Cup on Saturday.

One who catches my eye for the big sprint handicap is the Irish-trained Benwilt Breeze, who shaped much better than the result at the Curragh on Friday and has been nibbled at on the Betfair ante-post market from 80 to 26. His supporters have only 131 rivals to worry about at present.

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