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the excuses are out already

Workforce makes his seasonal debut tonight in the Group III Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown, over 1m 2f, or 2000m for those of us who aren't stuck in the 50s.

This is a horse who last year claimed the self-proclaimed 'biggest race in the world', the Derby, and the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe. In theory he should be the world's best horse, yet his trainer is moaning about having to carry 7lb more than a bunch of G3/Listed horses tonight....


Workforce will really need comeback - Stoute

WORKFORCE will "really need" his comeback run at Sandown on Thursday night, trainer Sir Michael Stoute has warned.

Stoute admitted to concerns over last year's Derby and Arc winner, who will be having his first run since October...


FFS, a horse with his G1 wins under his belt should be able to carry at least a stone (6.5kg for those not stuck in the dark ages) more than his rivals and still win. And as for the distance being short of his best, class should get a champion home on anything close to preferred distance - 1m2f to 1m4f is nothing, especially when fresh. If you're only capable of winning at one distance, then you can't be defined as a champion - just like a horse who can only run on a very narrow band of surface rating. A few folks have queried the strength of last year's form - it certainly wasn't as strong as Sea The Stars' year, how it compares with others is an argument for the number crunchers.

I hope he wins well tonight simply because I want to be able to get a price on So You Think to smash him when they meet... if his connections have the balls to do it. A lacklustre performance tonight could lead to him ducking the star from the southern hemisphere in his campaign, or even going straight to stud.

They breed 'em soft over here....
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  1. Scott27 May 2011 at 09:14

    impressive win last night, great run from the runner-up too. Bring on the clash with So You Think!

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