Gimcrack Glory For Footstepsinthesand’s Threat

[Wandering Eyes]

Making up for defeats in the G2 Coventry S. and G2 Richmond S., TDN Rising Star Threat (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) put himself where Richard Hannon believes is his rightful place after Friday’s G2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Gimcrack S. at York. His trainer’s visible and lasting disappointment as he was eclipsed by Golden Horde (Ire) (Lethal Force {Ire}) at Goodwood was notable, so anything other than a command performance here would have led to total dismay at East Everleigh. In the event, Cheveley Park Stud’s heavily-backed 11-10 favourite enjoyed the perfect trip, stalking the early leaders under cover before putting on the squeeze 1 1/2 furlongs out. Chased by the game Lord of the Lodge (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) from there, the chestnut was too strong and had 1 1/4 lengths to spare at the line, with 2 3/4 lengths back to fellow TDN Rising Star Repartee (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) who was unsettled in the stalls.

“The preliminaries went to plan and everything went smoothly,” jockey Oisin Murphy said. “He’s a high-class horse who is learning how to relax and as long as I had a nice position and things went smoothly he was always going to win. I’d imagine he’ll get a mile, no problem, and the fact that he’s won a group two over six furlongs is really exciting. I think he’ll go on to better things.” Threat has already ensured he will be in demand after his racing career, progressing from a striking five-furlong debut win at Newmarket May 5 to runner-up placings in up-to-scratch renewals of Royal Ascot’s Coventry June 18 and the Richmond Aug. 1.

Richard Hannon’s 2000 Guineas hand is looking stronger by the day, with Thursday seeing the stable unleash the emphatic Goffs UK Premier Yearling S. winner Mums Tipple (Ire) by the same sire. “I was gutted at Goodwood,” the trainer said. “He got a bit warm there and I don’t think we’ll stop him getting warm, but he is a very, very good horse. I made the mistake of watching him at Goodwood with Chris Richardson and I walked away feeling like someone had kicked me. If they had, I actually wouldn’t have felt it–I was just numb.”

“I’ve never seen a bad horse win the Gimcrack, or even a good horse, they have to be very good,” he added. “He’s danced every dance, pretty much, and has been second to some very good horses. I’m not making excuses for him. We’ll work back from something like the Guineas. I’ve not hidden how good I think he is. He could go for the [Sept. 28 G1] Middle Park [at Newmarket], but it might not be a bad idea to step him up to seven furlongs. He’s in races like the [Sept. 14 G2] Champagne Stakes [at Doncaster] and the [G1] Dewhurst [at Newmarket Oct. 12], so we’ll see.”

Karl Burke said of Lord of the Lodge, who came clear of the remainder and was benefitting from a return to quicker ground having been unplaced in the Coventry, “I quietly fancied him really, they’ve always thought a world of the winner–I hope he’s as good as they think he is! The phone was buzzing with bloodstock agents after his Haydock run [when winning a novice Aug. 8], so I’m sure we’ll be on the phone again. We’ll see if we can keep hold of him, but that was the plan today–he likes that quick ground and takes to that really good. He certainly holds entries in all of the better races. I want to step him up to seven, but the Lagardere has gone up to a mile. I don’t know whether he’d stay a mile, but he’ll certainly stay seven.”

Threat is showing speed probably more out of raw talent than pedigree, with his dam being the Niarchos’s Flare of Firelight (Birdstone) who was campaigned between a mile and 9 1/2 furlongs. A half to the listed-winning That Which Is Not (Elusive Quality) who was also runner-up in the G2 Prix Corrida over 10 1/2 furlongs, they are out of Shiva (Jpn) (Hector Protector) who beat Daylami (Ire) in the 1999 G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup and was placed in the G1 Champion S. and G1 Eclipse S. Her half-sister Light Shift (Kingmambo) took the 2007 G1 Epsom Oaks before producing the G1 Juddmonte International and G1 Eclipse S. hero Ulysses (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who stands at Cheveley Park Stud.

Shiva is also a full-sister to the group-winning sire Limnos (Jpn), who was at his best over a mile and a half, while the third dam Lingerie (GB) (Shirley Heights {GB}) also boasts among her descendants the multiple grade one winner Main Sequence (Aldebaran) and the G1 Prix Ganay hero and Arc-placed Cloth of Stars (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). Flare of Firelight’s yearling filly is by Slade Power (Ire), while she also has a filly foal by Galileo Gold (GB).

Friday, York, Britain
AL BASTI EQUIWORLD DUBAI GIMCRACK S.-G2, £225,000, York, 8-23, 2yo, c/g, 6fT, 1:09.62, g/f.
1–THREAT (IRE), 126, c, 2, by Footstepsinthesand (GB)
1st Dam: Flare of Firelight, by Birdstone
2nd Dam: Shiva (Jpn), by Hector Protector
3rd Dam: Lingerie (GB), by Shirley Heights (GB)
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (100,000gns Wlg ’17 TATFOA). O-Cheveley Park Stud; B-La Lumiere Partnership (IRE); T-Richard Hannon; J-Oisin Murphy. £127,598. Lifetime Record: 4-2-2-0, $259,287. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Lord of the Lodge (Ire), 126, c, 2, Dandy Man (Ire)–Archetypal (Ire), by Cape Cross (Ire). (€4,200 Wlg ’17 TATFBR; €35,000 Ylg ’18 TIRSEP). O-Mrs Elaine M Burke; B-Mount Armstrong Stud. (IRE); T-Karl Burke. £48,375.
3–Repartee (Ire), 126, c, 2, Invincible Spirit (Ire)–Pleasantry (GB), by Johannesburg. (310,000gns Ylg ’18 TATOCT). O-Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum; B-Wansdyke Farms Ltd & J M Burke (IRE); T-Kevin Ryan. £24,210.
Margins: 1 1/4, 2 3/4, 1. Odds: 1.10, 16.00, 5.50.
Also Ran: Malotru (GB), Summer Sands (GB), Pistoletto, Byline (GB), Spartan Fighter (GB), Misty Grey (Ire), Iffraaz (Ire), Dubai Station (GB), Abstemious (GB). Scratched: Colonel Whitehead (Ire), Royal Commando (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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