Acclamation’s Expert Eye Takes Apart the Jersey Field

[Wandering Eyes]

   So soon after Sir Michael Stoute made the Royal Ascot record his own, there was more glory in store for the Freemason Lodge handler as Khalid Abdullah’s Expert Eye (GB) (Acclamation {GB}) bounced back to his brilliant best in the G3 Jersey S. Only 10th in the G1 2000 Guineas at Newmarket May 5, last year’s impressive G2 Vintage S. scorer needed a revival and that came in the able hands of James McDonald as he registered a first Royal winner with all the skill that had made him hot property before his ban. Held up towards the rear as Ryan Moore set off fast on Uncle Mo’s half-sister Could It Be Love (War Front), the 8-1 shot was allowed to creep his way into contention before the quarter pole and when he reached that marker he still had five lengths to make up on the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas runner-up. Doing so in a furlong, the homebred stayed on strongly out on his own to score by 4 1/2 lengths from Society Power (Ire) (Society Rock {Ire}), who edged Could It Be Love for second by a neck. “He felt like a rocket ship there,” McDonald said. “He travelled really kindly and picked up very good. I could see Ryan ahead and I knew he was going to pick him up very quickly. Credit to the horse and Sir Michael–he’s a true legend.” Stoute added, “He was such a good 2-year-old, but things went wrong and I’m so thrilled to see him back to this sort of form. This horse has had a lot of work put into him by my head man James Savage, who rides him out every morning and the boys have done a great job with him in the stalls, as that was his problem in the Dewhurst. I still hadn’t seen convincing homework like I did last year, but it doesn’t matter now.”

EXPERT EYE (GB), 127, c, 3, by Acclamation (GB)
1st Dam: Exemplify (GB), by Dansili (GB)
2nd Dam: Quest to Peak, by Distant View
3rd Dam: Viviana, by Nureyev
O-Khalid Abdullah; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-Sir Michael Stoute; J-James McDonald. £51,039. Lifetime Record: 6-3-1-0, £181,402.

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