Here are the next 10 of the horses that caught my eye during the 2009 turf season.
20 Spacious was runner up in the 1,000 Guineas and 4th in the Coronation Stakes in 2008. Her best performance of 2009 came when winning the Windsor Forest Stakes at Royal Ascot. She also posted a couple of decent 3rd place efforts in the Falmouth Stakes and Sun Chariot Stales, both at Newmarket.
19 Look Busy lived up to her name in 2009 running 9 times. She won a listed race at Bath by a nose from Crimson Fern and went on to take the Temple Stakes just getting the better of Borderlescott in a close finish. She had run 11 times in 2008 and perhaps she had been a little too busy as her form dropped away a bit after that success at Haydock. A really genuine sort she ended her season well finishing runner up in a listed race at Cologne.
18 Finjaan earns his place in the top 20 for his win in the Group 2 Lennox Stakes at Goodwood. He had earlier failed to stay in the 2,000 Guineas.
17 Mawatheeq didn’t reappear until September when he won a handicap off a mark of 102. He followed that by winning the Group 3 Cumberland Lodge Stakes at Ascot in really impressive style staying on well over the 12 furlong trip. He was arguably unlucky not to add the Champion Stakes to his tally as he was denied a clear run and had to be switched inside the final furlong, eventually beaten half a length by Twice Over.
16 Harbinger didn’t run as a two year old partly due to immaturity although he also had a slight injury. Always well regarded by connections he started his 3 year old season in the Wood Ditton where he finished second over a trip likely to be short of his ideal. He built on this debut by taking a Chester maiden beating a subsequent dual winner and followed up by winning the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood, a Group 3. After his impressive Goodwood win he was made favourite for the Great Voltigeur but was a real flop finishing last of the 7 runners beaten a long way. He finished the season with a better performance when 4th in the St Simon Stakes at Newbury but in 2009 at any rate he did not live up to that early promise.
15 Father Time is a full brother to Passage of Time, and like that filly is trained by Henry Cecil. His best performance was when winning the King Edward Vll Stakes at Royal Ascot in impressive fashion. A nervy sort he was in the frame in most of his other starts including a third in the Great Voltigeur and a fourth in the St Leger. Described by Timeform as “none too genuine.”
14 Askar Tau came good after an injury kept him out of the early part of the season. He earns his place in this list thanks to wins in the Lonsdale Cup at York and the Doncaster Cup where he got the better of Darley Sun by a neck.
13 Jukebox Jury suffered an injury in the “close season” which delayed the start of his 3 year old campaign. After failing to shine on his first two starts he found his form in August when winning a Group 3 at Haydock. He appeared not to stay in the Great Voltigeur but proved that reading all wrong when landing a Group 2 over an extended 12 furlongs at Deauville. He continued on his travels to land a Group 1 in Cologne and ended his season when narrowly beaten into second spot in the Canadian International at Woodbine.
12 Utmost Respect, one of the leading sprinters in Europe sadly died during the season after contracting peritonitis after having foot surgery.
Winner of eight of his 16 races, which included four Pattern-race triumphs, the ultra-popular Utmost Respect earned prize money of more than £240,000 for his owners. He only ran twice during 2009. In May, he won the Group 2 Duke Of York Stakes on Knavesmire and followed up in the Group 3 Greenlands Stakes at the Curragh.
11 Paco Boy went from strength to strength in 2008 winning 5 times and ending the season as the highest rated horse on the planet! The problem was that all his 2008 wins were over 7 furlongs and there are few opportunities for top class horses over that trip. Doubts were expressed about his stamina over a mile but he began the season winning over that distance at Sandown beating Dream Eater in a Group 2. Some of the doubts returned when he was beaten in the Lockinge at Newbury but he proved his critics wrong with a commanding display to take the Queen Ann Stakes at Royal Ascot. Dropped back to 6 furlongs in the July Cup he was outpaced early on before coming through to take 4th and he ended the season at his best when runner up to Rip Van Winkle in the Sussex Stakes.
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