Jim Crowley: The track and ground should really suit Israr
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Coral ambassador Jim Crowley has a busy day on Saturday as he previews his six rides at Doncaster.
It’s been a long week, as it’s taken a while to get over Baaeed’s defeat at Ascot last weekend. It was such a shame for Sheikha Hissa and all the fans who have got behind this horse that we couldn’t finish on a high, but the reality is I knew early on he just wasn’t going in the ground. Normally, when I ask him to stretch, he really strides out, but this time he was just going up and down, it was really hard work.
He just didn’t give me the feel that he has done in all of his other races, and it was a sign of how people have got behind him that Ascot was left feeling rather flat following his defeat. It takes nothing away from him though, he’s still been an incredible horse for me, and now we begin the search to find the next potential star.
I’ve got six rides for six different trainers here today, beginning with this filly for Saeed Bin Suroor. She’s still lightly raced and won a small race at Yarmouth in August, albeit on very different ground to what she’ll face here.
Last time out she was third in what was probably a decent little race at Hamilton, and with her sire being Invincible Spirit, I’d hope she can cope with soft ground. It’s clearly a competitive big field handicap, but for a powerful yard, she wouldn’t be without a chance.
Manifested has bits and pieces of form this season and the drop back in trip here should suit him, having run over 10 furlongs on testing ground at Nottingham last time. Three of his rivals here have won already this season, but it’s a trappy little nursery with no stand-out performer, and it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise if he ran into a place.
I really like this horse, and I believe he will be suited by this softer ground, having finished last of three at Ascot on quick ground last time.
He did finish in the places on quick ground at Royal Ascot but I think we got away with it that day, and he’s definitely given me the feel of a horse who is better with cut in the ground. Doncaster is a big, wide galloping track, which again I’m sure will suit this fellow, and I think he has an excellent chance.
I rode Dancing Magic in the Autumn Stakes at Newmarket last time. We finished fourth that day, behind Epictetus and Holloway Boy, who both reoppose here, but we’ve got less than three lengths to find with that pair, which is not impossible if he takes to this rain-softened ground.
Auguste Rodin sets a good standard for a trainer with a great record in this race, so whether my horse is good enough to win a race of this quality or not, I don’t know, but he very much deserves to take his chance, he stays well, should improve again, and could easily outrun his odds.
Tolstoy is having his third run for Stuart Williams, having previously been trained by the Gosdens, for whom he had some decent form. He drops back to five furlongs here, having done all his previous racing over six, so it will be interesting how he finds the minimum distance for a trainer who does well with this type of horse.
My final ride of the day is Tickets. He’s only had the one run on turf and that was at Epsom last time, when he finished down the field. Prior to that he’d run very well on the all-weather, so there is a question mark over the ground here. That’s not to say he won’t go on it, and if he does he’s not without an each way chance.
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