The Judge and the Sex Machine

by Terry Clark

continued.........page 2

Sakhee winning the Dante Trial

Also under a cloud with their three-year-olds in the run up to the Derby, the Godolphin camp saw their surviving Epsom hope, Best of the Bests, finish only third in the Dante trial to John Dunlop's Sakhee and Pawn Broker, trained by David Elsworth. 'Elzy', better known for his jumps exploits with Desert Orchid, is now concentrating on the Flat, and has Pawn Broker on course for the Irish Derby: the colt had already won the Fielden Stakes at Newmarket and finished second (to Sakhee again) in the Thirsk Classic Trial, both these races being run with plenty of give in the ground.

Meanwhile, David Goodwin's old master, Henry Cecil, had to report at York that his Derby trio, Beat Hollow, Bien Entendu and Wellbeing, had all suffered setbacks in that they had mucus in their lungs. They quickly recovered but gaps in training schedules are not good omens for Epsom. It seemed left to Sandmason, runner up to stablemate Beat Hollow at the Newmarket Guineas meeting, to put a smile back on the rose-grower's face. But he failed to bloom in the Glasgow Stakes, the race that in 1993 confirmed Cecil's Commander in Chief as a front-rank contender for the Derby.

Hataab

The smile was back on Arab faces, as the Ed Dunlop trained Hataab held off Sandmason's challenge for Hamdan Al Maktoum. One thing's certain: whatever happens to Hataab, son of Dunlop will win a Classic before his father, John, retires. Another protégé of John Dunlop's at Arundel might beat him to it, of course: Gerard Butler has produced no fewer than four top-class three-year-olds this season.

Compton Butler was fifth under Thierry Jarnet in King's Best's 2,000 Guineas while Princess Helen ran up to Lahan in the 1,000 with Petrushka three lengths back in third. In a Listed race at Newbury, Butler's Epsom-Oaks-bound Whitefoot paid a huge compliment to his old guvnor's Sakhee who had beaten her six lengths in the Sandown Classic Trial before winning the Dante. Butler also took the Lingfield Derby Trial through Saddler's Quest, though it has to be said that his time was three seconds slower than Her Majesty's Film Script (Roger Charlton) had recorded an hour earlier in the Oaks Trial.

Godolphin's 'blip' disappeared off the screen when Kayf Tara set himself up for redemption day at Royal Ascot. The Goodwood Cup and Irish St Leger winner was a bit below par at the royal meeting last year but powered home on the Knavesmire under Frankie Dettori like the really good horse he is in the Yorkshire Cup. The Ascot Gold Cup now seems to depend on the weather: last year's winner, Enzeli, wants soft and Kayf Tara good (and I can give you the Royal Hunt Cup winner as well: Caribbean Monarch).

Godolphin's three-year-old colts finally got off the mark in England when Roscius narrowly won what is regarded as the last official Derby trial, the Predominate Stakes, a race Godolphin won last year with the powerhouse Dubai Millenium who is on course for the Eclipse. The second horse home at Goodwood had a handicap-level rating of 84, and jockey Frankie Dettori was quick to suggest that Roscius was probably more French Derby material and that, if he is to celebrate at Epsom with his famous full-length leap from the saddle, it is more likely to be from Best of the Bests.

Melikah (right)

Godolphin's trainer, Saeed bin Suroor, may have a better chance in the Oaks. Melikah, winner of the Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket, who is 'bred in the purple' being by an Arc winner out of an Arc winner (Lammtarra - Urban Sea).

Will she be good enough to stop Kalypso Katie becoming the first Oaks-winning grey since Sleeping Partner (1969)? The luck of Goodwin, aptly-named stable-lad extraordinary, says not.