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Thursday 22 August 2013

Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes





It's the Group 1 Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes over 5f at York. The going is Good to Firm and twenty runners will go to post in this most competitive of sprints on the flat knavesmire.

The draw played a big part here at the start of the season but there hasn't looked much to choose between either side during the course of the week.

It usually pays to stick with proven form in these events as the handicappers stepping up tend not to have what is required and I think we should be concentrating on the likes of Sole Power, Shea Shea and Kingsgate Native who if they get clean runs through should all be thereabouts.

It may come down to Jockeys to win the race and in that respect I'd rather have Dettori and Murtagh on my side than Shane Kelly as I wasn't too impressed with his effort at Sandown two runs ago.

Shea Shea did everything right at Royal Ascot but was collared by Sole Power who made his run on the other side of the track. This time they are both drawn on the same side and I can see them being the 1st and 2nd. I know it's pretty predictable but they are the best horses in the race.

Mike de Kock thinks dropping back down to five furlongs will definitely be in Shea Shea's favour after his fourth-place finish in the July Cup. "I think it's a better track for him - flatter, faster. He'll be much mores suited to that than six furlongs up the hill at Newmarket last time, we're happy to have Frankie (Dettori) aboard as an able replacement for (the suspended) Christophe (Soumillon). At the end of the day we've been pretty happy with results. Last time we may have been a little far back, but the horse that won (Lethal Force) broke the track record. How much closer could we have been to him? Being his third run back from a rest, Shea Shea should possibly be at his best. There's always the luck in running - what happens on the day, how they break, how they don't. There's never much between these really top sprinters.It would be nice to have someone out there that goes flat out, but everyone's there trying to win."

Personally I hope Moviesta runs well too as he progressed with each run and Paul Mulrennan deserves a big win for some sterling work in the saddle.

I may be wrong but I just can't see there being a big outsider winning and this is Frankie's chance to grab a Group 1 on Shea Shea from Sole Power.