Blast From The Past: Cambridgeshire Handicap

The general theme of the top-end handicaps in recent years has been ‘high on standard and low on up-and-comers’, and in that respect last season’s Cambridgeshire winner Third Time Lucky was something of a throwback, being a progressive three-year-old and not an established handicapper.

Third Time Lucky became the fourth three-year-old to win the race since the turn of the century, along with the likes of Bronze Angel in 2012 (he of course went on to become the seventh dual winner of the race in 2014 and may well run again this year), Pipedreamer in 2007 and Formal Decree in 2006.

Formal Decree’s four-length win in 2006 is the standout performance in the Cambridgeshire on Timeform ratings (119) and was the widest margin of success in the race since the 1993 renewal in which the Lord Huntingdon-trained Penny Drops scored by six lengths from stable companion Talent.

Formal Decree was trained by Alan Swinbank during 2006, having joined the yard following a winless two-year-old campaign with Jack Ramsden. He had looked awkward at times during his juvenile campaign, and seemed to benefit plenty from having a gelding operation before his three-year-old season for Swinbank (though that didn’t stop him hanging and “typically looking awkward” on more than one occasion during 2006). Described by Timeform as lengthy and good-topped, Formal Decree’s physique no doubt contributed to him becoming one of the most progressive three-year-old performers around that season, and he won the Cambridgeshire off a mark 27 lb higher than when finishing second on his seasonal reappearance at Ripon in May.

Formal Decree was spooked before the start of the Cambridgeshire, not looking in the right frame of mind to run his race, let alone win in the style that he did, but he routed the field with a performance that marked him down as a future pattern winner. After being switched left to the stand-side pack when leaving the stalls, he showed a storming turn of foot to take charge from the Dip and reversed John Smith’s Cup form with Pinpoint (third) in devastating fashion. For the third year running the John Smith’s Cup had provided the key to the Cambridgeshire, with the first three home at Newmarket (including the second Blue Bajan) having contested that race beforehand. Favourite Smart Enough (sent off at 9/2) made a bold bid from the front but could only manage fifth.

That win turned out to be Formal Decree’s final start for Alan Swinbank (left with an impressive record of four wins from seven starts for the yard) and he was next seen running for Ismail Mohammed in Dubai. Despite winning the Group 3 Al Rashidiya for Mohammed and later finishing second in a Grade 1 handicap at Hollywood Park when trained by Saeed bin Suroor, Formal Decree never bettered his four-length win in the 2006 Cambridgeshire on Timeform ratings.