Timeform Highlights of 2018

Philip Spink – Glory days back for Godolphin

With the Flat scene having been dominated by the Ballydoyle battalion in recent years it was refreshing to see Godolphin enjoy their best season for some time. Masar was the first horse to carry the famous silks to glory in the Derby under William Buick, one of twelve Group 1 wins worldwide for Charlie Appleby. The story of Cross Counter was even more remarkable as he became the first British-trained winner of the Melbourne Cup just eleven months on from a successful debut on a cold Saturday night at Wolverhampton. With the unbeaten Quorto, and the Saeed bin Suroor-trained Royal Meeting spearheading their Classic challenge in 2019, the future is looking rosy again for the boys in blue.

Michael Williamson – Betfair Ascot Chase

Sometimes the forgotten Grade One on the UK calendar given its relative proximity to Cheltenham, but there was no missing the Ascot Chase in 2018. In a much stronger field than when he’d easily justified 9/4-on favouritism the year before, Cue Card was only joint fourth in the market, trading at 9/1, seemingly with the consensus his best days were behind him. Ruth Jefferson’s seven-year-old Waiting Patiently had a contrasting profile, and headed the betting; he was just the ninth runner sent out by Ruth Jefferson since her father Malcom – one of the most popular figures in the sport – had sadly just lost his long-term battle with illness.

Despite competition for the lead, Cue Card gave his fans one final show of brilliance with a bold show from the front and, from two out, the comeback looked very much on. However, Waiting Patiently was to live up to his name with a brilliantly judged ride from Brian Hughes, for whom the loss of Jefferson hit understandably hard. Taking over just before the last having not climbed much above his BSP throughout, despite an uncharacteristic mistake, he powered clear to win by two and three quarter lengths with Cue Card going down fighting. As Hughes pointed to the sky with Cue Card being eased down in the background, you’d have to be made of stone to not have a lump in your throat.

Waiting Patiently wins a sensational @Ascot Chase under a brilliant ride from Brian Hughes, and how about that for an effort from Cue Card in second...what a race.

Results ➡️ https://t.co/7iJOPsdIyZ pic.twitter.com/iP6ox3IRtd

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) February 17, 2018

John Ingles - Winx for me

Aidan O’Brien made history in 2014 when sending Adelaide down under to become the first European-trained horse to win Australia’s most prestigious weight-for-age race, the Cox Plate. A year later, another high-class three-year-old was sent from Ballydoyle on the same mission but Highland Reel came up against a filly who had already won a couple of Group 1 races by then but whose achievements since have earned her worldwide fame.

Winx broke the track record when beating Highland Reel by more than five lengths into third and has won another 24 races on the bounce since then, including three more Cox Plates, her latest one taking her winning streak to 29. But for a visual highlight of the year, and a rather extreme example of what she does best, how about her Turnbull Stakes win at Flemington three weeks earlier? Ridden with supreme confidence from the rear by Hugh Bowman, Winx still had plenty to do after the leaders tried to kick on entering the straight but when Bowman shook the reins – that’s all it took - she quickened to lead with 50m to run and won with something in hand. It was never in doubt! 

Simon Walker – Cheltenham Gold Cup

Very occasionally, a race goes pretty much as you think it might, both in terms of the result and how it developed, too. The 2018 Gold Cup was one such race. A horse laid out for it and the perfect rider on board to execute the plan, Native River’s bold jumping and relentless galloping seen to maximum effect as Richard Johnson fully utilised his mount’s attributes, the testing ground bringing stamina even more into play than usual and Might Bite found wanting when it mattered having matched Native River jump for jump for so long, that pair really the only ones that mattered from a good way out despite the fact they didn’t actually open up a sizeable advantage over the rest. A truly magnificent race and a fine example of why jump racing enthrals people in a way that the Flat sometimes doesn’t. 

Native River wins the Cheltenham Gold Cup, fending off Might Bite to hand Richard Johnson his second Gold Cup win@colintizzard @dickyjohnson77#TheFestival pic.twitter.com/4aCPGP81zi

— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) 16 March 2018

Matt Gardner – Muntahaa in the Ebor

The Ebor may not be the race it once was, typically made up of smart but exposed types these days, lacking the improving young handicappers of yesteryear, but in 2018 it saw a high-quality performance from Muntahaa. Winner of the Group 3 John Porter Stakes the year before, Muntahaa actually bettered that effort in defying a lofty handicap mark of 109, winning a competitive handicap by a surprisingly wide margin. Through the early stages of the race it didn’t look likely, Jim Crowley’s GPS appearing to have gone haywire as he charted an unusually wide course, but post-race it was all revealed to have been part of a grand plan to get the best out of Muntahaa, and it was a plan that paid off handsomely. An ambitious bid for Melbourne Cup glory didn’t come to fruition but Munthaa’s Ebor success, the best in the race this century on the Timeform scale, stands out as a highlight among many from the summer.

Nic Doggett – Altior in the Champion Chase

I backed Min for the 2018 Queen Mother Champion Chase. And coming down the hill I thought I’d won. Altior was under pressure, while Min was still firmly on the bridle, having come from further back in the field than his main rival. In fact, I was more worried about Ordinary World who was travelling powerfully on the outside. But – in the blink of an eye – Altior had won. It was that quick. He was behind jumping the second last, but by the time the jockeys had gathered themselves up after jumping the fence, he was in front. And there’s no catching Altior when he’s in front.

The Timeform report for the race says:

Altior confirmed his status as the best 2m chaser around, arguably the best jumper of any description, with an ultimately totally dominant performance, even if it didn't look all that likely 3 out, powering up the hill, just as he had when winning the 2016 Supreme and 2017 Arkle, the first coincidentally also by 7 lengths from Min.

Though clearly very complimentary, it doesn’t really do Altior’s performance justice, especially considering the injury scare he’d suffered earlier in the week. While far from a punting highlight for me, Altior’s Champion Chase win was a real sporting triumph and a combination of guts and class from a supreme athlete; like Mo Farah winning 10,000m Gold in Rio when he was tripped, but with the style of Andrea Pirlo’s penalty against England in EURO 2012.

Hopefully this time next year I’ll be able to nominate Altior’s winning performance in the 2019 King George VI Chase. If no-one can beat him over two miles, where he’s sometimes looked a little tapped for toe, who will stand a chance over three?

#RUKMomentOfTheDay: Altior maintains his unbeaten record over obstacles in the Champion Chase @CheltenhamRaces. #TheFestival
Form: 13/611111/111111-11
Watch all the finishes from Cheltenham & Huntingdon today for free in our results and replay section ➡️ https://t.co/7iJOPsdIyZ pic.twitter.com/I3DluSN7Sn

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) 14 March 2018

Nick Seddon – The New One rolling back the years at Haydock

It’s perhaps a little strange for a highlight of 2018 to arrive just 20 days into it, but this was a performance that typified a career which was creeping into its eighth, and ultimately final, year. He perhaps never quite sealed his place at the very top table, but The New One, who was retired earlier this month, enjoyed a stellar career, winning 17 races – 11 of those in graded company – and amassing over £1 million in prize money. His win in the Champion Hurdle Trial at Haydock in January, which proved to be his last, epitomized everything about The New One that had endeared him to everyone in the sport; he wasn’t at his best on the day, but his admirable will to win carried him through, out-battling Ch’tibello to seal his fourth win in the race in dogged and determined fashion.