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| |  Tuesday, 11 June, 2002, 16:01 GMT 17:01 UK Jelani bucks the two-way trend
Flat racing, as we all know, is to a large extent these days the tale of two equine empires. There is team Coolmore, consisting of the Magnier family and associates in Ireland. And then there is Godolphin, comprising Sheikh Mohammed and his brothers, based in Dubai. Coolmore has held sway for some time, a point underlined with a spectacular one-two in the Vodafone Derby, adding to the Classic successes already achieved in the three major European runnings of the 2,000 Guineas.
Godolphin, with Moon Ballad, managed third behind High Chaparral and Hawk Wing in the Derby. And it has taken both the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket and Epsom's Oaks with Kazzia, ridden by Frankie Dettori. The domination of the pair is enormous, further demonstrated by the fact that of the 12 runners that lined up for the Derby, eight were connected to one or other of the two major racing camps. All of which makes the performance of the big, battling fourth-placed horse Jelani the more remarkable and, frankly, the more heart-warming. At 100-1 he was the least fancied, but the most successful, of the Yorkshire-trained runners Trained by a former jump jockey and Grand National-winning trainer in Andy Turnell, and ridden by Fergal Lynch - a Northern Irishman who has not quite made the impression expected of him four or five years ago - Jelani ran the race of his life to win �69,000.
Considering his above-average effort in the Dante Stakes at York, behind Moon Ballad, perhaps the run was not quite as extraordinary as we were inclined to believe. But it was still rated a surprise, though a pleasant one. What's more, the colt, a son of the excellent stallion Darshaan, gave the impression that there was more and better to come at Classic level, perhaps when stamina is even more the name of the game over a mile-and-three-quarters in September's St Leger at Doncaster. Important as the finishing position was to those immediately around Jelani, I think it was even more significant for the Derby itself. It gives hope to those who feel that it is impossible or pointless to compete with Coolmore and Godolphin. Admittedly, the horse has cost a few quid, and John and Claire Hollowood, the owners, are hardly down to their last brass farthing.
But they are relatively normal in the high-rolling world of thoroughbred racing, so it can be done. And then there is the public perception of what is supposedly a people's race to be considered. I am not sure, but there must be a chance that too much supremacy by these two teams - far greater, for example, than that demonstrated by Ferrari and BMW-Williams in Formula One motor racing - will prove a bit of a turn-off. No-one resents them, but I don't think it would do British racing any harm if the stranglehold were to be loosened slightly, even if it's hard to imagine who would be up to the task. Obviously neither of the dominators would agree, and both Coolmore's trainer Aidan O'Brien, and Godolphin's Saeed bin Suroor, would have only one response to such an assertion: try harder. It does not take a very long glance at the formbook to work out what the upshot would probably be. | |
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