The Lion Proves Himself A King With A Crown
Roaring Lion was a runaway winner of the Juddmonte International at York.
The son of Kitten’s Joy indeed proved himself to be a lion when he won the Juddmonte International at York by three and a quarter lengths.
Roaring Lion guided by Oisin Murphy took the £1m prize money beating faviourite Poet’s Word for trainer John Gosden.
"He's a mile-and-a-quarter horse through and through and I'd have been very disappointed if he hadn't run like that," said Gosden.
Although Poet’s Word struggled in the middle, he was clearly out of his league with Roaring Lion steam train. The 3YO has clearly made himself known as a clear leader of the classic colts in his generation.
Roaring Lion’s last win in the Gr.1 Coral-Eclipse saw him defeating Saxon Warrior (who placed fourth in this event) and Cliffs Of Moher.
Leading conditioner, Menuisier’s charge Thundering Blue out of Exchange Rate took the third place, in york’s headline event.
The winner and runner up along go head to head with Cracksman in a tilt for the Arc.
Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow was unplaced. In an interview with BloodHorse trainer Saeed bin Suroor talked about his strategy and plans for the Dubawi colt.
"His last race was the Dubai World Cup, and we made a decision with Sheikh Mohammed just to give him a break—because he'd had four races in Dubai.
Since the horse came to Newmarket, he's doing well and working nicely.
The horse is improving all the time and now he's fit. But he'll need the race and will improve for it.
"He needs the race before we take him to America. The target to start with is the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) over a mile and a quarter at Belmont Park on Sept. 29. After that, we'll take him to the Breeders' Cup Classic”
Elsewhere, trainer Charlie Appleby had a one-two in the Great Voltigeur Stakes as favourite Cross Counter followed Old Persian (7-1) home.
In similar style the favourite Watan was defeated by a length and a half by Phoenix of Spain under jockey Jamie Spencer, in the Acomb Stakes. Phoenix of Spain is trained by Charlie Hills at Lambourn.
Full Finishing List With Trainer & Jockey:
1st Roaring Lion (J. Gosden ,O. Murphy), 2nd Poet's Word (S. Stoute ,J. Doyle), 3rd Thundering Blue (D. Menuisier ,F. Berry ), 4th Saxon Warrior (A. O'Brien,R. Moore), 5th Benbatl (S. Suroor ,J. Crowley), 6ht Without Parole (J. Gosden ,F. Dettori), 7th Latrobe (J. O'Brien ,W. Lordan), 8th Thunder Snow (S. Suroor ,C. Soumillon),
Race Info:
Distance: 1m 2f 56y (2,063 m), Surface: Turf, Track: Left-handed, Qualification: Three-years-old and up, Weight: 8 st 13 lb (3yo);9 st 6 lb (4yo+),Allowances,3 lb for fillies and mares, Purse: £1,062,500 (2018),1st: £602,544
Credit: Ritesh Jamkhedkar ritesh.jamkhedkar@secretariatsworld.com