Dawn Approach to Stand in Kildangan

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http://www.irishracing.com/news?prid=72426&headline=Dawn-Approach-to-stand-at-Kildangan

Godolphin has announced that Dawn Approach has been retired from racing following his fourth place finish in Saturday's Qipco Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot behind Olympic Glory.
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Dawn Approach is now retiring to Kildangan Stud and we are very much looking forward to seeing his progeny in the future. He has done Godolphin very proud - he has been a great racehorse for us. He's been fantastic.

walrusgumble

Another one retiring........... Even young Reckless Abandon has left the scene.

In this case, maybe it is for the best. I kind of don't think he would do much next year as a 4 year old, bar Irish races. I don't see him going over a mile (what do I know)

Pitty about the blots in his record. I would ignore the Derby, he had no business being there; I would also ignore France as he was ill, first time outside of Ireland/Britain and against older horses and he was sick. The last race, he kind of got a bit unlucky, kind of got impeded , he was running well. As for Goodwood, he was beaten by the better horse on the day, but again, maybe a mistake occurred.

Annoying that he was hard to settle in a race

His most memorable race,for me, probably the win against Torando, straight after the Epson Derby at Ascot. Gutsy fight to win.

Maybe Leitir Mor will get more TLC next year, and allowed to race in races of his own standard, lol.

Trading Leather will have to be a big focus of Bolger , maybe his best chance to win big races.

RichieLawlor

The Derby destroyed Dawn Approachs career

walrusgumble

RichieLawlor wrote: »

The Derby destroyed Dawn Approachs career

What really happened there?

Bolger has invested millions in research and science in the sport. He told everyone that DA did not have the pedigree to win the Derby or any other 12 f type race. He already had some issues with pulling. He ran 2 big races shortly prior to it. (Curragh and Newmarket), he never ran anywhere near 12 f as a prep , prior to it. (to be fair, only Ruler of the World ran at 12 f once, but DA never even went 10F)

Bolger didn't seem to surprised when it failed.

Did the owner twist Bolger's arm to run him or was Bolger pig headed.? Didn't think Bolger was the type to be pushed around

BangBeater

walrusgumble wrote: »

What really happened there?

Bolger has invested millions in research and science in the sport. He told everyone that DA did not have the pedigree to win the Derby or any other 12 f type race. He already had some issues with pulling. He ran 2 big races shortly prior to it. (Curragh and Newmarket), he never ran anywhere near 12 f as a prep , prior to it. (to be fair, only Ruler of the World ran at 12 f once, but DA never even went 10F)

Bolger didn't seem to surprised when it failed.

Did the owner twist Bolger's arm to run him or was Bolger pig headed.? Didn't think Bolger was the type to be pushed around

Interesting one alright.

I really think that there was a gut feeling he could potentially stay. And I think that the Derby really knocked him. And in that view, his victory against Toronado at Ascot after was pretty good. The way he won by a head when Toronado had the time to regain momentum up the outside was impressive I thought.

So much about top quality horses is about management. Whether the true reasoning behind who pushed the horse to go for the Derby will ever be known, fact is this was a poor management decision for a top 3yo colt after a superb 2000 guineas win.

And to add to that, the decision by the likes of Henry Cecil to keep Frankel to a mile and Henderson keeping SS to his 2 mile optimum distance against pressure from other areas is admirable. Everyone wants that Sea The Stars type horse, who will show variation in winning at most distances and silence all critics.

But ignoring critics as in Frankel or SS can be a difficult battle too I'd imagine.

diomed

With his first four races 5f, 6f, 6f, 6f he wasn't shaping like a 12f winner.
His dam's pedigree is a bit American with Phone Trick and Pleasant Colony the first two damside sires.
He will probably be a sire of sprinters and milers, which is ok as Coolmore seem to have a tight grip on the 12f market.

UrbanSea

Is it possible he wasn't that good, he beat at 2:

Canary Row, Mister Marc,Designs on Rome and even Leitir Mor in the Dewhurst. Olympic Glory is obviously the stand out horse

Kauto

RichieLawlor wrote: »

The Derby destroyed Dawn Approachs career

Load of crap. He won a group1 a few weeks later. Didnt show much side affects then.

rossom

Pretty sure it was Sheikh Mohammed's decision to go for The Derby.

Bolger's Equinome typed Dawn Approach as having the C:C gene which is the sprinting type gene. He was never going to do anything in the Derby and I think Bolger knew that.

tryfix

He should make a good stallion, precocious, big as a bull, a champion at 2 and 3 sort of.

His own seeming lack of stamina won't do him any harm as a stallion. If he'd run fairly well and plugged on one paced in the Derby then I'd be sure he didn't have it in him to win over a trip, but the way he finished his best races was very much in the mould of his daddy.

Will be interesting to see what he produces. He hasn't exactly got a stallions pedigree on the dam side or does he?

Jim's other three winners of the Dewhurst were all from good stallion producing dam sides and have made brilliant starts to their stallion careers.

walrusgumble

BangBeater wrote: »

Interesting one alright.

I really think that there was a gut feeling he could potentially stay. And I think that the Derby really knocked him. And in that view, his victory against Toronado at Ascot after was pretty good. The way he won by a head when Toronado had the time to regain momentum up the outside was impressive I thought.

So much about top quality horses is about management. Whether the true reasoning behind who pushed the horse to go for the Derby will ever be known, fact is this was a poor management decision for a top 3yo colt after a superb 2000 guineas win.

And to add to that, the decision by the likes of Henry Cecil to keep Frankel to a mile and Henderson keeping SS to his 2 mile optimum distance against pressure from other areas is admirable. Everyone wants that Sea The Stars type horse, who will show variation in winning at most distances and silence all critics.

But ignoring critics as in Frankel or SS can be a difficult battle too I'd imagine.

Cecil use to get hammered by insisting on staying at Frankels best distance.he was right, he had to do what was right for the horse.it is not like it is easy to win at a certain distance for on a consecutive basis or even doing a double.

walrusgumble

rossom wrote: »

Pretty sure it was Sheikh Mohammed's decision to go for The Derby.

Bolger's Equinome typed Dawn Approach as having the C:C gene which is the sprinting type gene. He was never going to do anything in the Derby and I think Bolger knew that.

Tha was all over Bolgers face when interviewed immediately afterwards. You would think that an owner of the Sheiks calibre would listen to his trainers.oh well.

It did make it easier to discount at least one runner as a contender, leaving the other horses with nicer odds. Ruler of the World, who was ridden by a derby winner and the only horse to have won a serious race over 12f with other contenders nit in brilliant form, at a tasty 10 -1. Even those who placed had nice odds.

Harry Angstrom

Kauto wrote: »

Load of crap. He won a group1 a few weeks later. Didnt show much side affects then.

He was all out to win that race at Royal Ascot and he wasn't the same horse afterwards. Granted he won the St James's Palace but the decision to run him so soon after his poor Derby run seemed a bit strange at the time, though Jim Bolger isn't the most conventional of trainers. I think it would have been better to have given him a decent break after Epsom.