By Cliff Williams, ContributorFOR THE last two years this column has had reason to criticise the effort, or lack of it, that went into the Derby day promotion but the 2003 version has gone a long way in restoring lost pride.
There can be no question that the kind of promotion that went into this year's renewal was more in keeping with what we have come to expect from the sponsors with their flagship product Red Stripe Beer being the main focus. With several party club sessions and a forty-foot float part of the showcase, the sponsor's team along with CTL marketing department can take a lot of credit for a job well done.
Earlier this year, there were a couple of sponsored race days where the live entertainment almost seemed to be competing with the races with significant gaps between events. However, on this occasion there was balance and hardly any distraction at all as the patrons enjoyed the cameo by four- member all-female singing group Fourth Street Sister out of Western Jamaica.
Surprisingly, a field of fifteen stood their ground at declaration time despite the obvious class of 2000 Guineas hero A KING IS BORN, Jamaica Two-Year-Old Stakes winner REAR ADMIRAL and Governor's Cup winner HERECOMESFUDGIE. Then there was the improving PITTACUS who was 2 1/2 lengths second in the Governor's Cup under topweight giving the winner 7 1/2 kilos. It was clearly unlikely that anything else was going to make an impression over the 2400 metres of the race.
Prior to race what I find surprising is that there were so many of the pundits who were prepared to believe that A KING IS BORN would have had difficulty with the distance despite his undisputed class. How ridiculous a notion this turned out to be.
From his one length defeat in the Two-Year-Old Stakes by REAR ADMIRAL I have been at pains to point out that not only did A KING IS BORN run as if something was amiss, but he was in fact staying on again close to home at the end of the 1600 metres. Also as far as I could determine his confirmation and easy galloping style would ultimately make him a much better stayer than any of his peers.
In addition to the above, A KING IS BORN was the only horse in the field that was truly bred to get the distance, being by Royal Minister out of The Peacemaker mare Distinctly Native, who won the 1990 Derby. Deputy Minister sire of Royal Minister has had a huge number of his progenies winning over a distance of ground on both grass and dirt in the United States. Therefore A KING IS BORN'S victory margin of eight lengths is hardly surprising.
Despite A KING IS BORN'S impeccable breeding and temperament, master conditioner Philip Feanny still had a job to do in terms of teaching the colt how to relax. This is the key factor in long distance races and once again the thirteen-time champion and greatest ever local professional did a magnificent job to post his ninth Derby winner and seventh in tandem with leading all time rider Winston Griffiths.
Feanny has now won three of the last four staging of the Premier Classic with MILLIMETRE losing by a short head to AWESOME POWEr in 2001, but scoring with I'msatisfied in 2000, SIMPLY MAGIC last year and KING IS BORN this year. For all I know the best of Philip Feanny could still be ahead of him as this is a profession where the practitioners tend to get better with age and experience. There is every possibility now that A KING IS BORN could become a Triple Crown champion as well by emulating the feat of I'msatisfied and SIMPLY MAGIC.
Speaking of Winston Griffiths no praise can be too great for his unerring tactical approach on the big days. His judgment of pace and decisive positioning has been his forte and he certainly makes race-riding look a lot easier than it really is. He has now extended his world record number of Classic successes to a staggering thirty-nine.
Derby day 2003 provided a welcome distraction for the horsemen and it came in the same week that the Ministry of Finance has agreed to offer a forty per cent improvement in the purse money structure.
