One Stripe winning the Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas under Gavin Lerena (Picture: Chase Liebenberg)
Trainer Graham Motion was a touch disappointed with One Stripe’s fifth place finish on his overseas debut in the Gr 1 Woodbine Mile, but to others it looked to be a great run first up, considering he likely needed it and suffered a terrible trip before running on in eyecatching fashion in the straight.
The Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas and L’Ormarins King’s Plate-winner was having his first run for six months and was a bit edgy in the preliminaries.
He jumped inward as the gates opened and interfered with the favourite and eventual winner, the English 2000 Guineas winner of last year, the Dubawi colt Notable Speech.
The Drakenstein Stud-bred One World colt likely needed it as he was then a little bit keen when going into a handy position early under Hall Of Fame jockey John Velazquez.
However, the early pacemaker My Boy Prince appears to put the brakes on a touch and One Stripe, caught in a three wide position. was unable to get clear of the horse inside of him, because the widest horse carried another horse inward on to One Stripe.
Velazquez had no option but to take a hold on the cramped One Stripe, who ends up wide and right near the back of the ten horse field.
Velazquez manages to get cover down the back straight, but only behind the biggest outsider.
Velazquez switches inward off the heels of the slow horse to get a rails run on the final turn, but had to drop back to second last to do so.
One Stripe then runs on remarkably well under the circumstances to be beaten five lengths, especially considering he was the only horse in the field carrying a two pound Gr 1 penalty.
Motion said he was obviously a little disappointed with One Stripe’s run, but added, “It was not without excuses. It was probably not the cleverest spot by the trainer to introduce him to American Racing but we had very limited options. He looks good this morning (Monday) and we will press on. Johnny (Velazquez) was very positive about him.”
The run would have brought One Stripe on well in his preparation for the Gr 1 Breeders Cup Mile, where he will likely get another crack at Notable Speech.
Notable Speech was cramped early, but thereafter had the rail in the running.
With a ton in hand turning for home William Buick manages to steer the Charlie Appleby-trained Godolphin runner from midfield into clear space on the outside.
The four-year-old colt then turns it on in style and mows them down to win by 1,75 lengths.
The Breeders Cup Mile is on November 1 and Appleby, Buick, Godolphin and Dubawi will be attempting the Woodbine Mile/Breeders Cup Mile double for the third time having done it with Modern Games in 2022 and Master Of The Seas in 2023.
