The Norfolk Stakes, a Group 2 event over 5f for two-year-olds on Thursday, is the last of four Breeders’ Cup ‘Win and You’re In’ Challenge races at Royal Ascot
Up-and-c
oming trainer David Loughnane is hoping for better luck with Walbank than he enjoyed 12 months ago when he saddles his seven-length York winner for Thursday’s Norfolk Stakes.
Loughnane saddled subsequent Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint runner-up Go Bears Go in last year’s Norfolk, only to see him a head by Perfect Power in a race in which the pair raced up Ascot’s straight five furlongs in two distinct groups.
Perfect Power went on to win two G1 two-year-old sprints and might have beaten Go Bears Go anyway – but it left a nagging doubt that Loughnane has found hard to forget.
Although Go Bears Go’s subsequent half-length second to Twilight Gleaming (second in Royal Ascot's Queen Mary Stakes) at Del Mar was a terrific effort, it might well have left Loughnane frustrated again. In Walbank he has hopefully found the perfect cure.
The main stumbling block looks to be Aidan O’Brien’s unbeaten The Antarctic, a brother to the brilliantly speedy Battaash.
O’Brien has won the Norfolk three times, with Johannesburg (2001), Waterloo Bridge (2015) and Sioux Nation (2017). Both Johannesburg and Waterloo Bridge went on to run at the Breeders’ Cup as two-year-olds, Johannesburg winning the Breeders Cup Juvenile on dirt at Belmont when it was run over 8½ furlongs.
The winner of the Norfolk Stakes will receive an automatic fees-paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at the two-day championships at Keeneland on November 4-5.
The Norfolk is clearly of potential significance when it comes to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, having produced runners in all four editions so far – Go Bears Go’s second place last year having been preceded in 2020 by a BC win (the first of two) for Golden Pal, who made all at Keeneland after a narrow defeat at Royal Ascot on softish ground he cannot have appreciated.
Top contenders
The Antarctic (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) – full-brother to former champion sprinter Battaash, winner of 2020 King’s Stand; not especially impressive over 5f at Tipperary and Naas, but gives impression he only does just enough; stable has won this three times.
Walbank (David Loughnane/Rossa Ryan) – left debut second well behind when scoring by seven lengths in novice event at York for trainer who had Go Bears Go finish second both here and at Del Mar last year.
Brave Nation (Michael Bell/James Doyle) – impressive six-length winner over this trip on Doncaster debut; represents stable successful with The Lir Jet (beat dual BC winner Golden Pal) here in 2020.
Pillow Talk (Karl Burke/Kieran Shoemark) – Listed winner at York and the only filly in the field (Wesley Ward’s 2018 scorer Shang Shang Shang was the first filly to win since 2000).
Shall we talk about it?
Aidan O’Brien, trainer of The Antarctic: “The Antarctic is a brother to Baataash and has run twice and won twice. We think he’s a very fast horse but we haven’t really woken him up at home yet. We’ve been training him physically but we haven’t sharpened him mentally as we didn’t want to fire him up too early.”
David Loughnane, trainer of Walbank:“He’s come back from York very well and it would be hard not to be hopeful the way he won there. He’s a very cool character, who just does his work and Kevin Ryan, trainer of Thunder Moor: “He was very impressive at York, and that was what I’d expected at Musselburgh, when he got very colty. He has lots of speed.”
Richard Fahey, trainer of The Ridler: “He was probably a bit unlucky from a terrible draw at Beverley. He’s a powerful horse and well up to coping with Ascot.“
Graham Dench’s verdict
As ever, the Norfolk Stakes has attracted many of the speediest juveniles seen out so far this year, but WALBANK was deeply impressive at York and it will take a really smart one to beat him. The Antarctic looks the main danger; there's a suspicion there could be plenty more under the bonnet.
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