ROYAL ASCOT is where the very best of Clarehaven Stables shines brightest. Think of all the great winners and brilliant racehorses John Gosden saddled at Britain’s flagship Flat meeting.
Covid has been a terrible time for everyone, but Team Gosden briefly lifted the gloom behind closed doors as he and jockey Frankie Dettori enjoyed regular top class winners. In 2020, Palace Pier steadily rose through the ranks to culminate in the St James’s Palace Stakes. He gradually won nicely under Dettori and remarkably took a scalp in Pinatubo.
It was a classic training performance from Gosden and a signature ride from Dettori. A match made in heaven.
However, things have gotten a little more difficult since then. Just three years later came Dettori-Gosden’s sabbatical when Royal Ascot in 2022 did not go to plan. Dettori had a rare week off in the saddle and Gosden was far from impressed. The Italian recovered last season and ended his riding career in Great Britain on a good note.
Dettori has moved on and is enjoying an Indian Summer in America to end his time in the saddle. The Gosdens haven’t started the 2024 season with much punch.
Life after Dettori was tough for Team Gosden. John and his son Thady Gosden are fourth in the trainers’ championship in 2024 with a fairly sufficient success rate of 20 percent for the season, but the number of group successes is an interesting figure.
John Gosden (right) and Frankie Dettori enjoy victory in 2017 with premium Cracksman
The pressure is on Kieran Shoemark as new No.1 jockey at Clarehaven after a tough start to 2024
As of Thursday 6 June, Gosden had just three winners from 28 runners in group races. A poor overall record for an established top yard like Clarehaven. They also only ran three two-year-olds all year. It is quite a puzzle for the team that won the British manager’s title in 2023.
Is the great racing experience of a Dettori being missed here or is this a sign that Gosden will have fewer top horses to compete with in 2024? The answer seems to be a little bit of both.
The No. 1 job at Clarehaven is a demanding job and Kieran Shoemark is involved because he has been part of the yard’s furniture from an early age. The 27-year-old has suffered some serious blows at the start of the season. Search his name on social media and it’s not hard to find the voices of many disgruntled gamblers.
There are probably three lackluster rides worth analysis and context. Emily Upjohn disappointed in the Coronation Cup when the defending champion was not fully fit and was too keen to do himself justice. Ryan Moore
tactically dominated at Luxembourg and yet there were more things in the winner’s favor than Emily Upjohn on the day. The naked fact remains that it was a second start in a row. Shoemark had failed to fully calm Emily Upjohn when she was defeated at Meydan. Disappointing but forgivable.
Moore again comfortably defeated Shoemark at Chester when Point defeated Lonsdale Arrest in the Ormonde Stakes by six and a half lengths. He struggled to organize the arrest around the quirky course, despite winning there last year, and was too wide as the race developed. At the other end, however, the terrain became inappropriately fast for the number two of St Leger.
Palace Pier’s victory in the St James’s Palace Stakes was a highlight at Royal Ascot
Then there was Inspiral in the Lockinge Stakes. Along with Emily Upjohn, she was expected to need the run and Gosden gave pre-race instructions to Shoemark to move from the center of the track to the rail from an apparently unfavorable draw. Shoemark did just that and Inspiral’s run flattened out. An understandable run, but it would be a hint of bewilderment for Shoemark to see less-favoured stablemate Audience win unchallenged from the middle of the track – exactly where the trainer ultimately did not want the favorite to be.
If there have been some ordinary rides from Shoemark during the big events at the start of the season, then the blame should not lie solely with him if Royal Ascot does not go to plan. There have been some bizarre seeding decisions from Team Godsden.
Friendly Soul looked extraordinary over the Guineas weekend, but ten days later she ran woefully in the Musidora Stakes when she failed to back up that big effort. The turnaround was definitely too quick and it was very unlike Gosden to race a top prospect so quickly.
Perhaps it was out of desperation to have a runner in the Oaks, a race he has plundered solely between himself and Aidan O’Brien for the past decade, until Dermot Weld bucked the trend with Ezeliya last week.
There was sufficient evidence that Arrest needed soft ground in his two and three years not to take him to Chester on good ground. And God’s Window’s four quick runs this season in his bid to force his way into the Derby picture looked optimistic at best. He finished 12th out of 16 at Epsom.
There have been many classics held in Great Britain, Ireland and France this season and Gosden has had virtually no benefit from them. Before racing yesterday, the Gosdens had four winners from 37 runners in the past two weeks. Shoemark, outside the top ten in the jockey championship, has had five winners from 37 rides in the last two weeks. The Gosdens’ number 1 rider is short on confidence but appears to have little support.
Dettori will not ride at Royal Ascot this year, but is still riding across America to end his career
Dettori won’t be riding at Royal Ascot this year, but he will be there and Shoemark may feel his presence as an extra burden on his shoulders more than most.
This is the week of the racing calendar where Team Godsden comes into its own. But there are serious doubts about all aspects of the Clarehaven operation this year.
Inspiral is expected to win the Queen Anne Stakes on the first day of the royal meeting. Emily Upjohn, at least in her best form, should come very close in the Hardwicke Stakes. The Hardwicke is also an option for arrest if it starts to rain.
The pressure is on and this time there can be no excuses for Team Gosden.