Zacinto the choice in poor Lockinge

By Alan Conway

It may be a Group 1 in status, but this weekend’s Lockinge Stakes at Newbury is as poor a Group 1 as has been seen for quite a while. The field is headed by Paco Boy, who returned to action with a smooth win the in the Bet 365 mile at Sandown. His main rival at the head of the market is Zacinto, who got closer to Rip Van Winkle than any other horse over a mile last season. The other main protagonist is Lord Shankill, now in the care of Henry Cecil.

As I have said, this race is a Group 1 in status only. This year’s renewal of the Lockinge is a Group 2 on paper. Paco Boy and Zacinto would not be able to live with the likes of Rip Van Winkle and Goldikova if they showed up at Newbury this Saturday. The Lockinge has suffered over the last few years. Once seen as the starting point for the older milers, now seen as a chance to land a soft Group 1. A quick scan of recent winners shows how the standard of the race has fallen. Since 2006 the roll of honour reads Peeress, Red Evie, Creachadoir and Virtual. All good horses, but nowhere near the top class milers of recent times.

When you think of the Lockinge surely there is only one memory that stands out. The performance of the mighty Hawk Wing. Hawk Wing turned a Group 1 race into a procession winning by 11 lengths. His jockey Mick Kinane was a passenger that day as the Hawk flew. It was a performance from the very top drawer. A performance worthy of a Group 1 race.

There may be no Hawk Wing in this year’s line up and even though it may be a poor Group 1, betting-wise there may be value in the race. Paco Boy is currently the odds on favourite with most firms and it is easy to see why. He silenced the doubters who said that he would not stay a mile when he won the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot last year. And there was also no disgrace in finishing second to Rip Van Winkle in the Sussex Stakes next time out. His reappearance this season was highly promising and he is the one to beat. Two things in his favour will be the pace of the race and the small field. There is no guaranteed pace so this may allow Paco Boy to stalk the pace and his finishing burst would come into play, to great effect. However for my money I am still not 100% convinced that a mile is Paco Boy’s best trip. He bombed out in this race twelve months ago and at the current prices of around 4/5, he is short enough.

The horse of most interest is Zacinto. He is another typical Sir Michael Stoute horse. Lightly raced at two and three, so still open to improvement. He has only had seven starts to date, with his only blip coming at the Breeders’ Cup last November. He travels sweetly and has shown a quick turn of foot through his races. I have a feeling that the Stoute horse has more scope to improve where as, Paco Boy may have reached his limit. A son of Dansili, he was the only horse to give Rip Van Winkle a race over a mile last year and a reproduction of that effort could be enough to repel the threat of the favourite. The 3/1 about Zacinto that is currently on offer with Paddy Power is decent enough value.

Of the outsiders it is hard to see any of them being good enough to trouble the market leaders. But one horse who could surprise is Ouqba. The Jersey Stakes winner from last year is stepping up to Group 1 company for the first time and his trainer Barry Hills is confident of a bold showing. “He has done really well over the winter and hopefully can step up to Group 1 level this year. It’s going to be a tough race but it’s a good starting point for him.”

Will the winner of this year’s Lockinge end up as the champion miler? I don’t think the chiefs at Ballydoyle will be losing too much sleep over it.

By Alan Conway