Guildsman

Guildsman did well to finish second in the Group 3 Round Tower Stakes.

Settled towards the rear of the field early on, towards the near side, he didn’t have a lot of racing room as they passed the two-furlong marker, when Oisin Murphy wanted to go forward. The rider had to sit and wait as Lope Y Fernandez went for home on the far side. By the time he got racing room and moved towards the near side, just inside the furlong marker, Lope Y Fernandez was in full flight and was about four lengths in front of him. Still only sixth with 100 yards to run, Guildsman finished off his race strongly to just take second place from Fort Myers, a length and a half behind the winner Lope Y Fernandez.

It was a fine run from Archie Watson’s horse. If he had got a run earlier, he would have finished closer to Aidan O’Brien’s horse, who had finished second to Pinatubo in the Chesham Stakes and third to him in the Vintage Stakes. Also, third-placed Fort Myers has since enhanced the form by finishing a close-up fourth behind Threat in the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster, while seventh-placed Prince Of Naples finished a close-up fourth in the big Tattersalls Ireland sales race at The Curragh on Irish Champions Weekend, and 10th-placd Air Force Jet won a nursery at Navan next time off a mark of 97. It looks like a strong Round Tower Stakes.

You can forgive Guildsman his previous run in the Richmond Stakes, he reared as the stalls opened. He is better judged on his third in the Coventry Stakes, or his fourth in the July Stakes, and he is a horse who should have more to offer.

The Curragh, 30^th August 2019