Field Of Gold flies clear to claim Irish Guineas glory
Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the son of Kingman was beaten half a length after finishing fast and late under Kieran Shoemark in the British mile Classic three weeks ago.
Sent off the evens favourite for the Irish equivalent, new pilot Colin Keane never had a moment of worry aboard Field Of Gold, who made smooth progress with a couple of furlongs to run before fairly sprinting clear.
Field Of Gold came home a cosy three-and-three-quarter-length victor over his fellow Juddmonte-owned runner Cosmic Year, with Hotazhell a further three-quarters of a length back in third.
The winner was following the same route as his sire Kingman, who was also trained by John Gosden and suffered a half-length defeat at Newmarket in 2014 before going on to triumph at the Curragh as part of four subsequent Group One strikes.
'We did it with his father but I do remember coming here years ago with The Minstrel, when I was working for Vincent O'Brien, and it doesn't always work out that way,' said John Gosden.
'He's right up there with his father, I think he's as good as his father right now.
'Juddmonte have wonderful farms here and rear great stock and have a lot of people employed here. They are beautifully managed and controlled by (European racing manager) Barry Mahon.
'To that extent, we have to be thankful to them, because good horses don't drop out of the sky. He had to come back here to win because this is his home turf.
'The Irish Guineas is on a very fair track and I wanted to come here and prove he was a Classic winner, so it was very important to come here.
'We came here with Too Darn Hot and he finished second, so it doesn't always happen. I was sorry we got beaten in the English Guineas but he finished so well.'
Gosden feels the experience of travelling will stand Field Of Gold in good stead and also praised Keane's ride, with the jockey replacing Shoemark as part of a new 'best available' policy.
He said: 'To get on a plane and come here and see something different, they are young horses only three, so he would have learned a lot from this. They grow in stature and in mentality.
'It's probably a very good thing he came here and Colin rode him beautifully.
'He seemed very fresh saddling and then we couldn't find a shammy, so we were late to the parade ring.
'In truth, I was concerned he might overrace with no cover on the outside, but I told Colin if he relaxes going down, he should relax coming back and he rode him just right.
'I told him 'you have no instructions, ride it as you find it'.
'He rode him beautifully, he's the best horse and he quickened up well and a very good horse was second to him and Hotazhell was third.
'When he quickened, he went – he takes two or three strides and he's off.'
Field Of Gold is now the 5-4 favourite for the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, with his Newmarket conqueror Ruling Court on course to step up in distance for the Betfred Derby – with a longer trip not ruled out for the Gosdens' charge either
The trainer added: 'It's good, solid form, it was a proper race, as good as the English Guineas. No doubt about that at all, probably in the end equal, if not better.
'The winner of the English Guineas goes to the Derby, so that makes it very exciting.
'Let's hope the owners want to go to Ascot and have a look at the St James's Palace there. That's what Thady told me to do, so I'll listen!
'Prince Saud is keen to go a mile and a quarter, so we'll hang on a little.'
Shoemark lost his position as the Gosden yard's first-choice jockey in the wake of Field Of Gold's Newmarket eclipse, with Irish champion jockey Keane delighted to 'step in' this time.
He said: 'From the minute I got on him, he was a gentleman. Talking to John, Thady and Kieran this morning, they couldn't say how straightforward he was, to be fair to them.
'He jumped, he didn't really need to get in cover. I was on Gavin's (Ryan on Comanche Brave) girths and he was lobbing, so I was happy to stay there. We didn't go mad, we went even, but when I asked him, he didn't half quicken.
'When he went through the line like that, that was as good of a feeling as I've got off a horse for a long time. Just so straightforward and powerful to sit on.
'Kieran said he used to be keen and fresh last year. He has done a marvellous job getting him to relax, to be fair now. I've just stepped in for today.'
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