Wise Approach boosts the Norfolk Form
IRE-Incentive – It Pays To Buy Irish Rose Bowl Stakes (Listed Race)
Wise Approach was no match for Charles Darwin in the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot, but he did record a higher top speed than the winner that day and only Aidan O’Briens star juvenile was faster over the final quarter of a mile. With that in mind, Wise Approach was probably a class above back down in grade on Friday and he soon stamped his authority on this Listed contest. A winning time of 1:11.93 was 0.71s outside the TPD Expected time on this ground and there have been 6 winners of this race that have run faster times than Wise Approach since 2009. However, the manner of this victory would suggest that he could easily have run a faster time if he needed to and he was certainly good value for his 4-length success.
Settled in rear under William Buick, he was the slowest horse to reach 30 mph (6.8s TTR), but in such a small field, that didn’t really make a difference and once asked to close from the 3-furlong pole, he ran the fastest splits as he reached a top speed of 41.43 mph, at a peak stride frequency of 2.53 per second. Both of those figures were the best in the race and although his average stride length of 22.93 ft was the shortest in the field, his size, scope and pedigree all suggest that he is a 6-furlong sprinting type and for that discipline, he is perfectly built. Galloping through the line with a run-out speed of 33.42 mph, another “race best” figure, he has immediately been suggested for races like the Gimcrack and the Middle Park Stakes later in the season. It needs to be emphasised that this was a weaker race than Ascot and he certainly has a lot of work to do to reverse the Norfolk form with Charles Darwin. However, this was another solid performance and he has dominated this race with some ease. There is every reason to believe that he will be competitive in Group 1 company later in the season after this romp.
Wise Approach was chased home by the 2 horses in the Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum colours, Rock on Thunder and Amorim. The former finished mid-division in the Coventry Stakes and has probably run to a similar level in this race. His top speed of 41 mph was slower than the winner and despite having a nice trip to the 2-furlong pole, he has been readily left behind. Amorim is more interesting. At 25.30 ft, his average stride length was easily the longest in the field and based on the way he rolled around in the closing stages and changed his lead legs, there is a suggestion that he would probably prefer to have a little more ease in the ground. His pedigree suggests that 6-furlongs ought to be his trip, but his size and scope might lead his connections to try him over further later in the year. He isn’t likely to reverse this form with Wise Approach, but the conditions and the nature of the race didn’t play to his strengths and he may be capable of further improvement as we move into the autumn.