ROYAL ASCOT is where the best of Clarehaven Stables shines brightest. Think of all the wonderful winners and brilliant racehorses John Gosden has saddled at Britain’s most iconic Flat meeting.
Covid was a horrible period for everyone, but the Gosden team momentarily dispelled the gloom behind closed doors as he and jockey Frankie Dettori regularly enjoyed top-level winners. In 2020, Palace Pier moved steadily up the ranks to reach the top in the St James’s Palace Stakes. Little by little, he won very well with Dettori and achieved notable success in Pinatubo.
It was a classic Gosden training performance and a signature Dettori run. A match in heaven.
However, things have been a little more difficult since then. Just three years later, there was a sabbatical between Dettori and Gosden when Royal Ascot did not go to plan in 2022. Dettori had a rare week off in the saddle and Gosden was less than impressed. The Italian bounced back last season to finish his racing career in the UK in good style.
Dettori has moved on and is enjoying an Indian summer in the United States to finish his time in the saddle. The Gosdens have not started the 2024 season very strongly.
Life after Dettori has been tough for the Gosden team. John and his son Thady Gosden are fourth in the trainers’ championship in 2024 with a fairly reasonable 20 percent hit rate for the season, but the group’s number of hits is an interesting figure.
John Gosden (right) and Frankie Dettori enjoy victory in 2017 with first-class Cracksman
The pressure is on Kieran Shoemark as Clarehaven’s new number one jockey after a difficult start to 2024
As of Thursday 6 June, Gosden has had just three winners from 28 runners in Group races. A poor overall record for an established first class shipyard like Clarehaven. Additionally, they have only raced three two-year-olds all year. He is quite an enigma for the team that won the 2023 British Coaches title.
Is this where a Dettori’s big racing experience is lost or is it a sign that Gosden has fewer top-class horses to go to war with in 2024? The answer seems to be a little of both.
The number one job in Clarehaven is a demanding one and Kieran Shoemark has been chosen because he has been part of the garden furniture since he was young. The 27-year-old has suffered tough defeats at the start of the season. Search for his name on social media and it won’t be difficult to locate the voices of many disgruntled punters.
There are probably three mediocre trips worthy of analysis and context. Emily Upjohn was disappointing in the Coronation Cup when the defending champion was not fully fit and was too eager to do herself justice. ryan moore
She dominated Luxembourg tactically and yet there was more going for the winner that day than Emily Upjohn. The fact is that it was a second consecutive departure. Shoemark failed to completely calm Emily Upjohn when she was defeated at Meydan. Disappointing but forgivable.
Moore comprehensively outclassed Shoemark again at Chester when Point Lonsdale beat Arrest in the Ormonde Stakes by six and a half lengths. He struggled to organize Arrest around the quirky track even though he won there last year and it was too wide when the race unfolded. On the other hand, the ground was becoming too fast for the St Leger runner-up.
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, it was expected that she would need to run and Gosden gave pre-race instructions for Shoemark to move from the center of the track to the rail from an apparently unfavorable tie. Shoemark did exactly that and Inspiral’s streak stabilized. An understandable race, but there would be a touch of bewilderment for Shoemark to see his less-desired stablemate, Audience, win uncontested from the middle of the track, the exact spot where the trainer ultimately didn’t want the favorite to be.
If Shoemark has had some average rides on the big occasions earlier in the season, then the blame shouldn’t rest solely at his door if Royal Ascot doesn’t go to plan. There have been some strange placement decisions by the Gosden team.
Friendly Soul looked extraordinary on the Guinea weekend only to run woefully 10 days later in the Musidora Stakes, failing to back up that great effort. Surely the turnaround was too quick and Gosden was highly unlikely to compete with a high-class prospect so quickly.
Perhaps it was out of desperation for a runner in the Oaks, a race that has been plundered exclusively between him and Aidan O’Brien for the past decade until Dermot Weld broke the trend last week with Ezeliya.
There was plenty of evidence that Arrest needed soft ground in his two and three year old days to not race at Chester on good ground. And God’s Window’s four fast races this season to try to force his way into the Derby landscape seemed optimistic at best. He finished 12th of 16 at Epsom.
There have been many classics held in Britain, Ireland and France this season and Gosden has had almost nothing in them. Before yesterday’s race, the Gosdens had four winners from 37 runners in the last two weeks. Shoemark, outside the top ten in the jockeys’ championship, has had five winners in 37 races in the last fortnight. The Gosdens’ number one rider lacks confidence, but he appears to have little support.
Dettori will not compete at Royal Ascot this year, but will still travel to the United States to finish his career.
Dettori won’t be riding at Royal Ascot this year, but he will be there and Shoemark might feel his presence more than most as an extra weight on his shoulders.
This is the week of the racing calendar where Team Gosden shines. But this year there are major doubts about all aspects of the operation in Clarehaven.
Inspiral is expected to win the Queen Anne Stakes on the first day of the royal meeting. Emily Upjohn should be very close in at least top form to her in the Hardwicke Stakes. The Hardwicke is also an option for Arrest if the rain comes.
The pressure is mounting and this time there can be no excuses for Team Gosden.