I’m looking for some suggestions on how to proceed with [color=blue]GCh Sionnach. He is one win away from studification but struggling to get there. He’s run reasonably well at stakes level this year without quite getting there. I realise he might well be passed his best but I’d like to at least give him until the end of the year to see if he can get there. I guess I’m wondering if a fresh pair of eyes (or several!) might help. He has only raced on turf so does have the option of trying dirt or fences. He’s a grade one winner at 8f and 12f so could take in races of any grade but I’m struggling to find a distance that he’s most suited to. As he’s got slightly more unusual bloodlines (Giants Causeway x Gallant Fox) I hope he’s worth persevering with.
I would focus on 8-8.5f on Turf. Yes he has won once each over 9f, 10f & 12f and has a couple of SP’s at 10f & 12f, but the majority of his good performances have been at or around 8f, i.e 7.5f to 8.5f. In fact, in all his 8 races at these distances, his record is 5 wins and 3 seconds.
He is in Australia at the moment, so, if you don’t mind waiting for a month, there is the Chipping Norton Stakes (G1, 8f) on August 20th, which looks to be right up his street.
I’d definitely try dirt and then jumps. You never know, turf could be his least favourite track and dirt/jumps could give him the edge he needs to get that last stakes win. He’s got the flexibility to go short(ish) or long, so you may as well play with other factors and see if those would help.
Would be nice to see him at stud, especially with his bloodlines.
I agree with Shanthi, his sire and dam’s family both have produced dirt runners that win on the stakes level. Try him at the allowance level around 8-9 furlongs just to gauge his progress then try him at a stakes when you feel like he can do well.
I like Lewis’s idea and make sure he rests at home so he is ‘raring to go mentally’.
Honestly though curiosity would get the better of me as I had his sister Kingston Coup and she had 4 speed records on dirt so at least one try on dirt wouldn’t hurt. She actually also did well on turfs, just not quite as well, so you never know. My fingers are crossed for him because I have a special place for this bloodline!
Jumps make me nervous because they can’t come back. Just make sure the jumps trials are all very positive
Thanks for your thoughts everyone. I’ve got nothing against running him on dirt so I’ll see if there’s a suitable allowance race that could fit in around Lewis’ suggestion and see how he gets on.
I was looking at his shipping record - I think he needs some time off. Serious time off at the farm, like two months. He’s been shipped around a whole lot this year and that takes the shine off them. He’s also run big races practically every 3 weeks for a while now. I also agree with the surface changes, etc. He might just need a change of pace once he’s fresh again.
I guess a rest might be beneficial. He had a solid month off in the early part of the year then he’s been between our local track and the farm over the summer following a similar pattern to last year where he seemed to thrive. Since he’s in Australia he’ll probably go for the race Lewis suggested then go from there. He could come home for a break if needed. Thanks for your thoughts.