Bold calls pay off with Arc in sight

It was an even braver call after the horse won last year’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes to miss the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and then move the horse across Newmarket from Luca Cumani’s stables to the yard of Roger Varian, who has described Postponed as the “ultimate” thoroughbred.

Horses this good are few and far between. Yet these bold calls are paying off. Two high-profile wins in Meydan, including the Dubai Sheema Classic, have now been topped by a scintillating performance in the Group One Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Cup at Epsom under Andrea Atzeni.

Not only is Postponed, now five, favourite to defend his King George title next month, but he heads the market for the Arc – Europe’s blue riband race – which takes place in Paris in early October.

Though many champions are retired to stud at the age of three, like Golden Horn last year, or as four-year-olds – as happened with the wonderhorse Frankel – thoroughbred racehorses are not always in their prime until they are five.

This appears to be the case with Postponed, who was the only horse in a field of Group One winners, including 2015 St Leger heroine Simple Verse and Breeders’ Cup winner Found, capable of reeling in Roseberg, who set a sedate early pace, catching some by surprise, before bursting clear around Tattenham Corner on Saturday.

An elated Varian said the decision to gallop Postponed at Epsom 10 days previously paid off.

He then described the horse’s champion qualities: “Number one, his ability – you can’t install ability; they have it.

“All his other attributes come a close second. He’s got the most level temperament; that’s a real quality. I should have thought he’s got the most level heart-beat of any horse at the start; he takes any situation in his stride. He can operate off a fast pace or a slow pace and in different ground conditions. He really is the ultimate.”

Varian was equally fulsome in his praise of Atzeni, saying of the winning jockey: “He’s one of the very best riding at the moment. He knows this horse particularly well. He’s a real asset to have involved; really a lovely man to deal with.

“The short-term plan with Postponed, provided we come out safe and sound from this race, is to go straight to the King George to try to defend his crown from last year, and it gives us a bit of breathing space to worry about the rest of the year after that.”

As for Atzeni, he believes Postponed – one of the progeny of the champion stallion Dubawi – could still be improving. “He’s a proper racehorse,” said the jockey.

“He is a machine. You can put him anywhere in the race, he travels good, he goes on any ground, he quickens up and I am very, very lucky. He settled very well though and travelled well into the race. He’s a typical Dubawi and he’s improving with age.”

As for Simple Verse, who finished fourth, jockey Oisin Murphy suggested that the slow early pace did not suit because it turned the race – over the Derby distance – into a sprint rather than the test of stamina that his filly needed.

The Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot remains a possibility. “It was very disappointing there was no pace in the race,” said David Redvers, racing manager to owners Qatar Racing.

“It was a very hot race against two of the best horses in the world (Postponed and runner-up Found).”