How York put Workforce on glory trail

Workforce is that horse – the thoroughbred who broke the course record to win the Epsom Derby before joining the greats by winning Europe's richest race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe last Sunday.

Arguably the two biggest wins of Moore's impressive career, Workforce is one of eight horses who have gone on to amass 13 Group One successes after running at York during another record-breaking year in terms of crowds, prize money and the unrivalled quality of racing.

He is also the latest horse to land the Arc after running on Knavesmire.

It was at the Dante meeting, in May, that 27-year-old Moore first realised the full extent of Workforce's potential.

Though well beaten by Cape Blanco, Aidan O'Brien's subsequent Irish Derby hero, Moore knew that the runner-up had special qualities.

"The ground was quick, and the bit went through his mouth which didn't help," revealed the three-times champion jockey and title-holder.

"It was only his second race. When I pulled him up, I knew there was plenty left in the tank.

"Yet, rather than galloping back to the stables, he stopped and cantered back in his own time – I knew he was getting more mature and it was a question of which race he would win."

The subsequent five months have proved to be amongst the most memorable of Moore's burgeoning career as he won his first Derby and Arc. No horse had won at Epsom after losing in the Dante, a statistic that is now redundant.

They have also been some of the most infuriating days after Workforce flopped in the King George, a race won so emphatically by his exceptional stablemate Harbinger.

Moore, the most modest man in racing, believes he knows the reason why. The media, he says, over-hyped the horse – and the ground at the King George was too firm for his colt.

It is a view shared by Workforce's trainer, Sir Michael Stoute, who was recording his first Arc victory last week when Japanese raider Nakayama Festa was repelled by a head.

As long ago as the Dante meeting, Stoute was telling those observers who listened: "He's still a baby. I think he could do with more forgiveness in the ground."

"He was massively impressive at Epsom in the Derby," explained Moore. "It was a good thing to win so well but it was also a bad thing.

"I hadn't a clue it was a course record until afterwards. You're not thinking of that in the saddle. "It took a lot more out of the horse than people thought. It looked easy, but it was not.

"It was firm at Epsom, but there are different types of firmness – the texture of the turf – and I think that made the difference, at Ascot.

"I also think he was built up to be the next Sea The Stars, who won everything the year before."

It was particularly satisfying for Moore to silence the horse's critics in Europe's most valuable and prestigious race with a ride that was, frankly, a tactical masterpiece and would have earned even greater reviews if it had been produced by a more outgoing jockey.

Turning into the short straight on ideal rain-softened ground, Moore waited for the gaps before the horse accelerated clear. "I just thought I wanted to get him settled. On the inner, I was going to be around good horses who would take me into the race. He was very brave to hold off the runner-up – he's as tough as anything."

There are some who criticise Moore for not being more outgoing prior to racing. They miss two points. Not every jockey can be an extrovert like Frankie Dettori. Second, the crucial hours before a race is when a jockey wants to mull over tactics undisturbed.

Yet the public and media's interest is also at its most intense on those days when horses are racing for prestigious prizes, and when a jockey needs to be totally focussed.

It is a difficult balancing act, especially as jockeys like Moore concentrate on the major prizes rather than attempting to win every race.

For, while Moore battled it out on three occasions to be champion jockey, he says that he is relieved not to be fighting it out with Paul Hanagan and Richard Hughes for top honours this year. "It was nice to take a couple of days off after the Arc.

"Also, with so many big races, you don't want to be on the all-weather at Wolverhampton on a Friday night – it's knackering. I wouldn't wish what Paul and Richard are doing on anyone."

Moore, however, is not taking his big-race record for granted –- his win on Snow Fairy in the Oaks, a day before Workforce's Derby triumph, was his first Classic victory in this country.

Asked if he had come back to earth after his Arc triumph, he replied: "Yes, fairly quickly." He then went on to list the races that he wants to win: the Japan Cup, the Melbourne Cup, the Dubai World Cup. And then he adds: "Definitely more Derbies and Arcs; they're the races."

He just needs horses with Workforce's battling qualities.