Marten Julian’s Weekly Roundup 23 June 2025

A lot is made of which horses can act on the ground when conditions are testing but rather less is said when the ground is riding fast.

Members of the TV teams working at Royal Ascot last week noted the actions of some of the horses on the way to post, but with hours of coverage it would have been of interest, to the recreational viewer especially, to have given the matter more time.

For example, it would have been instructive to have had pinpointed contrasting examples of horses with a daisy-cutting action, which is generally suited to quick ground and horses with a more rounded knee action, which is suited to softer conditions.

In my view neither ITV or Sky gave enough time to the paddock or the horses on their way to post, with any chance of continuity of focus compromised by interminable and ill-timed advertising breaks.

The state of the ground is not an exact science, even with the use of a penetrometer, and conditions are seldom consistent around the course.

One horse who definitely did not show himself in the best light despite appearing to run well was Zahrann, who finished second in the King Edward VII Stakes. The Zahrann that we saw last Friday bore little resemblance in his style of racing to the colt that I’d seen in Ireland.

From the outset he looked awkward, being cajoled along and racing on and off the bridle seeing far too much daylight. He looked a spent force by the straight and he then put his head to one side and plugged on at just the one pace, his class enabling him to get within a neck of the winner at the line.

Totally absent was the turn of foot he had displayed in each of his three wins in Ireland and short of anything untoward emerging I can only attribute this uncharacteristic display to the fast ground.

Trainer Johnny Murtagh spoke afterwards about the colt possibly proving good enough to run in an Arc. Well that seems fanciful at this stage and yes, it was an improved display on figures, but this was not the horse I’d seen in footage of his previous races.

There were a few points of interest from the week … Amo Racing, whose owner has recently spent fortunes at the sales, sent out 20 runners without success and although Aidan O’Brien will have been delighted with the performances of his two-year-olds, it was the first time since 2005 that he did not land a Group 1 winner, from 12 representatives.

Another trainer who may have felt that he fell short was William Haggas. I was expecting him to have three or four winners, despite a nagging concern beforehand that a few of his horses had run below par, but from a team of 13 Merchant was his only winner.

Of the others Bullet Point and More Thunder were beaten less than a length but Raafedd, who was one of my strongest fancies of the week, never looked comfortable in the Britannia and finished down the field. I expect him to prove this running all wrong.

The trainer was, let’s say, a little ‘prickly’ when approached by Matt Chapman soon after More Thunder’s luckless run in the Wokingham and I expect time will show many of his week’s runners in a better light.

There was a lot to take out from the meeting but from a professional perspective I struggled. It seems, from what I hear, that I was not alone.

Bye for now

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