Hukum Now Better Than A Derby Winner

To be fair if they ran again in two weeks over the same trip I think Kingscote would go a bit harder. He clearly thought he'd win hands and heels there and got surprised when the winner came upside.

Kingscote not covering himself in glory recently.  But, as you say, not hard on the horse.

If they ran again in two weeks over the same C+D I'd be lumping on the second.  Knowing Stoute he no doubt told Kungscote not to be hard on the horse.

That's the way the race played out. Hukum with a free run would have gone sooner. Obviously first run of season, prep race, year off, neither of them were going to get particularly hard races.

One could argue Kingscote should have tried to keep Hukum boxed in for longer, and may have done if it wasn't a prep.

Impossible to know the merits of the relative performances - both returning from injuries after long lay-offs. I do think though that Hukum's turn of foot from a tricky position was quite impressive. I have always liked the hoss mind so may be a bit biased.

I would be the complete opposite.

There is no way that Kingscote would happily throw away an unbeaten record. He had the run of the race, and had he been stronger I doubt he would have found anything extra. Hukum was finishing much the stronger, and Crowley wasn't significantly harder on him. It could be that Hukum is an improving horse, and Desert Crown just isn't as good as some thought.

He didn't happily throw it away but it wasn't the pivotal race of the season. He wasn't kept in racing to win a g3 at Sandown.

It was quite a while ago but I thought Hukum looked potentially special at Ascot. The fav had the far more sexy profile, legendary trainer with this type of horse, hence the market.

I wouldn;t dispute that s a possibility.  Definite question now over Hero's ability.
I'd love to have seen Chapman stick a microphone in the face of the great man immediately post race.
He'd have been spitting fearhers!
That would have been something to savour! 

Btn by the only other GP1 wnr in the race.Not as though he was hammered.

Very hard to be sure of anything after the run, I would be surprised if stoute had him anywhere near spot on for his return, taking nothing away from the winner though, time will tell.

Desert Crown now a slightly bigger price for the Arc than Hukum. Hukum almost certainly better on this ground, but he does have some soft ground form.

Desert crown not the same horse as last year maybe will never be that same horse after that injury …

starkeycars - silly post on the sketchiest of evidence.

Eclipse…..imo..

Great run,the horse got Crowley out the **** and his ride in the next was even worse ffs could you believe.

Stoute had one like this a while back - Kings Ride.  Disappointed after a classic win.  Was never seen again.  I'm not saying this is the same but sometimes they just don;t train on.
There's no doubt he should have won this race.

It was an awful Derby Desert Crown won and there has been a lot of hype but I did think he would win yesterday because Hukum's form is not the greatest either. WE could do with some good horses that's for sure.

I tend to agree with brigust on last years Derby.

LoyalHoncho - I suspect you mean King's Best??  If so, not really comparable imo - A brilliant winner of the 2000gns and then broke down in the Irish Derby.

Yeah, that;s the one.  Did break down in his next run but he also showed terrible temperament pre-race as I recall.

It was a disappointing defeat after getting first run but Hukum was only rated 1lb behind him before the race and his best form was at the 10 furlong distance while the Derby was 12. I didn't have a bet because Sir Michael rarely has his horses fully fit before June these days. Don't forget that the Derby is only one crop of horses so Desert Crown might still be the best 4yo.

Just got around to watching the race. The way Desert Crown swept round the outside, he looked like a decent horse. Hukum clearly had a better turn of foot. They both quickly cleared away from the others, to be expected I suppose. Desert Crown Queen Anne, Eclipse my guess. Hukam King George?

The idea that Hukum was best at 10 furlongs isn't true. He hasn't run at that distance for more than two years. Connections were clearly pleasantly surprised at the way he picked up. If anything you would expect him to extend the winning margin over further.

Apparently the sectional data shows that Hukum did not accelerate at all. Visually, that's hard to believe, but as we know, plenty of finishes are optical illusions, and they are slowing down when it looks like they are accelerating.

As I alluded to, two G1 horses returning from injury in a prep race, first run for a year, it just can't be taken literally. For me DC showed plenty of the flair he demonstrated in the Derby and far too soon to be writing off.

The last furlong at Sandown is very stiff anyway. I don't suppose the sectionals allow for that.