First Try at Group 1 for Ibn Khaldun and Frozen Fire

Ibn Khaldun is a beautifully bred colt from my crop of 2005. He is by Dubai Destination out of Gossamer, both of which were top class milers. I am counting on this guy to win the 2,000 Guineas for me next year!

He won his last three races, and won the Group 3 Autumn Stakes at Ascot a couple of weeks ago. He did it easily, with Frankie Dettori never even having to touch his whip Ibn Khaldun weaved his way to front and won beautifully. I was so proud. It was a delight to watch. He raced like a seasoned professional.

However, this afternoon he will be facing much tougher company in the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster.

Also in this race is another of my 2005 boys, Frozen Fire. He is by Montjeu out of Flamingo Sea. He won his maiden over 7f in August, so the jump of class for him is much bigger than for Ibn Khaldun. I am expecting for him to really come through next year. However, he has only raced once and it is hard to rate how good he is. He is very much an unknown entity.

I think that Ibn Khaldun is the better horse at this point of time and it should be his ideal distance.

Let's have a look at the competition. There are 12 horses in the race, 11 are winners:
- Art Master: winner over the All Weather of Kempton last time out over 8f. One must wonder whether he has the class to be very competitive. He will probably want a little further.
- City Leader: Won the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes last time out over soft ground, beating another of my crop horses (Alfathaa) in the process. Achill Island finished second in the race and that horse ran in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf yesterday at Monmouth Park (USA) finishing a close second to Nownownow. The form seems to be solid and he should be a big danger.
- Curtain Call: Sadler's Wells colt - won the Group 2 Beresford Stakes last time out at the Curragh. His win came over yielding ground and I do wonder whether slightly easier ground would suit him better. However, he is hard to look past and he is likely to be favourite at post time.
- Declaration of War: I saw Declaration Of War in person when he won the Woodcote Stakes (listed) at Epsom on Derby Day. He has not won since, but he has been trying tougher company and he finished 2nd in his last 2 (G1 & G2) races to Hatta Fort and Rio De La Plata respectively. I don't think he will win, but he should be thereabouts.
- Feared in Flight: his form is suspect and I think he has quite a bit to find on some of the other entrants
- Internationdebut: In over his head and will probably be one of the last to finish
- King Of Rome: Never discount an O'Brien runner. He won his last race by 5 1/2 lenghts over 7f on good ground at Tipperary. The mile is probably not his ideal distance, but a bit like Frozen Fire, he is hard to figure out.
- Ridge Dance: 4th behind 3 good horses in the Royal Lodge and finished strongly. I can see him reverse form with City Leader.
- River Proud: Looks like he will some to find against this level of competition despite a Group 3 win last time out at Newmarket.
- Tajaaweed: Another coming of a single maiden win. He is bred to go further, but should give a good show of himself in this race

The winner? I sincerely hope Ibn Khaldun is as good as I think he is.
Rio De La Plata is his stable's (Godolphin) star 2yo and Ibn Khaldun is rated below him by his connections, but I am not so sure. Though he seems to be a surprise for his stable, his pedrigree does not lie, and I have had my eye on him for a long time.

What questions will this afternoon answer? We will see...

(Ibn Khaldun (USA) - ch c - Dubai Destination x Gossamer, by Sadler's Wells)
(Frozen Fire (GER) - b c - Montjeu x Flamingo Sea, by Woodman)