Freedman: there’s a sense of national pride with Artorius
European stay could be extended beyond July Cup bid with French Group 1 now on the agenda
A patriotic Sam Freedman has said it would give him a “sense of national pride” if Artorius (Flying Artie) can become the first Australian-trained horse to win the July Cup (Gr 1, 6f) after the Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner impressed in a gallop at Newmarket yesterday morning.
Having finished third on his first start in Britain in last month’s Platinum Jubilee Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) at Royal Ascot, Artorius will now bid to go two places better in Saturday’s feature race and Freedman revealed that his stay in Europe could be extended further were he to run well, with next month’s Prix Maurice de Gheest (Gr 1, 1300m) at Deauville now in the mix.
The closest an Australian-trained horse has come to winning the July Cup was in 2003, when Choisir (Danehill Dancer) finished a length and a half behind Oasis Dream (Green Desert) as runner-up.
Freedman said: “There is that rivalry between Australia and England but it’s healthy and good for racing in general to have competition like this.
“There would definitely be a sense of national pride if he won, particularly as there will be a huge Australian contingency coming over for the week of the sales and races.
“This horse really sums up Australian racing as he was purchased for not a lot of money [$120,000]. We syndicated him among stable clients and he then won a big race and a stud got involved. He sums up how a horse can change people’s lives.
“There are people that have come over and it is the first horse they have owned so that gives you an added sense of national pride as you feel like you want him to perform well for the whole stable and the country.
“We’re still here because of the prestige of the July Cup, not the prize-money, and what a win in such a race could do for the stallion CV of Artorius. If we wanted to race for big prize-money we could have stayed at home but that was never our intention.”
Artorius was put through his paces by his big-race rider, former British and Irish champion jockey Jamie Spencer, in a four-furlong spin at the July Course yesterday.
Working alongside the Harry Eustace-trained useful sprint handicapper Ancient Times (Exceed And Excel), Artorius finished upsides his gallop companion, much to the delight of Freedman.
“The work went really well,” the co-trainer said. “They just went four furlongs and quickened up the last 400 yards. He really started to hit top gear the last 100 yards.
“A really good part of his attitude is that he never overdoes it and he conserves his energy. That was as good as I’ve seen him work for a while. He seemed to handle the track well enough.”
Reflecting on the three-year-old’s performance at the royal meeting, Freedman was delighted with the effort which he believes not only justifies the horse staying on for the July Cup, but one that offers encouragement of better to come.
“He put a lot into the race at Ascot and lost a little bit of weight but he put it back on a couple of days later. He bounced out of it well and he seems to be thriving at the moment.
“Ascot was one of those things. He got that little check at the 75-metre mark and it just halted his momentum. He did a very good job to pick up again.
“We couldn’t have been happier with how he performed and like we said, he just needs things to go right in a field of that size. It was a brilliant ride and the horse performed very well. He just didn’t get the break at the right time.
“If anything he has probably improved a tad for the run as he hadn’t run since March. He is now in an established routine and we hope he can improve again on his next start.
“A slightly smaller field is probably not as ideal as I do think he does enjoy being amongst them, but if they go a good tempo, which they usually do over here, then he can settle and finish off well.
“Providing he’s in touch with them between the three and the two he should be in business. We expect him to finish pretty hard as he usually does.
“He’s really enjoyed being over here and his coat has improved since Ascot. If he performs well next Saturday there is a chance he could run in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville.”
Throughout his career Artorius, who is based in Newmarket at the yard of Charlie Fellowes for his UK stay, has made a habit of starting slowly. However, Freedman feels that if anyone can get the best out of him it is Spencer.
He added: “What has cost him more wins is his lack of early speed and when you are slow out of the gates in Australia it becomes increasingly difficult to bridge the gap as they are largely tight, turning tracks with short straights.
“Fortunately [breaking from the gates] is not as significant here as it is in Australia and you do get time to get into a rhythm and work into the race. He takes a bit of time to get into gear but once he hits top speed he can sustain it.
“We’ve been trying to change it [sharpness out the gates] for 12 months but unfortunately his biggest attribute, and to his detriment, is how laidback he is. However it is not something we are going to be able to change now as he is an established horse.
“Jamie is the best drop out rider in the country and this horse is a drop out horse. Mark Zahra has done a lot of the prep work on him at home but we were keen to change it up a little bit.
“Jamie has now had a sit on him and done a couple of little pieces of work on him so he has a good handle on the horse now so it all bodes well.
“Jamie was very complimentary last time and the first thing he said when he got off him was that he would definitely improve for this and that it might switch him on, which is something we’ve noticed in his training since.
“To his credit he has never run a bad race but hopefully he will get his time in the sun again in the July Cup.”
Whether Artorius heads across the English Channel to take his chance in the Maurice de Gheest on August 7 has yet to be decided, but Freedman already has the thought of a return trip to Europe in 2023 on his mind.
“The whole experience has been awesome and hopefully he can win the July Cup but going forward we will be looking to identify more horses to bring over here,” he added.
“He will probably come back next year for the Platinum Jubilee as a four-year-old as having handled all this before we know it is not going to bother him, although he would still need to be racing at a high level back in Australia to justify coming back.
“Hopefully bringing him over will result in a lot more Australians bringing horses over in the future.”