Compton Admiral delivers Butler prediction

If, as Nostradamus says, the Coral-Eclipse Stakes at Sandown was the last Group One race to be run, Compton Admiral's victory provided an exhilarating send-off.

The 16th Century French astrologer's quatrains have tomorrow as the day the world will end. Whether he predicted Gerard Butler's 20-1 shot as the winner of today's #295,000 race is another matter.

There was much heart in his triumph as the Craven Stakes winner, unplaced since in the Sagitta 2000 Guineas and Vodafone Derby, lost a prominent pitch with over half of the 10-furlong test to race. But he fought back into contention at the quarter-mile pole before Darryll Holland, in changing his whip hand, momentarily dropped his reins. His rider gathered his leather and his composure, sending his mount to collar the front-running Xaar inside the last for a neck success. Half a length further back was Fantastic Light but Croco Rouge, the 5-2 favourite and Nostradamus' countryman, disappointed, returning seventh of the eight. As was reflected in Compton Admiral's odds, the public had lost faith in Erik Penser's bay after his Classic defeats. But Butler, winning his first race at the highest level, was confident. Admitting the slow pace had worked in Compton Admiral's favour, he said: "The others played into our hands. If you look at the Craven, he is a hell of a finisher, so the slower they went, he was always going to revert to his six and seven-furlong form. The more the crawl, the better for us - he has a tremendous kick, and two furlongs out I knew he was going to run very, very well. "Ever since he worked as a two-year-old last March, he was always special - he always went from A to B in a very professional manner. We have always had faith in him. "After the Guineas our heads were down a little bit but we put that down to the ground. "In the Derby he actually ran very well and travelled well for a long way. He got home, but not effectively, like a proper mile-and-a-half horse should, so this was the natural thing after that. "The horse has got two hearts. For a small guy like him, all he wants to do is win." The trainer, who will next tackle York's Juddmonte International with Compton Admiral, harboured concerns over the fast ground, thunderstorms working their way round Esher. "You have got to bite the bullet on some occasions, and we did," he reflected. Holland played down the tactical favours done to his mount. "He has taken on some of the best horses," he said. "It was a pity Daylami wasn't in today but I am glad to beat all that lot, and I would take them on again over the same trip. "He is gutsy. He is not very big, but he is very versatile. He'll go through a gap and he was like a rabbit going for the line." Asked about the incident with the reins, he explained: "I just needed a run. I was following Frankie and I wanted to change my whip hand because I knew I would have to pull round him, and I just dropped my reins. "I thought 'Oh my God, I might lose a Group One here.' But I managed to get them back quick enough and I had enough time to win, so it all ends well."

Copyright 1999
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.