Palace Uprising

Potala Palace

Potala Palace caused a stir amongst even the most phlegmatic spectators when he was knocked down for R3.6 million at the 2010 National Yearling Sale, but he’s already starting to look every inch like a serious racehorse, writes MATTHEW LIPS.

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The six lengths winner of a Turffontein 1400m maiden at his second start, Potala Palace took a big step up in class and handled it with aplomb when he landed the spoils in the Premier’s Champion Stakes over 1600m at Greyville on Sunday.
In typical fashion, Potala Palace’s trainer Mike Azzie has made no secret whatsoever of the high esteem in which he holds his colt and the Gauteng raider went off as a well supported 9/2 chance in a maximum field of 16 for the Premier’s. Favourite at 2/1 was Gimmethegreenlight, who had been very slow away before running on well to finish fourth in the Gr1 Golden Horseshoe over 1400m at Greyville four weeks earlier, but a wide draw was not going to help his chances of making amends this time around. Golden Horseshoe runner-up Mushreq was sent off second favourite this time, but Golden Horseshoe winner Fighting Warrior had a very wide 14 draw to deal with and went off as a 15/1 outsider for his bid to complete a Gr1 double.

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Gimmethegreenlight jumped out smartly this time and came across to race in about fourth spot as Potala Palace immediately set off the make the running at a fair -if far from frantic -pace ahead of Hard Rock (who scooted across from the widest draw of them all) and Tennessee Strategy.  National Road was next in line as Fighting warrior was dropped out to last from his deep draw. Potala Palace still looked to have plenty of running under the cool-as-ice Gavin Lerena as he turned for home about a length ahead of Hard Rock, with a gap of nearly three lengths back to the rest.

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Gimmethegreenlight soon came forward to mount his bid as Hard Rock began to weaken, with Beacon Flare making smart headway wide out. Potala Palace, though, still had plenty in the tank. It briefly looked at one point as if Beacon Flare might get to him, but the frontrunner shook him off comfortably enough and won by about a length from Beacon Flare, with Gimmethe-greenlight close up in third and Fighting Warrior flying up from nowhere to finish fourth. The latter got going when the race was all over and was never in with a chance of landing the spoils, but the Australian-bred gelding surely established that his big win of four weeks previously was no flash in the pan.

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Beacon Flare put up a terrific effort in defeat. In direct contrast to the winner, this son of Spectrum failed to attract a single bid in the ring when he was offered at auction and that will go down as one of the greatest lost opportunities of the 2010 sales season. Interestingly, he had been beaten 6.5 lengths into third behind Potala Palace in the maidens in May and managed to reduce that deficit by about five-sixths on Sunday, but Potala Palace did really always have his measure and the ebullient Mike Azzie has every right to believe he could have a serious three-year-old prospect for the new season.
The softer going probably helped Potala Palace, for the European progeny of his sire Singspiel do have the reputation of enjoying cut in the ground. All three of Potala Palace’s races have come on yielding going and it will remain to be seen how he copes when he encounters firmer ground, but there is every reason to think that he will cope with it just fine. He has a very long way to go to recoup his purchase price, but he has a Gr1 win to his name and it doesn’t take a leap of the imagination to visualize a future stallion in this well grown, scopey youngster. Bred in Ireland, Potala Palace is the eighth foal and fourth known winner of Alzao mare Alignment, who never won a race in a short career spanning only four starts but who did finish second in a Gr3 race. Aligment is also the dam of a Gr3 runner-up in Italy and is the half sister to the dam of multiple English Gr1 winner Golan. The latter finished second in the Epsom Derby, as did several years later his full brother Tartan Bearer. There is no shortage of European Black Type in this family and it’s not hard to see why it took a serious amount of cash to buy Potala Palace. The colt’s two wins from three starts have brought in stakes of R365 875.