Kingsman gets the winning job done – but only just
Despite Kingsman’s outright win in the Timken Trophy over 5 furlongs (1,000m) on the round course on Saturday (September 21), trainer Ian Parsard said he was disappointed with the performance from his charge as he had expected a much better effort from the three-year-old bay gelding.
“Let me tell you, the most important thing is that he ( Kingsman) got his head in front. To be honest with you, I was a little bit disappointed because I have higher hopes for him, so I thought he would be able to win more impressively,” Parsard said.
After winning on debut back in February over 6 ½ furlongs (1,300m) in a time of 1:20.1, Kingsman ( Discreetly Mine – Feasibility) was touted to be something special — but he has not lived up to that billing.
However, a fighting win in the Restricted Allowance event could return stable confidence to Kingsman.
Kingsman, under Omar Walker, had to out-battle Raw Liquid (Christopher Mamdeen) to win by a neck in a time of 1:00.1 as the 4-5 favourite in the field of 10 runners. Money Marshall (Delroy Beharie) came home in third place.
“He ( Kingsman) had to go to the lead, I mean finished 22.4 and 46.1, and still in almost a minute flat, so we’ll take that. He now steps up in grade and some tough, non-restricted races are next on the programme. We’ll see how he comes out of this and then you will know. And based on that, we will make a decision as to when he will race next.
“I’m really hopeful that he [ Kingsman] will develop but he’s not showing it to me as yet. Maybe we just have to wait a little longer until he is a four-year-old,” Parsard told The Supreme Racing Guide.