Ancient Wisdom Runs to Odds in Futurity Trophy Win

Ignore the prices. Seeing that the 5-4 favorite has won might make you think this was nothing out of the ordinary. Don't you believe it.

Victory went to a horse hardly anybody thought would be in the field this time last week. His rider adopted tactics that not even connections expected, thanks to a freak incident in the stalls that caused the race to be run 15 minutes later and scored Oct. 28 for a team that was getting out of the British group 1 habit.

The one thing you can seemingly rely on is that the Futurity Trophy (G1) is a rich source of top-level 3-year-olds. Each of the previous six winners went on to win at least one group 1 race in his second season.

And that modern insight meant bookmakers were taking no chances with their latest successor, offering no better than 8-1 about him for the Betfred Derby.

That is Ancient Wisdom , the Godolphin colt Charlie Appleby said he would put away and wait for the Dante Stakes (G2) with after his impressive success in group 3 company at Newmarket 14 days earlier.

A fortnight is a long time in racing and a trainer reserves the right to change his or her mind, particularly when the weather does not change and the ground remains soft enough to tempt a £17,500 supplementary entry on the Monday ahead of Britain's last group 1 of the season.

That might have looked something of a gamble from the stands, watching on as William Buick found himself in front on the market leader, with expected pacemaker Battle Cry  not in the field after going down in the stalls and being withdrawn, causing the lengthy delay.

But Buick is not champion jockey for nothing. He judged things perfectly in the testing conditions and, setting no better than a steady pace, he refused to panic once headed inside the last three furlongs and conjured a strong late run out of his mount to lead again over a furlong out and win by a length and three-quarters. Devil's Point  was second over God's Window .

It was Godolphin's first group 1 success in Britain since Modern Games  in the Lockinge Stakes (G1) in May and first domestic juvenile group 1 since Native Trail in the Dewhurst in 2021.

"We couldn't be more delighted," said Appleby's assistant Alex Merriam. "We thought Aidan's other horse (Diego Velazquez) was going to go forward and when he wasn't there Will did his own thing. We know he stays and the plan was always to be handy.

"Charlie always had this race slightly in the back of his mind but he wanted to see how the horse was, and he's been pleasing him and we know he handles soft ground so we gave it a shot."

Buick, winning the race for the first time, said: "It's a very important race for next year and I was delighted with Ancient Wisdom. The plan wasn't necessarily to make the running but it fell right and he's a horse who's very uncomplicated.

"If you go through the list of 2-year-olds who've won this race, it bodes well for next year. I'm very much looking forward to him. He's a beautiful horse to look at, he's done nothing but strengthen all year. Another winter on his back will do him even better.

"It's very heavy ground and horses take a lot of organizing on it but when the others came to him I didn't want to go for everything too soon, I wanted to try and build him up. It's a long way up that straight for a 2-year-old having to make the running but it suited him. He's done nothing but improve every start this year. Credit to Charlie and the team for having the faith to supplement."