Dewhurst Stakes: The Bolger years

Jim Bolger has saddled four winners of the Dewhurst since 2006
James Muir takes a look at one man's dominance of this Saturday's big race.
Undoubtedly one of Britain's most important and prestigious two-year-old races, the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket is always viewed among the principal trials for the following year's classics. You need look only as far back as the likes of Frankel, Sir Percy and Rock of Gibraltar to find the clues the Dewhurst so often provides. Unsurprisingly, it is a race which is always targeted by the best juveniles from the most powerful yards, but it's Jim Bolger who can boast by far the best recent record in the seven-furlong event. Despite having much less ammunition than the likes of Coolmore and Godolphin, the County-Kilkenny handler has trained the winner of no less than four of the last six renewals of the Dewhurst. Here we take a closer look at Bolger's winning years:
Teofilo (2006)
Teofilo took his unbeaten record to five when downing fellow Irish challenger Holy Roman Emperor by a head in the 2006 Dewhurst, after a real battle which commenced over a furlong out. Bolger's colt struck the front at that point but was quickly tackled, and was actually passed by Holy Roman Emperor going into the dip, but he rallied and stayed on well to lead again late on, the result between the two the same as it had been in the National Stakes at the Curragh a month previously. Teofilo's thrilling victory was seen as a pointer towards a wonderful career, not least by Timeform who awarded him a rating of 126 and nominated him as the one to beat in the 2007 classics.
It is still one of the most unfortunate postscripts in racing's recent history that neither Teofilo nor Holy Roman Emperor ever raced again. The runner-up was packed off to stud following George Washington's well-documented fertility problems, whilst Teofilo's injury, suffered just weeks before the 2000 Guineas, ultimately brought the curtain down on one of the most tantalisingly unfulfilled careers.
New Approach (2007)
The victory of New Approach in the Dewhurst 12 months after Teofilo, which came in startlingly similar circumstances, would surely have provided some solace to his trainer. This time it would be Godolphin that provided the sternest test to Bolger's charge, with Fast Company dragging New Approach into a fierce battle and, although the winning margin was a more comfortable half length, the pair still pulled clear of the remainder, headed by one Raven's Pass.
Timeform's assessment at the time was that the pair's performances were at least on par with the efforts of Teofilo and Holy Roman Emperor. Although Fast Company (rated 126) never raced again, New Approach was given the chance to boost the form. Early indications weren't altogether inspiring, a beaten favourite behind Henrythenavigator in both the Newmarket and Irish 2000 Guineas, but New Approach went on to win the Derby at Epsom and the Irish Champion Stakes before ending his racing career by demolishing Twice Over (who would win the race in both of the following two seasons) in the Champion Stakes back at Newmarket, exactly a year after his Dewhurst triumph.
Intense Focus (2008)
A third win running in the Dewhurst for Bolger was rather overshadowed by New Approach's Champion Stakes win, not least because Intense Focus, having recorded just one win from eight previous starts, had been sent off at a relatively unfancied 20/1. Unsurprisingly, it was deemed a substandard renewal of the Dewhurst in most quarters, including by Timeform who gave the winner a rating of just 117, significantly lower than what his two previously successful stablemates had achieved.
Sub-par it might have been, but Intense Focus' Dewhurst was certainly exciting: he led for much of the way and the winning distance was the shortest possible, with the same back to the third. Of those that contested the 2008 Dewhurst, Rip Van Winkle proved by far the best, winning three Group 1s and arguably coming closest of all to toppling Sea The Stars during that one's immortal three-year-old campaign. In contrast, Intense Focus raced just twice again - fruitless on both occasions.
Parish Hall (2011)
Parish Hall's success resembled the triumph of Intense Focus three years earlier in more ways than one. Also returning an SP of 20/1, Parish Hall found himself landing a below-average renewal of the Dewhurst in a less-than-vintage year for the two-year-olds as a whole. Ground conditions were fair to all, but the race itself was muddling, with the runners finishing in a heap.
Parish Hall came into the race with a sole maiden win to his name and on the back of three straight defeats, albeit all at Group level. As with Intense Focus, Timeform responded with a rating of 117.
A leg infection ruled Parish Hall out of his classic engagements in 2012, but with the quality of this year's three-year-olds firmly established as ordinary, he may well have had some more Group-level joy, as evidenced by his beating of Power (won Irish 2000 Guineas), Most Improved (St James's Palace) and Trumpet Major (Craven Stakes) in the Dewhurst. It's likely that time will view Parish Hall in a more favourable light than Intense Focus.
Dawn Approach (2012)??
While New Approach followed the pattern of Teofilo, and Parish Hall that of Intense Focus, Dawn Approach is more a case of things coming full circle. He's from New Approach's first crop of two-year-olds, and has won plenty of fans thanks to a selection of excellent displays this season, not least when landing the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, when he had Richard Hannon's smart duo Olympic Glory (won Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp on Sunday) and Sir Prancealot (subsequent Flying Childers scorer) behind. Another win on Saturday would see this home-bred Jim Bolger charge complete an unbeaten two-year-old campaign and make him a firm favourite for next year's classics. Sound familiar?