Bucanero Fuerte sets the standard in Cork Stakes
The 4.02 at Cork, the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Cork Stakes over 6f, looks a race where there is little point getting too clever.
On the figures, Bucanero Fuerte is the one they all have to beat. He sits clear at the top of the HRB TimeWise Master ratings and, more importantly, he brings the best form into the race by some distance. This is a horse who won a Group 3 and a Listed race last season and was placed in Group 1 company. In a Listed sprint on soft ground, that is the standout profile.
The market has latched on to him and rightly so. He goes well fresh, his yard is in form, and he has enough class to absorb most of the questions this race throws up. There is some early pace in the line-up and Comment Shaper suggests a proper test, with two front runners and strong pressure likely up front. Normally that would be enough to have a good look at taking on a pace horse, but Bucanero Fuerte is not a one-dimensional trailblazer. His recent profile suggests he can keep finding, and that makes him far more solid than the usual speedster in a race run on soft ground.
King Cuan is the obvious danger and the only one who makes serious appeal against the favourite. He is ranked second on HRB, which matters because the top two have the strongest historical edge in these ratings, and his run behind Art Power in a soft-ground Group 3 last autumn stands out. He is likely to be played late, and if the pace collapses he is the one best placed to pick up the pieces. He is a proper danger, not just an each-way filler.
After those two, the case for the rest starts to thin out.
Unique Journey has race fitness on his side and arrives in good order after a solid Curragh return, but he is stepping from strong handicap form into a deeper Listed contest and still has to find more.
Thunderbear has useful bits of form and did win a Listed race at Naas, but he is not the easiest to trust and his overall profile is patchier than the top pair.
Kerdos has the back-class and soft ground is in his favour, but he is still trying to prove that his best days have not gone. He has also changed yards since his Group 2 Temple Stakes win for Clive Cox, and while his Dundalk comeback was fair enough, it was not the sort of run that demands support in a race of this nature.
The rest look up against it. Navassa Island is honest but does not win often. Wannabe Royal has pace but looks short of the required level. Soldier’s Tree, Chicago Call and Magical Vision all need marked improvement.
So the race comes down to the obvious pair. The shape gives King Cuan a chance, but the class and ratings edge sit firmly with Bucanero Fuerte. In a race where the temptation will be to search for something at a bigger price, the sensible call is to stay with the best horse.
Verdict: Bucanero Fuerte
Main danger: King Cuan
Strength of selection: Strong