Too Darn Hot Ready for Qatar Prix Jean Prat
Too Darn Hot broke on to the flat horse racing scene in style last year. As a two-year-old, he swept all before him when claiming four victories, although 2019 has seen the horse struggling to past the winning post first.
Frankie Dettori steered the horse to a maiden victory at Sandown in 2018 before returning to the same racecourse to win the Solario Stakes which was a Group 3 encounter.
The Champagne Stakes was then won at Doncaster last September as part of the St Leger meeting, while the best was yet to come as we saw Too Darn Hot triumph in the Darley Dewhurst Stakes, a Group 1 race on 13 October.
However, it’s been a series of near-misses for the three-year-old this season and trainer John Gosden believes that he’s been doing his horse a disservice this year considering that he’s been running over distances that aren’t completely perfect.
The horse hit the post when finishing second to Telecaster in the Dubai Dante Stakes at York, while it was another runner-up position in the Irish 2,000 Guineas before a creditable third place at Royal Ascot last month.
Too Darn Hot was sent off as the 2/1 favourite on that particular occasion when running in the St James’s Palace Stakes, although it was Circus Maximus and King of Comedy who were able to pip him to first and second.
Gosden reckons that the horse now needs to drop back in trip and that means that the Prix Jean Prat is a likely destination, with the French race expected to be suited to the requirements of the horse.
Speaking on Sunday to the Racing Post, the trainer said: "Too Darn Hot worked very nicely yesterday morning and the plan is to go for the Prix Jean Prat.
“I think we've been running him beyond his trip. The stiff mile of the Curragh, the stiff mile of Ascot, and an extended mile and a quarter at York.
"I've made it very clear that I think we got it wrong with this horse this year and hopefully the straight seven furlongs will suit him, as I think an easy mile would.
"He's a very fast horse. He's quick and his best races were the Dewhurst and the Champagne Stakes and I think it’s about time we played to his strengths."
Gosden has also targeted another overseas race for the horse as we get towards the end of the summer. The Prix Jacques Le Marois on August 11 is another potential French target for Too Darn Hot.
Gosden added: "I'd still come over a mile at Deauville. He's basically very quick and Frankie says he's a speed horse. We got it wrong trying to stretch him out and we learnt the hard way.
"He had the race won at Ascot and ran out of stamina. But too much speed is no bad thing."
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