Though no match for the high-class Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) on Town Moor, Arrest showed that he belongs at the top level with an admirable effort in defeat, having previously failed to give his running when sent off the 4/1 favourite for the G1 Derby at Epsom. The son of Frankel (GB) had put himself in the picture for the blue riband when running out a wide-margin winner of the G3 Chester Vase S. on the Roodee, while his runner-up finish in the St Leger was preceded by a second pattern-race victory when landing the G3 Geoffrey Freer S. at Newbury.

A return to the last-named venue is now on the agenda for the John and Thady Gosden-trained Arrest as he embarks on what his connections hope will be a productive four-year-old campaign in the top middle-distance events.

“He was consistent all year apart from the Derby, which I think was our own fault,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owners Juddmonte. “John, Thady and myself got wrapped up a little bit in it being the Derby and we probably shouldn't have run as the ground was a bit quick and the track obviously didn't suit.

“He showed his true form on his next couple of starts and has wintered very well. John and Thady were very happy with him when speaking to them last week and the current plan, all being well, is to start in the John Porter. I think we will start off at middle-distances and see how we go. If he shows us in the middle of the summer he wants a bit further, then we will try it. But I think he has shown enough class at a mile and a half to suggest he can be competitive in those top mile-and-a-half races throughout the year.”

Mahon also issued a positive update on fellow Gosden trainee Laurel (GB) (Kingman {GB}), who has been on the sidelines since finishing down the field in last year's G1 Lockinge S. at Newbury. Beaten just once in four starts prior to that, when runner-up in the 2022 G1 Sun Chariot S. at Newmarket, Laurel reportedly has the G2 Duke Of Cambridge S. at Royal Ascot as her main target in the first part of the season.

“Laurel is back in training and John and Thady are happy with her,” Mahon added. “She's just having a slow preparation with a view to getting her to Royal Ascot later in the year, so we will probably just give her a prep run at the end of May or the beginning of June and then it will be straight to Royal Ascot if all is well with her. She is in good shape and seems to have got over her little injury, so with a bit of luck, if she stays injury free she could be an exciting prospect for the year.”

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Continuous wins the Betfred St Leger! @DoncasterRaces #ハーツクライ pic.twitter.com/dVm7G1185g

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) September 16, 2023

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Ballydoyle know what it takes to win this and the number one is Continuous, who comes from the race's premier trial, York's G2 Great Voltigeur S. While the race was set up perfectly for his hold-up style, there was much to like about the fluency with which he dealt with Gregory and co. and Ryan Moore was never going to ride anything else.

“People talk about the tactics that day, but just focus on the fact that he won the best trial for this Classic by nearly four lengths, with Gregory back in third, and he was very strong at the line,” he stated. “Of course, you never know they stay until you try and maybe quicker ground may have been ideal with stamina in mind, but he won on soft ground in France at two and he has very strong credentials.”

Gregory was carrying a three-pound penalty returning from a break in the Voltigeur, having won Royal Ascot's G2 Queen's Vase, and probably set off too fast on the Knavesmire but that performance has obviously failed to keep Frankie interested. This is a big day for the soon-to-be-retired figurehead of the sport, so it is significant that he opts instead for Juddmonte's Arrest.

Siding with Arrest is a gamble, given he was beating probably a substandard field in the G3 Geoffrey Freer S. at Newbury last month, but if it gets softer there is the memory of his heavy defeat of Adelaide River (Ire) (Australia {GB}) in the G3 Chester Vase on testing ground in May. Juddmonte's European racing manager Barry Mahon is aware of the gravitas surrounding Frankie's decision. “It would be special and it's a hot race, it's certainly hard to dismiss much in the race. They are all of a similar level and it's definitely quality over quantity,” he said.

“In fairness to the horse, his record is pretty solid and we made two bad calls with the horse running him on good-to-firm ground at Epsom and [Royal] Ascot. We know he likes an ease in the ground and if you forget those two runs, then his record is pretty outstanding. Over a mile and five and a half at Newbury he looked comfortable enough, so we just have to be hopeful he gets the extra furlong.”

Arrest's trainer John Gosden also has Gregory and Qatar Racing's Melrose H. winner Middle Earth (GB) (Roaring Lion) and he started with Wathnan Racing's representative. “He's got a great mind and he is a pretty laid-back character,” he said. “I trained both the mother and father and he's inherited all the good traits of their mental attitude towards racing. We gave him all the time he required and he's done nothing but shine this year. I think he'll enjoy the distance, although we are perfectly aware it looks like being a vintage St Leger.”

Of Middle Earth, he added, “He's proven he stays the trip and the long straight here tests the tactical speed and the stamina, so he looks like he should be able to answer those two calls. If you'd won a handicap in the style he did at York, that was a tougher race than some of the trials. If you've got the right horse at the right time and he handles the ground, then he has every right to be there.”

The King & The Queen's G3 Gordon S.-winning TDN Rising Star Desert Hero would be the first winner in the Royal colours in this since Dunfermline in 1977, so it would be some landmark. Trainer William Haggas told QIPCO British Champions Series, “I think it would mean the world to everyone in our industry. We have been fortunate for so long to have such stoic Royal patronage, and anything that can enhance that will be good. He won on soft ground at Goodwood and on faster ground at Ascot, so I don't think the ground is a worry. Soft ground will put more emphasis on stamina, but if he relaxes he should stay.”

Rosallion Kicks Off Action In The Champagne

Doncaster's action starts with the G2 Betfred Champagne S., where Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's impressive Listed Pat Eddery S. winner Rosallion (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) has command on all known form. His four-length defeat of Al Musmak (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) looks even better now that the runner-up has won the Listed Ascendant S. and we could be dealing with one of Britain's leading 2000 Guineas hopes. Teme Valley and Ballylinch Stud's G2 Vintage S. runner-up Iberian (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) is the main threat, having finished ahead of Ballydoyle's Mountain Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never) in that Goodwood contest, but anything other than a convincing win for the Richard Hannon trainee will be an anti-climax.

Hannon said of Rosallion, “We were delighted with his run at Ascot and he's come forward a good bit since then. Al Musmak won very well at Haydock and he looks a nice horse, so that was very pleasing. We've won it with Threat, Chindit and Estidhkaar. It's a nice race and it comes at a good time for the big races in the autumn and hopefully this is a nice race on the way to the Dewhurst.”

Charlie Hills said of Iberian, “He ran a good race at Goodwood, but second time out round that track from a bad draw, a combination of track, inexperience and ground caught him out that day. He was a bit on and off the bridle. I was really pleased with how he finished up the straight and I've always liked him. His work has been really good leading up to this race and I would say this racecourse is going to suit him better. He is a very straightforward horse to train at home and his temperament and everything about him is really good.”

He's only gone and done it again making it 2 from 2

ROSALLION is now a Listed winner as he absolutely flies home in the Pat Eddery Stakes under @LeveySean

Congratulations to owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum!#richardhannonracing #RH pic.twitter.com/OGLMieoqyU

— Richard Hannon (@rhannonracing) July 29, 2023

Cachet Confirmed For Sceptre Return

Sunday's card at Doncaster has been boosted by the first sighting of last year's G1 1000 Guineas heroine Cachet (Ire) (Aclaim {Ire}) in the seven-furlong G3 Japan Racing Association Sceptre Fillies' S. Highclere Thoroughbred Racing's star has been off since finishing fifth in the G1 Coronation S. last June and trainer George Boughey is happy to get her back on the track. “She's in as good a form as I could have her considering the lay-off she's had,” he said. “She's been away to Chelmsford and we worked her at Kempton on Thursday morning. She's worked in between on fast ground at home in Newmarket.”

Also on Sunday, Frankie Dettori continue his farewell tour as he takes to Bro Park to partner the defending G3 Stockholm Cup International winner Hard One To Please (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}) in his defence of the feature contest.

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Andrew Balding holds Coltrane close to his heart and is relishing another battle royal. “The great thing about him is he seems to be effective on any ground and in any sort of style of race, which is a big help for these stayers,” he said. “He obviously won the race last year, but he does carry a penalty this year which makes life a lot tougher. It is not a straightforward task, but the horse is really well and he seems to thrive on his racing.”

Trueshan has been absent since finishing fourth behind Coltrane in the Sagaro in May and has undergone a wind operation, so the star stayer of 2021 has questions to answer here. Normandie Stud's progressive Ebor H. runner-up Sweet William (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) represents the Gosdens, who have a line on these through their Gold Cup hero Courage Mon Ami (GB) (Frankel {GB}).

“We think there's more improvement to come and we think he might make up into an Ascot Gold Cup and Goodwood Cup type of horse next year,” jockey Robert Havlin said of the Normandie Stud homebred. “Since we put blinkers on he's been ultra consistent. He's won over two miles and the Ebor was obviously a drop back in trip. He gets the trip well so there are a lot of positives, especially after all the rain. He doesn't need soft ground, but he handles it very well.”

Inquisitively Takes On Big Evs In The Flying Childers

Also at Doncaster on Friday is the G2 Carlsberg Danish Pilsner Flying Childers S., where Wee Sean Gan's Listed Roses S. scorer Inquisitively (GB) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}) looks to turn the tables on Big Evs (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) after their prior meeting in Royal Ascot's Listed Windsor Castle S. Trainer Kevin Philippart De Foy is concerned about the slower ground for Inquisitively, however. “The ground would be a question mark, he won on fast ground at York and so there is a question mark over soft conditions,” he said.  “The horse won well at York and I think the course will suit him. It's a very flat, straight course and very straightforward. He has been in good form since his race at York, I think he took a step forward from that race. He's very straightforward and professional, I don't think anything will be an issue other than the question over the ground.”

All Nine Stand Their Ground For St Leger

There were no withdrawals from Saturday's G1 Betfred St Leger at Doncaster on Thursday, with the major news concerning the decision of Frankie Dettori to ride Juddmonte's Arrest (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) ahead of the fellow Gosden representative Gregory (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}). That leaves Kieran Shoemark with the task of steering the latter, who captured the G2 Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot for Wathnan Racing.

“I'm very happy with my mount in the race and wouldn't swap him,” Shoemark said. “As soon as Frankie made up his mind I found out. He's a high-profile horse in a high-profile race. He's one of the market leaders and to be riding a favourite in a British Classic is hugely exciting. It's where I want to be, so it's a privilege not pressure and I look forward to it.”

Also representing the Gosdens is Qatar Racing's Melrose H. winner Middle Earth (GB) (Roaring Lion), while The King & The Queen's G3 Gordon S.-winning TDN Rising Star Desert Hero (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and Ballydoyle number one Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), who catapulted himself into the picture with his impressive G2 Great Voltigeur S. success, are other notables.

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The Wathnan Racing colourbearer was most recently third to St Leger rival Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) in the G2 Great Voltigeur S. at York last month. He will be partnered by the retiring Frankie Dettori, who has already won the Classic six times including twice for Gosden with Shantou (Alleged) in 1996 and Logician (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in 2019.

“He came out of the race at York in very good order,” said the elder Gosden, who has already won five editions of the British Classic. “If the weather is set fair at Doncaster that won't bother him with it being top of the ground. I have had some luck going from the Voltigeur to the St Leger, but I often feel it is quite close if they have had a hard race and I have had a couple bounce, that can happen. I'm very pleased with him at this stage, he seems in great order and very content in himself.

“He's got a great mind and he is a pretty laid-back character. I trained both the mother and father and he's inherited all their good traits of their mental attitude towards racing. I think he'll enjoy the distance. We are perfectly aware it looks like being a vintage St Leger.”

Qatar Racing's Middle Earth (GB) (Roaring Lion), a winner of the Melrose H., will need to be supplemented to run, while Anthony Oppenheimer's stakes-placed homebred Lion's Pride (GB), another by the late Tweenhills stallion, is also a St Leger prospect. The final member of the quartet is Juddmonte's one-time G1 Betfred Derby favourite Arrest (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), who won the G3 Geoffrey Freer S. in August, however the colt is ground dependent.

“Middle Earth ran a lovely race in the Melrose and I'm really happy with him,” said Gosden. “He has a very strong likelihood, all being well with his bloods and scopes, to be supplemented. Qatar Racing have won the race before and I think they are game to go.

“We're very pleased with Arrest, he took his race very well at Newbury. He's in top order but I think if it's good-to-firm at Doncaster I think you'll find him heading to Paris for the [G2] Prix Chaudenay rather than Doncaster. He's a lovely horse but he rolls his knee and he'll enjoy more what I call the autumn ground.”

Of Lion's Pride Gosden added, “I think there's a likelihood he will run in the race as well, after all there's only one St Leger. His sire was the last horse off the bridle in Masar (Ire)'s Derby but he didn't get the mile-and-a-half. This boy is out of a good source of stamina on the dam's side.”

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Remaining out wide lobbing along on the lead before taking the shortest route around the sweeping home turn, the 5-6 favourite was shaken up in the centre of the track with three furlongs remaining and maintained a high tempo inside the final quarter-mile to easily withstand the late threat of Ching Shih (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) by a geared-down 1 1/2 lengths. Roger Varian trainee Shandoz (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}) fared best of the remainder and finished six lengths adrift in third.

The G1 Derby 10th and G2 King Edward VII S. fifth becomes a record-breaking fifth winner of the contest for Frankie Dettori and a first for the Gosden stable since Presenting (GB) (Mtoto {GB}) obliged in 1995.

“Everyone expected the ground to be a bog, but it's good-to-soft, and he was the Derby favourite so he had to do that,” said Dettori. “He's one card for the St Leger, but let's see how Gregory gets on next Wednesday [in the G2 Great Voltigeur]. He's one of a bunch of top horses John [Gosden] is sending to York, it's a very strong team and I can't wait. Soft ground is not an issue with him and if it's soft at Doncaster it would be fine.”

One ride, one winner @FrankieDettori becomes the winning-most rider in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes by driving home warm favourite Arrest.

Might that be the last time we see Frankie @NewburyRacing? pic.twitter.com/AA8Ee4VS5W

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 19, 2023

Pedigree Notes
Arrest is the seventh of nine foals and one of six scorers from as many runners out of an unraced half-sister to MGSW G1 Nassau S. and G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud placegetter Narniyn (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and multiple stakes winner Temerity (Ind) (Intense Focus). The April-foaled bay is a half-brother to GSW G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup third Dinozzo (Ire) (Lilbourne Lad {Ire}), Listed Rous S. third Spring Loaded (Ire) (Zebedee {GB}), a yearling filly by Wootton Bassett (GB) and a weanling colt by Dark Angel (Ire). Descendants of his third dam Noufiyla (Ire) (Top Ville {Ire}) include MGSW G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup runner-up Maiden Tower (GB) (Groom Dancer) and G1 Prix Marcel Boussac third Copperbeech (Ire) (Red Ransom).

Saturday, Newbury, Britain
BETVICTOR GEOFFREY FREER S.-G3, £70,000, Newbury, 8-19, 3yo/up, 13f 61yT, 2:53.79, g/s.
1–ARREST (IRE), 127, c, 3, by Frankel (GB)
1st Dam: Nisriyna (Ire), by Intikhab
2nd Dam: Narmina (Ire), by Alhaarth (Ire)
3rd Dam: Noufiyla (Ire), by Top Ville (Ire)
(€440,000 Wlg '20 GOFNOV). O-Juddmonte; B-Swordlestown Little (IRE); T-John & Thady Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £39,697. Lifetime Record: G1SP-Fr, 8-4-1-1, $216,481. *1/2 to Dinozzo (Ire) (Lilbourne Lad {Ire}), GSW & G1SP-HK, $1,509,980; and Spring Loaded (Ire) (Zebedee {GB}), SP-Eng, $300,332. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Ching Shih (Ire), 130, f, 4, Lope De Vega (Ire)–Madame Chiang (GB), by Archipenko. O/B-Kirsten Rausing (IRE); T-David Simcock. £15,050.
3–Shandoz (GB), 133, g, 6, Golden Horn (GB)–Shabyt (GB), by Sadler's Wells. 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-Nurlan Bizakov; B-Hesmonds Stud Ltd (GB); T-Roger Varian. £7,532.
Margins: 1HF, 6, 2. Odds: 0.83, 20.00, 12.00.
Also Ran: Luisa Casati (Ire), Kemari (GB), Jack Darcy (Ire), Klondike (GB). Scratched: Enemy (GB).

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What Auguste Rodin lacks in last-time-out form, he makes up for with a mix of reputation and juvenile achievement representing the trainer who has continually bent the accepted perceived knowledge of what is possible in this sport. After all, this is the stable that engineered a Slip Anchor-style Derby win out of Serpentine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a colt who had begun his career with a 16-length 10th of 11 in a Galway maiden. Auguste Rodin, the “special” one as far as all closest to him are concerned, has to go and do it himself now with O'Brien summing it up this week. “The Derby is the race where all the horses come together and then you find out, that's the way it is every year,” he said.

Passing It Down; Is Frankel The New Derby Sire Sensation?

In one of the last Classic face-offs between Galileo and Frankel, the latter looks to have a distinct edge in his bid to cement his position as the next go-to sire in this great race. Galileo's unbeaten son Artistic Star (Ire) hails not from Ballydoyle but from the Ralph Beckett stable and is a big outsider with experience in short supply, while Juddmonte's great supplies Frankie's grand finale Arrest (Ire) and more intriguingly also a sleight of hand two years on from his first winner Adayar (Ire). Unexpectedly, that emphatic Derby hero's full-brother Military Order (Ire) comes here with perhaps stronger credentials having won the Listed Lingfield Derby Trial his 5-year-old sibling surrendered en route. When Arthur Budgett's Oaks runner-up Windmill Girl produced two Derby winners in Blakeney and Morston there was a thought that it might not happen again, such is the implausibility of such an outcome, but we are potentially here again.

The 1969 and 1973 winners were half-brothers, so Anna Salai (Dubawi {Ire}) will be providing the race and her breeding operation with something unique if it again plays out right for the boys in blue on Saturday. Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby said today he is happy with the draw allocated to Military Order as he bids to saddle his third Betfred Derby winner. “He is always going to be going there with the tag as being a Derby winner's full-brother, so everyone is going to ask the questions of 'is he as good?' and 'where does he stand compared to him?' but he looks as though he is physically potentially more there and mentally more there than Adayar at this stage of his career,” Charlie Appleby said. “Regardless of that, Adayar went and won a Derby and this lad has got to go and do it now.”

Prepare For The Ride

Richard Kingscote has the chance to emulate “King Kieren” Fallon, the last jockey to win back-to-back Derbys in 2003 and 2004, on Passenger (Ulysses {Ire}) who carries Workforce-like vibes into this for the Niarchos Family so far denied a Derby triumph. Sir Michael Stoute's assistant James Savage was tellingly not averse to comparing the homebred with last year's winner. “Desert Crown and Passenger are different in many ways, but one thing they are similar in is that they are both clever horses that learnt very quickly,” he said. Like the 1993 hero Commander in Chief, he only appeared for the first time at Newmarket's Craven meeting, where King Power's The Foxes (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) was running second in the signature race before their subsequent coming together in York's Dante.

An Instant Impression?

Surprisingly, given the intensely competitive nature of the Derby, both Geoff Wragg in 1983 and Roger Charlton in 1990 managed to win it in their first season training with Teenoso and Quest For Fame, respectively. Charlie Johnston is attempting the feat this time with a duo including the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud hero Dubai Mile (Ire) (Roaring Lion), who has the edge over the Chester Vase one-two Arrest and Adelaide River (Ire) (Australia {GB}) and very much over Auguste Rodin having finished 17 lengths ahead of that peer in the Guineas.

Sporting the colours of “Mr Derby” Ahmad Al Shaikh, whose outsiders Khalifa Sat (Ire) (Free Eagle {Ire}) and Hoo Ya Mal (GB) (Territories {Ire}) were second in 2020 and 2022, Dubai Mile's Derby success could well have been prophesied by his owner after greeting Hoo Ya Mal. “Next year!” he had said, so no pressure there then Charlie. “He looks great and it is all systems go,” the son of Middleham legend Mark, who fared no better than second in all his tries in the Derby. “The track as we know is a variable that will be an unknown until he has tackled it, but the trip is very much viewed as a positive.”

Click here to view the TDN's Derby Special Edition.

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Meanwhile, in France, a final field of 11 has been declared for Sunday's €1,500,000 G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly. The cast is headed by Jaber Abdullah's G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains hero Marhaba Ya Sanafi (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}), who has drawn post four. TDN Rising Star and supplementary entry Feed The Flame (GB) (Kingman {GB}) has been allocated stall six. There was good news for connections of likely favourite Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), with Yeguada Centurion's homebred sensation drawn in two.

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“I have been fortunate enough to win The Derby twice and it is still the most famous race in the world for us. When I started my career as a jockey, first of all you want to get a ride in it and then try to win it. I've had over 20 rides in it and this is my last go. At least I am going into my last Derby with a great chance,” said Dettori after the gallop. “This year is a lot of lasts. I went to Rome yesterday and it was my last Derby there. I saw the vice Prime Minister and he gave me a plaque congratulating me on my career. Now it's my last Derby here and I have a live chance, which is good.”

Co-trainer John Gosden was equally pleased, adding: “This horse can change gears, absolutely. He's a big boy and he proved he stayed the other day [in the May 10 G3 Chester Vase] when he handled the conditions. He doesn't need it to be like that.

“Stamina is a requirement in this race, the same for the GI Kentucky Derby going a mile and a quarter for the Americans, they see it as a marathon. He's got the stamina, no problem.”

Arrest visited the winner's enclosure twice in 2022 and was having his first run of the season in the Chester Vase.

Running Lion and Oisin Murphy in the irons on the gallop at Epson Downs | John Hoy/The Jockey Club

Not long behind her stablemate, Running Lion (GB) (Roaring Lion) worked just under a mile with three-time champion jockey Oisin Murphy in the irons, who is looking to continue his noteworthy return to the races after serving a 14-month ban for alcohol and Covid breaches. The grey won the Listed Howden Pretty Polly S. at Newmarket on her last start and appeared to handle the track well Monday before pulling clear of her lead horse.

“We were obviously delighted with Running Lion at Newmarket. She came out of the race well and today she went down very relaxed,” said Murphy afterwards. “Once I got her organised, although she didn't take too much organising, I let her go forward in the straight but I resisted the temptation to ask her for an effort because I thought the Pretty Polly with a little bit of dig in the ground wasn't long ago.”

Her rider does admit, however, that he has concerns regarding the stamina requirements for a contest of this calibre, ones echoed by the senior Gosden:

“Stamina-wise you never really know until you go a mile and a half. Everyone thinks it is a downhill track but it rises 150ft before you think about coming down hill and of course that last section where it climbs again at the finish can catch a lot of them out on stamina. Both the fillies have a lot of speed. It's hard to say until you know with the trip, they're both bred to be mile-and-a-quarter fillies and the last part is always the key, we don't know. You can't practice a race over a mile and a half at home, I don't think.”

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Maintaining a three-wide passage off the rail and racing on fresher ground in second for most of this G1 Derby trial, the 10-11 favourite was sent to the front leaving the half-mile pole behind and stayed on strongly thereafter, crossing the line underneath the stands' side rail, to easily account for Ballydoyle's Criterium third Adelaide River (Ire) (Australia {GB}) by a geared-down 6 1/2 lengths. Hadrianus (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was the only one of three other rivals visible to the naked eye and finished 10 lengths further back in third.

“He handled conditions well and the trainer had him fitter than he thought he did,” joked John Gosden after notching his first success in the race. “Frankie was anxious to stay on the fresh ground, so you'll notice he stayed a bit wide and in the straight he nearly took out the grandstand. He's a delightful colt, he's gone and won well over the trip. He's done nothing but mature and improve, it was the full mile-and-a-half today and we'll leave all options open for Epsom. I think he enjoyed the ground and if Epsom was fast I don't think he'd enjoy that sort of surface. We put him in the Arc on Tuesday and he's got the scope to train on at three, and four and five. Enable raced until she was six.”

Dettori added, “He won very easily, but it's very hard to judge horses on this ground and to know the quality of the field. He can only win by a good margin, he's a good size and he's going places. We know he stays well and doesn't mind the ground. We liked him as a 2-year-old, but he was very weak. He's strengthened up and we knew the ground was no problem and the distance was no problem. The race fell apart three out, but he couldn't have won any easier.”

Juddmonte's Barry Mahon continued, “That was great and we're over the moon. It was sort of Plan C [to come here], but at least it's worked out and he's won in good style. We'll wait and see how he comes out of this and see what the ground is like [at Epsom]. We're in a nice position, in that he's in everywhere, and he's won his trial and he's fit, so we can pick and choose where we want to go.”

Pedigree Notes
Arrest is the seventh of nine foals and one of six scorers out of an unraced half to MGSW G1 Nassau S. and G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud placegetter Narniyn (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and multiple stakes winner Temerity (Ind) (Intense Focus). The April-foaled bay is a half-brother to GSW G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup third Dinozzo (Ire) (Lilbourne Lad {Ire}), Listed Rous S. third Spring Loaded (Ire) (Zebedee {GB}), a yearling filly by Wootton Bassett (GB) and a weanling colt by Dark Angel (Ire). Descendants of his third dam Noufiyla (Ire) (Top Ville {Ire}) include MGSW G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup runner-up Maiden Tower (GB) (Groom Dancer) and G1 Prix Marcel Boussac third Copperbeech (Ire) (Red Ransom).

Wednesday, Chester, Britain
BOODLES CHESTER VASE S.-G3, £120,000, Chester, 5-10, 3yo, c/g, 12f 63yT, 2:52.31, sf.
1–ARREST (IRE), 128, c, 3, by Frankel (GB)
1st Dam: Nisriyna (Ire), by Intikhab
2nd Dam: Narmina (Ire), by Alhaarth (Ire)
3rd Dam: Noufiyla (Ire), by Top Ville (Ire)
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (€440,000 Wlg '20 GOFNOV). O-Juddmonte; B-Swordlestown Little (IRE); T-John & Thady Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £67,224. Lifetime Record: G1SP-Fr, 5-3-1-1, $157,353. *1/2 to Dinozzo (Ire) (Lilbourne Lad {Ire}), GSW & G1SP-HK, $1,509,980; and Spring Loaded (Ire) (Zebedee {GB}), SP-Eng, $300,332. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Adelaide River (Ire), 128, c, 3, Australia (GB)–Could It Be Love, by War Front. O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Westerberg; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. £25,596.
3–Hadrianus (Ire), 128, c, 3, Galileo (Ire)–Laugh Out Loud (GB), by Clodovil (Ire). 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (62,000gns Ylg '21 TADEY). O-Susan & John Waterworth; B-C O P Hanbury (IRE); T-Charlie Johnston. £12,816.
Margins: 6HF, 10, 97. Odds: 0.91, 2.25, 6.00.
Also Ran: Duke Of Oxford (GB), Galactic Jack (Ire).

A farewell winner on the Roodee for @FrankieDettori

Arrest wins the Boodles @ChesterRaces Vase with ease for the Gosdens and @JuddmonteFarms… pic.twitter.com/LtygIXzK98

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) May 10, 2023

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