Breeders' Cup | Horse Racing Free Tips

High-Class Field Of Six Remain For Saturday’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes

The 2021 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes at Ascot looks set to provide a memorable battle of the generations as a high-class field of six is headlined by the star 4-year-old filly Love (Aidan O'Brien), who will take on this year's Derby winner Adayar (Charlie Appleby).

The Group 1 contest offers the winner an expenses-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Longines Turf this fall at Del Mar.

A dual-Classic winner last year, Love returned to action this season by winning the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot. She will be joined by her Group 1 winning stablemate Broome.

Wonderful Tonight (David Menuisier) is also declared for the race, having gotten the better of Broome when winning the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at the Royal Meeting in June.

Further intrigue is provided by Mishriff (John & Thady Gosden), who has recorded international success this year in Saudi Arabia and Dubai and steps up to a mile and a half in this country for the first time.

Completing the line-up is Lone Eagle (Martyn Meade), the other 3-year-old runner in the race who was second in the Irish Derby, form which has already been franked by the winner Hurricane Lane.

Ahead of the race, Adayar's trainer Charlie Appleby, said: “I'm delighted with his preparation; he looks a million dollars. It's going to be a fantastic race to watch hopefully and whoever wins it will be top of the mile and a half division.

“It looks at the moment as if it was a good Derby. It [winning the King George and the Derby] hasn't been done since Galileo so for Adayar to turn up here is a huge occasion for everybody.

“It's a challenge and now we're stepping up into the big boy division so it's going to be a fascinating race. We're looking forward to it and excited to see what Adayar does.”

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‘Silver Lining’: Due To EHV Disruption At Saratoga, Swiss Skydiver Will Aim For Whitney

Trainer Kenny McPeek told the Thoroughbred Daily News on Wednesday that he plans to start star filly Swiss Skydiver in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes on Aug. 7 at Saratoga. The 4-year-old Daredevil filly had been targeting this Sunday's G3 Shuvee at the Spa, but entries from Barn 86, where McPeek's horses are stabled, are currently not being accepted due to an EHV-1 quarantine.

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) placed Barn 86 under a precautionary quarantine on Thursday, July 15 due to a positive case of Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) in that barn.

The unnamed, unraced filly, who is trained by Jorge Abreu, was sent to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital on Sunday, July 11, after developing a fever. She was then tested for a number of potential ailments, and a positive test for EHV-1 was returned on Thursday, July 15. The filly is currently recovering.

Subsequently, the New York State Veterinarian and New York State Equine Medical Director implemented a 21-day quarantine of Barn 86 retroactive to Sunday, July 11. Should there be no additional cases in Barn 86, the quarantine will be lifted on Aug. 1.

The 46 horses stabled in Barn 86, which is home to stalls for Abreu and trainer Kenny McPeek, will continue to be monitored daily for fever and other signs of illness. As of Tuesday, July 20, no horses in Barn 86 have developed a fever or displayed any symptoms of the illness.

Horses from Barn 86 have been allowed to train, with separate training hours from the general population.

McPeek believes the nine furlongs of the Whitney would be a good fit for Swiss Skydiver, and noted that she has been training well. The filly has not raced since finishing third in the G1 Apple Blossom on April 17.

“There might be a silver lining to this after all,” McPeek told the TDN.

The Whitney is a “Win and You're In” race for the Breeders' Cup Classic this November at Del Mar.

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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Maxfield Remains On Top Of Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings

For the fourth consecutive week, Godolphin's Maxfield is rated No. 1 in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, a weekly poll of the top 10 horses in contention for the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). This year's Longines Breeders' Cup Classic will be run at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, California, on Nov. 6 as the final race of the 38^th Breeders' Cup World Championships.

The 4-year-old Maxfield, who has won three of four starts this year, including the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs on June 26, leads the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings with 20 first-place votes and 299 total votes. Godolphin's 3-year-old Essential Quality, the Belmont Stakes (G1) winner, retained second place with 276 votes. Trained by Brad Cox, Essential Quality won last year's TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1). Boat Racing, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss's Hot Rod Charlie moved from fourth to third place this week with 219 votes. Trained by Doug O'Neill, Hot Rod Charlie crossed the wire first in Saturday's TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) but was disqualified for interference and placed seventh. Juddmonte's 3-year-old Mandaloun finished a nose behind Hot Rod Charlie in the Haskell and was declared the race winner following the stewards' ruling. Mandaloun, also trained by Cox, jumped from ninth to fourth in the rankings with 172 votes.

Places five through eight in the rankings remained unchanged. Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go, the third Cox-trained horse in the top 10, is in fifth place with 147 votes. This year, Knicks Go has won the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park and the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (G3) on July 2, which he captured by 10 ½ lengths. Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's 4-year-old Silver State is in sixth place with 128 votes. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Silver State is unbeaten in four starts this year, including victories in the Oaklawn Handicap (G2) and Belmont's Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap (G1). WinStar Farm's 4-year-old Country Grammer, winner of the Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) at Santa Anita Park, is in seventh place with 87 votes.

St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska, trained by Fausto Gutierrez, is in eighth place with 84 votes. Letruska has won four of five starts this year, including a 5 ¾-length victory in the Fleur de Lis Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs on June 26. Wertheimer and Frere's 4-year-old Happy Saver, trained by Todd Pletcher, moved from 10th to ninth this week. Happy Saver, who lost his first race in six starts when he finished third in the Suburban (G2) at Belmont Park on July 3, has 64 votes. George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds Corp.'s 4-year-old Max Player, who won the Suburban, is in 10^th place. Also trained by Asmussen, Max Player has 63 votes. Godolphin's Mystic Guide, who was third in last week's rankings, has been taken out of training due to an injury.

Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings – July 20, 2021*

Rank	Horse	Votes	First-Place Votes	Previous Week
1	Maxfield	299	20	1
2	Essential Quality	276	8	2
3	Hot Rod Charlie	219	1	4
4	Mandaloun	172	0	9
5	Knicks Go	147	1	5
6	Silver State	128	0	6
7	Country Grammer	87	2	7
8	Letruska	84	0	8
9	Happy Saver	64	0	10
10	Max Player	63	0	12

*Note – The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

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The 2021 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, which will be run at 1 ¼ miles on the main track, is limited to 14 starters. The race will be broadcast live on NBC.

The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings are determined by a panel of leading Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers and members of the Breeders' Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel. Rankings will be announced each week through Oct. 11. A list of voting members can be found here.

In the Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, each voter rates horses on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.

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Breeders’ Cup Winner Audarya ‘In Really Good Form’ Ahead Of Nassau Stakes

It is 17 years since James Fanshawe's Soviet Song's came out on top in a thrilling finish in the Sussex Stakes, and the Newmarket handler is hoping that his star mare, Breeders' Cup winner Audarya can herself scale the heights and claim Group 1 glory at the Qatar Goodwood Festival.

The daughter of Wootton Basset made an excellent seasonal reappearance at Royal Ascot when just failing to reel in Love in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes, and her trainer is delighted with her preparation for the Nassau Stakes, a 1 1/4-mile British Champions Series contest next Thursday, July 29.

Fanshawe, speaking from his Pegasus Stables in Newmarket on Monday morning, said:

“Audarya seems in really good form. We've had the Qatar Nassau Stakes in mind for a while and she's been training well since Ascot. You never quite know how fit they are after such a long gap between races, but she put in a good performance and we've been steering her towards this race ever since Ascot.”

Fanshawe is hopeful that Audarya will come on for that reappearance behind Love.

“The handicapper kept her rating at 117 after the Prince Of Wales's Stakes but I felt it was a really good performance. I hope she can improve again. It shows how far she's come, given that she started off in a Group 1 this year. Last year, her first win of the season came on her third start when winning a handicap off 99 on the 2nd August at Newcastle, so this season already looks very different.

An undoubted strength of Audarya is her versatility, with Fanshawe very relaxed by both the undulations at Goodwood and the ground.

“She won her Group 1s at Deauville and Keeneland which are both flat tracks, but she did win a handicap at Goodwood over 1-mile as a three-year-old where she proved she can handle the track. In terms of ground, she has run on everything! It was very testing when she won the Prix Jean Romanet at Deauville and they broke the track record on firm ground when she won the Filly and Mare Turf at Keeneland, she's very versatile.”

Talented 3-year-old fillies, including Snow Lantern, Snowfall and Santa Barbara, are all entered into the Qatar Nassau Stakes and if any of them turn, up will receive 9lbs from Audarya.

Fanshawe said: “I was having a look at the record of 3-year-olds in the race which is very good – five of the last six winners have been three. They get 9lbs from the older fillies and mares which is a lot of weight, but it's the same as at Ascot and we go there with a filly who is in good form and hopefully we can overcome that.”

Audarya has had five different jockeys in her 14 career starts but Fanshawe is hoping to retain the services of William Buick who rode her at Royal Ascot.

“Circumstances have meant that we've had a few different jockeys ride her, but William (Buick) seemed to get on well with her in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes and hopefully he can ride her next Thursday.”

One other significant James Fanshawe runner at the Qatar Goodwood Festival could come in the shape of Fresh, who finished secondin the Wokingham Handicap on the final day of Royal Ascot. The 4-year-old will head to the Unibet Stewards' Cup on Saturday, July 31, so long as the ground isn't too fast.

Speaking about the son of Bated Breath, Fanshawe said: “Fresh is in really good form, he worked nicely on Saturday. One proviso with him is that he needs to have some ease in the ground, he's just a better horse with give in the ground. Hopefully we'll get plenty of rain after the Nassau Stakes – it can chuck it down as much as it likes on Friday before the Stewards' Cup!”

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