Having conquered Royal Ascot, Stonestreet Stables’ Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) has dead aim at Sunday’s G1 Darley Prix Morny at Deauville. Kept company by Frankie Dettori after the Italian was denied the chance to ride at York this week due to new quarantine measures, the June 20 G2 Queen Mary S. winner has pole position in the six-furlong test after Sacred (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) and Happy Romance (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) boosted that form on the Knavesmire on Thursday. Already successful here with the Queen Mary heroine Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy) in 2016, having garnered the race with another Royal Ascot scorer No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) three years before, Wesley Ward is hoping for a rare treble and said, “She’s doing great. She’s been working real good–just cruising up and doing things nicely. I hope she’s got a good chance, hopefully the ground won’t be too soft. It’s great Frankie has stayed in France for the week so he can ride. He must fancy her chances, I guess, and it’s always good to have Frankie in your corner.”
Campanelle meets one of the most talented of the precocious colts around in The Queen’s Tactical (GB) (Toronado {Ire}), who took the Listed Windsor Castle S. at Royal Ascot June 17 before following up in rain-eased ground in the G2 July S. at Newmarket July 9. His owner-breeder’s racing manager John Warren said, “Tactical left Kingsclere on Friday morning, with Andrew [Balding] reporting that he couldn’t be happier with the horse. He has been aimed at this Group 1 since winning the July S. and, up to this point, everything is going to plan. We are very hopeful he remains on target to give the Queen great pleasure with this cracking homebred.”
Marie McCartan’s Nando Parrado (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) is the third winner on show from the Royal meeting, having shook Berkshire with a 150-1 success in the June 20 G2 Coventry S. Trainer Clive Cox is looking for him to show that was no fluke. “I’m very pleased with him. Obviously his Coventry success was very pleasing and we’ve had a nice healthy time in between,” he said. “We had an entry in the Papin. He wasn’t quite right for that and I’m pleased he’s in very good order and he’s heading over to France on Sunday. He won’t mind getting his toe in.”
In a renewal with the potential to be dominated by the foreign contingent, John Dance’s impressive July 17 Haydock novice winner Rhythm Master (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) is a fascinating contender and his owner commented, “We’ve only ever really done this with Laurens–who went from novice to group company also at Deauville–so to be doing this again and going two rungs higher, it feels very exciting but also incredibly scary at the same time. We were looking at the races we were in and we just felt this was an opportunity. Richard [Fahey] obviously really likes the horse and felt that we should shoot for the stars.”
Mick Channon saddles the unbeaten Cairn Gorm (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), who has vital experience of the course and distance having already tackled the Aug. 2 G3 Prix de Cabourg and his trainer said, “He knows how to win, which is always a good thing. He’s always been a good horse, but it is a good race. He’s won at the track before, so we’ll see how we get on.”
Perhaps the main contender for France is Alain Jathiere, Alain Chopard and Guy Pariente’s unbeaten Livachope (Fr) (Goken {Fr}), but he has stamina to prove stepping up from five furlongs for the first time having taken ParisLongchamp’s G3 Prix du Bois July 2.
Supporting the Morny is the 10-furlong G1 Darley Prix Jean Romanet, with Dettori teaming up with Shadwell’s Nazeef (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) who followed wins over a mile in the June 16 G2 Duke of Cambridge S. and July 10 G1 Falmouth S. with a third placing over this trip in Goodwood’s G1 Nassau S. July 30. Deep ground is an unknown, but it was soft at Newmarket in the Falmouth and John Gosden’s son Thady is at least confident of her stamina. “She’s in good form and this looks the obvious race,” he said. “I’d say you can be fairly confident that she stays 10 furlongs.”
Joseph O’Brien’s July 23 Listed Silver S. winner Bolleville (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) returns to France, having been previously trained by Pascal Bary, while Alain de Royer-Dupre supplies The Aga Khan’s July 19 Listed Prix de la Pepiniere scorer Dariyma (Fr) (City Zip) and James Rowsell and Steve Ashley’s Ambition (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) tries her hand following her career-best win in the G2 Prix Corrida at Lyon-Parilly June 6.
George Strawbridge’s Call the Wind (GB) (Frankel {GB}) is the star turn in the G2 Darley Prix Kergorlay, while the G2 Darley Prix de Pomone sees Frankie partner the Corrida runner-up Grand Glory (GB) (Olympic Glory {Ire}) for the Gianluca Bietolini stable as she bids to confirm the form of that race with the third-placed Spirit of Nelson (Ire) (Mount Nelson {GB}), who has subsequently won the July 22 G3 Grand Prix de Vichy.
At Sandown, the G3 Atalanta S. sees ‘TDN Rising Star’ Quadrilateral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) reappear after a break having finished third in the G1 Coronation S. at Royal Ascot June 20. Also third in the G1 1000 Guineas, the G1 Fillies’ Mile heroine does not have far to go to get back to her prime. “She’s run two very good races in fairness, to be third in both the 1000 Guineas and the Coronation,” Teddy Grimthorpe commented. “It appeared afterwards that she had a sinus infection and an infected tooth, so we’ve let her recover from those and had them sorted out. She’s been in good form since and even though she hasn’t won, you could argue that she still sets the standard.”
Her rivals include the Falmouth runner-up Billesdon Brook (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}) from the Richard Hannon stable, which also supplies the likely favourite for the G3 Betway Solario S. as the impressive July 23 course-and-distance scorer Etonian (Ire) (Olympic Glory {Ire}).
Naas’s card features the G3 Irish Stallion Farms EBF Stanerra S., in which The Aga Khan’s Kastasa (Ire) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}) can continue her ascent up the ranks among the country’s stayers following her successful seasonal return in Gowran Park’s Listed Vintage Tipple S. over this 14-furlong trip July 25. Also on the fixture is the Irish EBF Ballyhane S., a €320,000 median auction race for 2-year-olds whose sires had a median of no more than €75,000 last year. Turned out quickly having run second in Thursday’s £180,000 Goffs UK Premier Yearling S. at York, Russell Jones’s Devious Company (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}) who was also runner-up in Newmarket’s G2 Superlative S. July 11 and the G2 Vintage S. at Goodwood July 28 meets Johnny Murtagh’s Measure of Magic (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}), who was third in this track’s Listed Marwell S. last time. The form of that five-furlong Aug. 3 contest looks stronger now that the winner Miss Amulet (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}) has won the G2 Lowther S. and the runner-up Frenetic (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) has taken the Listed Curragh S.
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