G3 Sirenia S. | Horse Racing Free Tips

Can The Real Auguste Rodin Stand Up In Irish Champion Stakes?

He has become something of an enigma, but Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) has the x-factor most dream of despite his sharp falls from grace and has the ball in his court ahead of Saturday's G1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion S. Adept on Epsom's lively surface either side of unequal struggles through the rain-dampened sod at Newmarket and Ascot, Ballydoyle's beau ideal has the aid of the current heatwave at a Leopardstown track that he has already mastered when on the rise as a juvenile. Whatever the reason for his white-flag moments in the 2000 Guineas and King George, this is a colt that has proven that he can truly shift when it rides on top and none will be finishing to greater effect.

Like all good Derby winners, Auguste Rodin has a nemesis in King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) and Ryan Moore has his sights on that rival above all others.”King Of Steel probably deserves to head the betting given the way he beat our Voltigeur winner Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) at Royal Ascot and backed that up with a good third in the King George, but don't forget Auguste Rodin beat him fair and square in the Derby and he showed a lot of speed to win that day,” he said. “My colt obviously has a big question to answer after his lifeless run in the King George, but if he returns to his Epsom form then he has a big chance.”

Aidan O'Brien added, “We're really happy with him, the circumstances are all different for this. It's a mile and a quarter, quicker ground, he's drawn in rather than out and we've been happy with him since Ascot. There are a lot of things different this time. Ryan felt him come off the bridle early last time and didn't take a chance, he took the decision to protect him rather than damage him, which definitely wasn't the wrong thing.”

Amo Racing's game-changing King Of Steel, who at this stage could be argued has the edge in their private dispute having run a bigger average over their two encounters, is one of the best big horses of recent times and Ascot's mile and a half on soft ground would not have been his bag either. At least he kept fighting in the wake of the older, more seasoned boys up ahead and this, a qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf, is a golden opportunity to settle the argument once and for all.

Kevin Stott, who has been catapulted to the limelight by his partnership with this colossus, believes he is on the one with the bragging rights at present. “I wouldn't swap him for anything in the race and honestly believe he's the one they all have to beat,” he said on his William Hill blog. ” Going that slightly quicker tempo should allow him to get into a rhythm quicker and I can't wait to get back on board him again. He's been given plenty of time to get over his run in the King George and while it was a hard race, we think he'll have learnt a lot from it and I expect him to step forward mentally as much as anything here. He could easily go back to up in trip, but we feel this might be where he is at his optimum so the fact we haven't actually run him over it is something we are all really looking forward to.”

At this stage, the older horses hold sway after the big summer clashes and with the likes of TDN Rising Stars Onesto (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in here there is no guarantee that the Classic generation will win out. Nashwa is probably a dubious stayer at this distance and has the QEII written all over her, so Onesto looks the more intriguing given that he was less suited to the easier ground 12 months ago than Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}). He has arguably shown more in one run in the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois than that rival has in his major tests this term and this is undoubtedly the French colt's big moment.

Luxembourg has been so disappointing since his dynamic success in the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup that it looks as if he is on the downward curve, while Shadwell's Alflaila (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) needs more than a fair share of Owen Burrows spell-casting if he is to jump from the G2 York S. to these kind of heights.

Is The Matron The Graveyard Of The Favourites?

Leopardstown's G1 Coolmore America “Justify” Matron S. is prone to surprise results, with five of the last six winners priced at 10-1 or bigger and two of them trading at 20-1 and 25-1. Perhaps it is the slight change of the season throwing the midsummer femmes fatales off track and bringing the autumn goddesses into their element, but this is a race where the formbook rarely holds water. With that in mind, The Aga Khan's G1 Irish 1000 Guineas and G1 Coronation S. heroine Tahiyra (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) is in the same boat that her opposing stablemate Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) was 12 months ago as she returns from her sojourn in this “Win and You're In” for the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

Homeless Songs looked a “good thing” back then and faltered, much as Winter (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), Fancy Blue (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) had done in the preceding renewals. This ground is as quick as connections of Homeless Songs would like, while Tahiyra needs to do more than she has in her last two races to justify short odds. Perhaps Juddmonte's unflinching Zarinsk (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) is the answer, given her relentless run of success in her native country, or the newly-blinkered Meditate (Ire) (No Nay Never).

Tahiyra's jockey Chris Hayes thinks she has what it takes to hold on to her mantle of leading 3-year-old filly miler. “She just finds everything so easy–she finds going fast easy, she finds going slow easy and there are no issues or anything with her,” he said. “I've sat on her plenty and she has strengthened up quite well–she's a stronger filly than she was earlier in the year.”

Moyglare Stud's Fiona Craig warned that Homeless Songs may yet be taken out of the Matron. “Homeless Songs is in good shape, she might be a week or two short and if Leopardstown don't water and it stays as hot and sunny as this and the ground is fast she probably won't run, but she's declared and we'll just see,” she said.

Can Shaquille Get Away With A Slow Start Again?

Saturday's third Group 1 is at Haydock and with the heat unrelenting the Betfair Sprint Cup is to staged on unusually fast ground which will not daunt connections of the seemingly-flawless G1 Commonwealth Cup and G1 July Cup hero Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}). That said, his tendency to gift rivals a headstart might catch up with him eventually as it did the habitually stalls-wary Harry Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). In terms of sheer ability, the Camacho colt has a healthy advantage over a collection of sprinters that have found many ways to undermine their reputations.

Shaquille has undergone stalls schooling with specialists Craig and Jake Witherford and Camacho's husband and assistant Steve Brown is hoping they have got to the bottom of that particular quirk.

“You'd rather we had a conventional situation, but we haven't in his last two races. We've acknowledged that we had a problem, we've tried to do something about it, we're pleased with what happened at home and we hope to see that on the track on the day,” he said. “He looks really fit and well and everything has gone to plan. We planned four good bits of work, which he's done, and we haven't missed a day with him–I don't think we can have any gripes about his preparation at all.”

If there is one unknown in the line-up it is Peter Harris's Mill Stream (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) and while his last two wins in Deauville's Listed Prix Moonlight Cloud and G3 Prix de Meautry leave him with a bridge still to cross, he is at least a young colt on the up with confidence high. One of the older brigade who has been at times frustrating is Cheveley Park Stud's talented Sacred (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), but she is at least still unexposed at this trip with her four outings over six resulting in a narrow second to Khaadem (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in Royal Ascot's G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee S. in June. She will love the flat track, fast surface and fast pace and this could be her day at last.

Sacred's jockey Tom Marquand said, “Going back to a flat six furlongs on fast ground should be right up her alley and hopefully we will see her back to where she was before. She has shown on so many occasions that she belongs at this level. Hopefully she can get the job done on Saturday.”

The Supporting Cast

This is one of the European season's finest weekends and Saturday's action is boosted by the appearance of Ballydoyle's TDN Rising Star Diego Velazquez (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in the G2 KPMG Champions Juvenile S., a “Win and You're In” for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf; and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf hero Victoria Road (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) in the G2 Dullingham Park S. on the Leopardstown card. There is also Kempton's G3 September S., which sees the high-class Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}) tackle a mile and a half for the first time, and G3 Sirenia S. where TDN Rising Star Eben Shaddad (Calyx {GB}) puts his reputation on the line for Prince Faisal bin Khaled and Najd Stud and the Gosdens.

Sunday's Fixtures Set

Sunday's Curragh card and the ParisLongchamp Arc Trials fixture were firmed up on Friday, with Aidan O'Brien suggesting that the stable's big 2-year-olds City Of Troy (Justify) and Henry Longfellow (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) could line up in the G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National S. Declared alongside each other in opposition to the G1 Phoenix S. hero Bucanero Fuerte (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), the pair of TDN Rising Stars would make for a stellar clash.

“It's possible they could both run,” O'Brien said. “Obviously City Of Troy would prefer the ground to be quick, whereas Henry Longfellow handles an ease but they are both in good form.” The stable's multiple Group 1-winning stayer Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is one of five in the G1 Irish St Leger, while their unbeaten TDN Rising Star Ylang Ylang (GB) (Frankel {GB}) heads the nine fillies engaged in the G1 Moyglare Stud S.

Last year's G1 Flying Five heroine Highfield Princess (Fr) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) has nine to beat in her repeat bid, while in Paris the eight fillies confirmed for the G1 Qatar Prix Vermeille include the starlets Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) and Warm Heart (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Jean-Louis Bouchard's G1 Grand Prix de Paris hero Feed The Flame (GB) (Kingman {GB}) is back in the G2 Qatar Prix Niel.

The post Can The Real Auguste Rodin Stand Up In Irish Champion Stakes? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Eve Lodge Likely For Fred Darling

Group 3 winner Eve Lodge (GB) (Ardad {Ire}) is pointing to Newbury's G3 Sirenia S. on Apr. 16. The Charlie Fellowes trainee was last seen running ninth in the Sept. 25 G1 Cheveley Park S. The Mathis Stables, LLC runner has wintered well and holds a G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas entry. If she does not start in the Sirenia, she would instead run slightly earlier that month in the G3 Nell Gwyn S. at Newmarket on Apr. 12. Both races are over seven furlongs.

“Eve Lodge is really well,” said Fellowes. “She has had a good winter and a clear spring so far and the plan is to probably start her off in either the Nell Gywn or the Fred Darling, with a view to stretching out over a mile,” he said.

“She's got a Guineas entry and she's also entered in the French Guineas. My gut feeling is if she is good enough to run in a Guineas, the French Guineas might suit her better because you get more cut in the ground and a sharper track round a bend might suit her best. She looks great, she's where we want her and ideally I'd like to run her in the Fred Darling.”

Another Fellowes runner, the G3 Bengough S. heroine Vadream (GB) (Brazen Beau {Aus}), is possible for the G1 Platinum Jubilee S. at Royal Ascot in June. She was last seen running fifth in the G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint S. at Ascot in October.

“She is doing great,” the trainer said. “She had a really hard year last year so rather than cast our eye abroad, we decided to give her a proper holiday and freshen her up for this year.

“Because she won the Bengough at the end of last year, she carries a Group 3 penalty at the moment and there aren't a multitude of options for her until either York for the [G2] Duke of York [on May 11] or possibly we might look at the G2 Greenlands S. at the Curragh in the second half of May.

“If the ground came up soft at York I'd be happy to head up there, but if it was quick ground I'd be worried that six furlongs might be on the sharp side for her. We might look at going to Ireland where it might just suit her a bit better. She could go over there and then to Royal Ascot for the Platinum Jubilee.”

The post Eve Lodge Likely For Fred Darling appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Starman Primed For Cup Double

Bidding to follow in the steps of Harry Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Dream Ahead (Diktat {GB}), Starman (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) is the latest G1 July Cup hero to attempt a notable double in Saturday's G1 Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock.

Only third behind Marianafoot (Fr) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) on unsuitably soft ground in the 6 1/2-furlong G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville Aug. 8, David Ward's homebred is back on his favoured fast surface over the six-furlong trip of his July 10 Newmarket victory.

Trainer Ed Walker is happy that the stars have aligned for the 4-year-old and said, “I am quite surprised to be here really. We always wanted to come to the Sprint Cup, but historically we thought it would be unlikely given the horse's preference for good ground. It's a real bonus to be going into the race with conditions likely to be in his favour. It was a career highlight when he won the July Cup. It was great that he was able to show what he can really do, as I've always believed he is a truly exceptional horse.”

“He still ran a massive race at Deauville and ran better than he did in the really heavy conditions at Ascot on Champions Day last year. It was proper stamina-sapping ground in France, it was drying quite quickly and it was tacky. He coped with it and was bang there at the six-furlong pole–I think with the extra half-furlong and the conditions his stamina was really tested. He has trained great since France and came out of the race well. We've just freshened him up. He is a big horse but doesn't take a huge amount of work. He goes there in great shape. I think he is the best horse in the race and if he is in the same form that he was at Newmarket, he will prove that.”

Fifth in the July Cup and subsequently second in the seven-furlong G2 Lennox S. at Goodwood July 27, Godolphin's June 19 G3 Jersey S. winner Creative Force (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) tries again with Charlie Appleby hoping he can bridge the gap to Starman.

“We have been very pleased with Creative Force's preparation. We thought it was a very respectable first run at this level in the July Cup, when he learned plenty about sprinting and we are hoping that a more polished performer will be turning up here,” he said. “James Doyle felt that he rode like a sprinter in the Lennox S. He hit the lids that day, was up in the van the whole way and possibly did a bit too much early on, so the return to six furlongs should suit.”

Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's Emaraaty Ana (GB) (Shamardal) has turned around his fortunes with a confidence-restoring win in a five-furlong conditions race at Hamilton at the end of last month and a second in the G1 Nunthorpe S. at that distance Aug. 20. He has the ground he likes here and is equally at home over six, but more importantly comes into this on a high. That is not the case for Jason Goddard's Supremacy (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), who needs to bounce back from two surprisingly tame efforts this term including a latest 15th in the July Cup. Successful in last year's G1 Middle Park S. and G2 Richmond S., it is disappointing that he has run so far below form in 2021 and would be a major threat if able to regain his momentum.

2-Year-Olds on Display at Haydock

Haydock's card begins with the Listed Betfair Exchange Ascendant S. for 2-year-olds over a mile, where Godolphin are represented by the 2.1million gns Book 1 graduate Hafit (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). He beat two subsequent winners including the TDN Rising Star Razzle Dazzle (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) on his debut over seven furlongs at Newmarket Aug. 6 and could be anything, but lying in wait is Dr. Ali Ridha's Aug. 20 Listed Stonehenge S. runner-up Power of Beauty (Ire) (Slade Power {Ire}). Hafit's trainer Charlie Appleby has a line to that Hugo Palmer-trained colt through the Stonehenge winner Albahr (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), while Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's 9 1/2-length course-and-distance novice scorer Triple Time (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) is another of the quartet with abundant promise.

Kempton Hosts Group 3s

At Kempton, the feature is the G3 Unibet September S. over a mile and a half, where Shadwell's July 10 G3 Silver Cup and Aug. 14 G3 Geoffrey Freer S. winner Hukum (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) looks to continue his sequence under a three-pound penalty.

“This looks another nice opportunity for him, all being well, and he won around Kempton as a 2-year-old,” trainer Owen Burrows said of the 4-year-old, who missed the G2 Grand Prix de Deauville due to a dirty scope. “He has got the penalty again, but he had that at Newbury and we go there very hopeful. He did a little bit of work on Wednesday and we were very happy with him and there were no signs that he should not be running.”

Also on the card is the six-furlong G3 Sirenia S. for the juveniles, with Kevin Phillipart De Foy pitching in Bernard Havern's July 7 course-and-distance novice winner Scot's Grace (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}). “I've been a bit unlucky, as she needs fast ground,” he explained. “She has had a couple of entries over the summer, but the ground has turned against her. She handled the track there first time out, so we thought this was worth taking a punt and see how she gets on in the race. I never put my fillies under too much pressure at home and we will learn a lot more on Saturday. She has improved a bit, but she will need to on Saturday.”

Hugo Palmer is represented by David Howden and Qatar Racing's Hierarchy (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), who has registered wins in novices over this trip at Wolverhampton Aug. 9 and at Salisbury Aug. 24. “His heart is in the right place and he seems to be improving as a 2-year-old,” he said. “He is showing the general public what he can do in the afternoon opposed to showing it in the morning, as he definitely saves his best for racing. He handles the surface, has a nice draw and has got the momentum behind him. He is very much a 2-year-old and though I'm not saying he will not make it at three, he would need to grow and develop.”

Festival Continues at Baden-Baden

There is also pattern-race action at Baden-Baden, with Darius Racing's Aug. 1 G1 Preis der Diana runner-up Isfahani (Ger) (Isfahan {Ger}) taking on the likes of Team Valor's Hanover listed scorer Loveisthehigherlaw (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) in the 12-furlong G2 T von Zastrow Stutenpreis. In the six-furlong G3 Casino Baden-Baden Goldene Peitsche, another Darius Racing representative in Rubaiyat (Fr) (Areion {Ger}) is a leading contender based on his success in Hanover's Apr. 25 Listed Waldpfad Cup reverting to sprinting. Runner-up on that occasion, Jaber Abdullah's Majestic Colt (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}) has since won the G3 Silberne -Peitsche at Cologne May 24 and July 2 G3 Grosser Preis von LOTTO Hamburg and finished fourth behind Dibujaba (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}) in the Aug. 8 Listed Hoppegartener Fleiger-Preis.

A Sextet for the Moulin

Sunday's G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp has attracted six, with Jim Bolger opting to withdraw Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}). Shadwell's unbeaten Baaeed (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) is certain to occupy favouritism based on his impressive successes in Newmarket's Listed Sir Henry Cecil S. July 8 and the G3 Thoroughbred S. at Goodwood July 30, with fellow British raider Snow Lantern (GB) (Frankel {GB}) standing in his way. Rockcliffe Stud's 'TDN Rising Star' captured the star-studded G1 Falmouth S. at Newmarket July 9 before finishing third in the G1 Sussex S. at Goodwood July 28 and trainer Richard Hannon has been forced to saddle her with her signals all vibrant since that race.

“Hopefully this race will show her in a better light–I think she could have been closer at Goodwood,” he said. “It's a very good race and we'll find out where we stand. We can always go back to fillies-only company in the Sun Chariot after this. Baaeed has looked very good and I'm sure he'll take a lot of beating. He travels very well in his races and in some of his races he's looked unbeatable. I'm sure it will be a good race and I'm looking forward to it–we have nothing to lose.”

Click here for the full group fields.

The post Starman Primed For Cup Double appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post