“We got a lot more rain than we anticipated overnight. We were forecast 15 millimetres at the most in the last 24 hours,” he explained on Friday. “It's come completely out of left field, unfortunately. The track would not be raceable today. We'll just have to monitor things as we go along. If more rain came than was forecast, that would give us a problem. We're hopeful, but we will have a precautionary inspection tomorrow morning.”

In the event the fixture takes place, an ability to handle testing ground is obviously a given and with the easy surface in part to blame for the eclipse of Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) in Sunday's G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains, it is hard to see Jim Bolger welcoming the deluge for the seeker of the prestigious G1 English-Irish 2000 Guineas double. He does have a proven lover of the ground as back-up in Mac Swiney (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}), who relished similar conditions when taking the G1 Futurity Trophy at Doncaster in October. If he is none the worse for his infection suffered when fourth in the G3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial at Leopardstown May 9, the homebred is made for the stamina test this race will provide.

Another with Group 1-winning form on testing ground is Van Gogh (American Pharoah), who was very much at home on it when taking Saint-Cloud's G1 Criterium International by four lengths in October. Out of the 2001 G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Imagine (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), he ran eighth in the May 1 G1 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on contrasting ground and Aidan O'Brien expects improvement.

“He was very close to being fifth in the Guineas, he just got tired in the last 50 yards,” he said. “Maybe our Newmarket horses were a couple of weeks behind where we thought they were. He came out of the race very well. He is a big, strong traveller. He had very good form at the back end of last year and we have been very happy with him since as well. I don't think he is a horse that needs soft ground. His form ended up on soft ground at the end of the year, but that was just because of the weather.”

Runner-up in a soft-ground G1 Dewhurst S., Wembley (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is the pick of Ryan Moore and he is looking for a much-improved performance from him and another Newmarket Guineas disappointment in Battleground (War Front). The latter ploughed through the soft when winning the Listed Chesham S. at Royal Ascot last June, but there is more evidence that Wembley will be able to give his best on this type of ground.

“Our three colts are on a retrieval mission after the 2000 Guineas, though to be fair I thought Van Gogh shaped very well there on ground that would have been too quick for him and this deeper surface will really play to his staying strengths,” he said. “Clearly, Wembley and Battleground didn't run up to expectations at Newmarket, but we know both are much, much better than that and Wembley is another colt who will prefer this softer ground. He just wasn't himself at Newmarket and I wasn't hard him on there once his chance had clearly gone at the two-furlong pole. It was soft when he finished second to the French Guineas winner St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the Dewhurst, and we clearly anticipate better from him and Battleground here.”

It is hard to be categoric about the ground for Zhang Yuesheng's Lucky Vega (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), as he took this track's G1 Phoenix S. on good-to-yielding in August and is by a sire whose progeny excel when there is cut underfoot. Handling a quick surface when third in the 2000 Guineas, he will have his stamina stretched by this examination and trainer Jessie Harrington is far from confident about his ability to handle conditions.

“The ground won't suit him, but it's going to be the same for all of them,” she said. “I've been very happy with him since Newmarket.”

Godolphin's 'TDN Rising Star' La Barrosa (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) is another unproven on this going, having flopped when fifth in the Criterium International but he was back to form when runner-up to Master of the Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in Newmarket's G3 Craven S. over this mile trip last time Apr. 15.

“La Barrosa disappointed on testing ground at Saint-Cloud, but we feel there were other contributing factors that day,” Charlie Appleby explained. “It was the end of the season and he scoped dirty post-race, so I think you can put a bit of a line through that run. His preparation has gone well and he put up a very good performance behind Master of the Seas on his three-year-old return. A repeat of that effort should make him very competitive.”

There has to be doubts as to whether the Ballydoyle support cast will turn up in their expected numbers, with the Apr. 10 Dundalk maiden winner Cadamosto (Ire) (No Nay Never) already a non-runner on five occasions this term. He is due to take part in the G3 GAIN Marble Hill S., where stablemate The Entertainer (Ire) (Caravaggio) is also engaged having scored on his sole start at Navan last Saturday. Deep ground is an unknown in general for juveniles and it will be interesting to see if the well-regarded Donnacha O'Brien-trained Masseto (GB) (Territories {Ire}) lines up against the colt he beat on debut at Navan Apr. 25, Celtic Times (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}).

Also on the card is the G2 Weatherbys Ireland Greenlands S., where the Hambleton Racing colourbearer Glen Shiel (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) reappears under a three-pound penalty for his success in the G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint S. in similar conditions in October. Also forced to carry a penalty is Teruya Yoshida's Champers Elysees (Ire) (Elzaam {Aus}) in the G2 Lanwades Stud S., with the G1 Matron S. scorer hardened by a return fourth in the seven-furlong G3 Athasi S. at The Curragh May 3.

At a similarly rain-hit Haydock, the six-furlong G2 Sandy Lane S. and G2 Temple S. over five will represent wars of attrition for the sprinters. Slow, sapping ground is a question mark for Yoshiro Kubota's unbeaten 'TDN Rising Star' Dragon Symbol (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}) in the Sandy Lane, given how electric he was on good-to-firm at Hamilton May 2.

“He has done everything right so far this year and he answered everything that we have asked of him since his debut on the all-weather,” trainer Archie Watson said. “He is going back up to six furlongs and we are hopeful that he will handle the softer ground up there, as the ground was quick last time out at Musselburgh. This is a big step up in class and it should give us an idea of where we are with him.”

Shadwell's G3 Horris Hill S. winner Mujbar (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) loves it deep and is a proven stayer at this trip, so everything is set up for a big effort from the half-brother to the G1 Commonwealth Cup hero Eqtidaar (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}).

“He is obviously proven on soft ground, as he won his Group 3 in those conditions at Newbury last year,” trainer Charlie Hills said. “I was slightly disappointed with his run in the Greenham, but I've been really pleased with him since and he is training a lot better now. For some reason at Newbury he just ran a bit fresh with the choke out and that probably cost him.”

In the Temple, a clutch of classy sprint fillies and mares trained in the North clash with Liberty Beach (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}), Lady In France (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) and Keep Busy (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) having been third, fourth and fifth respectively in ParisLongchamp's G1 Prix de l'Abbaye in October. John Quinn trains Liberty Beach and Keep Busy and said of them, “They are two good fillies and you have got to run them somewhere, it would be unfair not to run one of them so we're just hoping for a bit of luck. I don't think any extra rain would be a problem for either of them. They've form in good ground and they have shown they go in soft ground, which is important. Liberty Beach was a very good 2-year-old and showed very strong form last year while Keep Busy was a very tough two year old and has just kept on improving.”

At the other end of the stamina spectrum, Koji Maeda's G3 Prix Belle de Nuit winner Believe In Love (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) returns in York's G3 William Hill Bronte Cup Fillies' S. over a near-14-furlong trip.

In Sunday's G1 Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas, John Oxley's 'TDN Rising Star' Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}) heads 14 fillies with soft ground holding no fears based on the evidence of her impressive success in Newmarket's G1 Fillies' Mile in October. Denied the chance to contest the May 2 Newmarket Classic due to an unsatisfactory scope, she will not be renewing rivalry with her G1 Moyglare Stud S. conqueror Shale (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) after that peer was a significant scratching at the confirmation stage on Friday. Drawn widest of all, she encounters Doreen Tabor's G2 Lowther S. winner Miss Amulet (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}), who was taken out of Sunday's G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches at ParisLongchamp but has fared little better with the draw here in 12. Also wide in 11 is Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier and Michael Tabor's May 9 G3 Irish 1000 Guineas Trial scorer Joan of Arc (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), while the May 2 G1 1000 Guineas third Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}) is in nine.

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The 5-year-old, a close fifth to Glen Shiel (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) in last year's G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint at Ascot in October, has run well without greeting the judge in two starts this term, a runner-up effort to Summerghand (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) in the G3 Abernant S. at Newmarket Apr. 15 and a third behind Starman (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) in the G2 Clipper Logistics S. when last seen at York May 12.

Trainer Brendan Walsh has engaged Extravagant Kid (Kiss the Kid), winner of the G1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan Mar. 27, while trainer Wesley Ward could also be represented by 3-year-old filly Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), winner of the G2 Queen Mary S. at the Royal meeting and the G1 Prix Morny at Deauville. Aidan O'Brien has entered a trio of runners–Battleground (War Front), Lipizzaner (Uncle Mo) and Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}).

The six-furlong July Cup forms part of the QIPCO British Champions Series.

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Cosmo Charlton, Head Racing Manager for owner Hambleton Racing, said, “Glen Shiel is in fantastic form. Everyone is very happy with him. He's stepped up into faster work now, and Archie is really pleased.

“We're weighing up possible starting point options, but it might be the Greenlands S. over in Ireland, a Group 2 at the end of May. The Duke of York is still under consideration as well, but I think the likelihood is he'll go to the Greenlands and then on to Royal Ascot for the [G1] Diamond Jubilee.”

Glen Shiel was bred by Darley and ran his first three seasons for Andre Fabre, winning the Listed Prix Le Fabuleux at three. He joined the Archie Watson yard after being bought for £45,000 at the Goffs UK Spring Horses-In-Training Sale in 2019. Glen Shiel won twice over the Newcastle all-weather last summer before venturing to Ireland to take the G3 Phoenix Sprint S., and after checking in second in the G1 Sprint Cup S. he hit a career high at Ascot last October under Hollie Doyle.

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Doyle is set to partner G3 winner Mighty Gurkha, trained by Archie Watson, in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.

It will be her first ride in a race in the United States and her first ride outside Europe.

“Arrangements are being made for Hollie to go out to Keeneland,” said Bruce Raymond, who manages Mighty Gurkha for owner Mohammed Rashid. “She knows the horse better than anyone and she has done nothing wrong on him.”

Mighty Gurkha won the Sirenia Stakes in September having previously finished fifth of six when hot favorite for a G3 at Deauville.

“There was a bit of a cock-up in France when the blind didn't come off quickly enough,” Raymond said. “He used to be a bit dodgy in the gate but he won't be at Keeneland where he will have two stall handlers holding him and the gates are a bit larger.

“We know he is quick but whether he is quick by American standards we don't know. We can only be hopeful.”

Doyle, who claimed her first Royal Ascot win this season, rode her first G1 winner on Glen Shiel in the British Champions Sprint before breaking her own record for the most wins in a year by a female jockey in Britain. She has ridden 126 winners.

Former jockey Raymond said: “Hollie is a good jockey and probably the equal of Tom [Marquand], her boyfriend. She doesn't go anything wrong, she is in a good position all the time, she always gets them out of the gates smartly and I don't know why.

“She deserves everything. I don't think of her now as a lady jockey, I just think of her as a good jockey.”

This story was originally published on Horse Racing Planet and is reprinted here with permission. Find more content like this at HorseRacingPlanet.com.

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Having won ever-so comfortably in the opener, with Trueshan in the Long Distance Cup, Doyle looked to be oozing confidence as her British Champions Sprint mount Glen Shiel flew out of the stalls and they took up a prominent position in the center of the track.

As the field came to the two-furlong marker, Cieren Fallon Jnr's mount and July Cup winner Oxted began to press ahead, throwing down his challenge as favorite Dream Of Dreams began to fade. Then came the challenge of age-defying Brando, who has always saved his best for the biggest stage. However, trainer Archie Watson's superb sprinter was not for beating.

Glen Shiel battled ever so hard and showed a tremendous amount of grit to overcome his rivals and land a maiden Group 1 success for himself and Hollie Doyle. It's a race that will live long in the memory for racing fans all over the land.

A historic win for @HollieDoyle1 on Trueshan in the QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup!

More to come for her this afternoon? #ChampionsDay pic.twitter.com/nmI6PAsOwn

— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) October 17, 2020

What a ride! Hollie Doyle wins her first Group 1!

She's on fire as Glen Shiel holds on in the QIPCO British Champions Sprint! pic.twitter.com/zNYOAUHJwb

— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) October 17, 2020

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This coming weekend, there will be no short shuffle between racecourse and sales ground for the Prix Jacques Le Marois and other delights ahead of a frenetic evening of activity in the ring at Arqana. Instead, those of us in the UK will look on with envy as the permitted 5,000 racegoers in the Normandy seaside town enjoy a feast of action. Meanwhile the British government on one hand urges people back into offices and restaurants but bans an essentially outdoor Goodwood spectator test day at the eleventh hour.

Confused? Yep, that’s pretty much the mindset of the British population right now. For our friends in Ireland, we can add frustration to that description. No bloodstock sale has been held on the island since February, and the 14-day mandatory quarantine for incomers from all countries bar those on the ‘Green List’ means that the store sales of the coming fortnight at Goffs and Tattersalls Ireland will be held without the usual melée of Irish, British and French participants. It is fair to expect that there will be further tinkering with the yearling sales programme ahead of its start at Doncaster on Sept. 1.

As it has been shown already through these strange times, it is of course perfectly feasible to conduct bloodstock auctions online and, for those forced to remain remote, to engage local agents to do their bidding. But, just as dreaded Zoom meetings are a poor substitute for talking to people face to face, so is it pretty unsatisfactory for the sales to be so limited in the number of attendees. Gone are those ringside conversations that end with one or more people agreeing to a leg in a previously unconsidered purchase, or that chance sighting of a horse not on the list who just happens to catch an owner’s eye as he turns to go back in his stable.

It will work, up to a point, because it has to, and we have all had to adapt to change in life and routines. But, as we are seeing with crowdless racing, our sport as entertainment is so much more than just what happens on the track. It’s also the raised glasses between races, the hubbub of banter at the pre-parade ring and, for this particular train nerd, that feeling of anticipation as the doors hiss closed at Ely station en route to York for a spotless summer’s day on the Knavesmire. One can only hope that the yearning for those days is felt throughout racing’s fan base and that we can return in our droves next year, all the more grateful for having missed out on so much in 2020.

In Doyle We Trust
This column makes no apologies for repeated mentions of Hollie Doyle this season because: a) we’d love nothing more than seeing a woman crowned champion jockey, and b) she’s great.

In the three years from when Doyle first started race-riding in 2013 she rode just six winners. Now she notches almost double that number in a fortnight and, in the last month, she has been rewarded with her first two group winners. The second of those came on Saturday on the Roger Charlton-trained Extra Elusive (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) in the G3 Rose of Lancaster S. It was the perfect start for her association with owner-breeder Imad Al Sagar, for whom she was named retained jockey on July 26.

The following day Doyle added the listed Prix Moonlight Cloud to her burgeoning tally of stakes wins when she guided Maystar (Ire) (Mayson {GB}) to his first black-type win.

Maystar’s win prompted double celebrations for trainer Archie Watson and the Hambleton Racing syndicate, who also combined to win the G3 Rathasker Stud Phoenix Sprint S. at the Curragh with Glen Shiel (GB) (Pivotal {GB}).

Watson tends to work in tandem with Blandford Bloodstock’s Tom Biggs at the sales and the pair picked up Maystar at last year’s Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Breeze-up Sale for €35,000. The five-time winner is entered for the Tattersalls August Sale. Meanwhile, 6-year-old Glen Shiel, who is closely related to Godolphin’s dual Group 1 winner Farhh (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), also joined Watson’s stable last year from the Goffs UK Spring Sale. A treble winner at up to nine furlongs for Andre Fabre before being sold to Biggs and Watson for £45,000, Glen Shiel has looked more and more effective since sliding down the distance scale and his three wins this year have all come at six furlongs.

The past week was also tinged with sadness for another Godolphin graduate as James McAuley’s bargain buy Sceptical (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) suffered a fatal injury on the gallops. The 4-year-old had been a revelation since joining Denis Hogan’s stable as an unraced 3-year-old after his purchase for £2,800. He won four of his seven starts and finished in the first three in the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. and G1 Darley July Cup.

A Regal Dynasty
Lagrion (Diesis {GB}) may have been only a moderate campaigner herself but she was an over-achiever at stud, her 12 foals including the Group 1 winners Dylan Thomas (Ire) (Danehill), Queen’s Logic (Ire) (Grand Lodge) and Homecoming Queen (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}). Through one of her daughters, Lagrion’s dynasty extends to this year’s Derby winner Serpentine (Ire), a son of Galieo (Ire) and the Oaks runner-up Remember When (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), whose exclusive matings with the champion sire have resulted in five black-type winners.

Queen’s Logic was crowned the champion 2-year-old filly of 2001 and her exploits for Jaber Abdullah and Mick Channon led to the move of Lagrion from the ownership of her breeder Kip McCreery to the Coolmore team. Queen’s Logic has exerted quite an influence on York’s G2 Lowther S., a race won by herself, her daughter Lady Of The Desert (Rahy) and grand-daughter Queen Kindly (GB) (Frankel {GB}), all of whom raced for Abduallah.

In the last week, however, it was the turn of the tiny 1000 Guineas winner Homecoming Queen to increase the family’s standing when her daughter Shale (Ire) won the G3 Frank Conroy Silver Flash S. with apparent ease on just her third start. Like her three-parts-sister Remember When, Homecoming Queen has also been wedded to Galileo since retiring to stud and all four of her foals of racing age are winners, including the group 2-placed Berkeley Square (Ire). It would be no surprise to see Shale enhancing the family’s Classic record next year.

Family Matters
There’s nothing like starting the year with a promising run from a 3-year-old. Back on Jan. 23, 2012, Bernard Benaych and Jocelyn Targett almost certainly left Cagnes-Sur Mer delighted—the latter perhaps slightly over-refreshed by a pale rosé—after their representatives Keira (Fr) (Turtle Bowl {Ire}) and Bunny Lebowski (Fr) (Echo Of Light {GB}) ran first and second in the 3-year-old maiden.

Fast-forward eight years and the refreshment is still flowing freely for Targett, who indulged in some Paul Gascoigne-style celebrations following the victory of Bunny Lebowski’s daughter Velma Valento (Fr) (Dabirsim {Fr}) in the listed Prix du Pays d’Auge at Clairefontaine.

The following day, there was cause for further celebration for Benaych who co-owns Keira’s son Port Guillaume (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) with Claudio Marzocco and trainer Jean-Claude Rouget. The 3-year-old colt, who started his career winning the same newcomers’ race, the Prix du Suquet, as his mother on Jan. 23 of this year, has since progressed into a worthy Arc contender. His sole defeat came when fifth in the Prix du Jockey Club and his latest victory was Saturday’s strike in the G2 Prix Hocquart Longines.

The continuity of these two families will be similarly pleasing to the trainers of Velma Valento and Port Guillaume, Christophe Ferland and Rouget, who in each case also trained the sire and dam of the winner.

Cup Runs Dry For Europeans
Opinions are divided as to whether the increasing international allure of the Melbourne Cup is a good thing for Australia’s iconic staying contest. Those who believe that the high number of overseas participants in a field limited to 24 runners has irreparably changed the profile of the race for “battlers” may find some consolation in this woeful year that there will be reduced competition from European stables.

With heightened coronavirus restrictions now in place in Melbourne, it was confirmed last week that Godolphin’s Newmarket stables of Saeed Bin Suroor and Charlie Appleby will not be sending runners to the Spring Carnival. Lloyd Williams, who has won the Melbourne Cup six times, most recently with the Joseph O’Brien-trained Rekindling (GB), has also stated that “health is paramount” when it comes to considering which, if any, of his horses currently in training with O’Brien will travel this year.

While the OTI Racing-owned San Huberto (Ire) (Speightstown), winner of the G2 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier in June, looks set to make the journey from Fabrice Chappet’s stable, plans are still uncertain for his fellow resident Skyward (Fr) (Camelot {GB}). The 4-year-old won Sunday’s G3 Prix de Reux and has now triumphed in four of his six starts, including last season’s listed Prix Turenne. He is owned in the majority by Arrowfield Stud’s John Messara.

“He’s only lightly raced and has a lot of upside,” Messara’s son Paul told our sister publication TDN AusNZ. “We bought him for the Melbourne Cup, so we’d like to go down that direction if at all possible. We will have a discussion this week. We need to work out what we can do with him and what options we have in the current environment.”

When Rekindling won the Cup in 2017, he led home an Irish-trained trifecta filled by Aidan O’Brien’s Johannes Vermeer (Ire) and the Willie Mullins-trained Max Dynamite (Fr). The following year it was won by another 3-year-old, Cross Counter (Ire), trained by Charlie Appleby. The Hughie Morrison-trained Marmelo (GB) was second and Prince Of Arran (Ire), representing Charlie Fellowes, was third, delivering a clean sweep for Britain.

In 2019, Flemington-based trainer Danny O’Brien scored a massively popular home win with Vow And Declare (Aus) (Declaration Of War), who narrowly held off runners trained by Aidan and Joseph O’Brien as well as Prince Of Arran again. While Danny O’Brien will set Vow And Declare for a return mission on the first Tuesday of November, he also has the exciting northern hemisphere 3-year-old Russian Camelot (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) as a potential Cup runner. The stable-mates are due to have a jump-out at Flemington on Tuesday and could take each other on over a mile in the G1 Makybe Diva S. on Sept. 12.

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