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Classic Dreams Spun On The Roodeye

Chester's unique “Roodeye” course swings back into action on Wednesday, with the often-informative three-day May Festival kicking off with the G3 Boodles Chester Vase and Listed Weatherbys Digital Solutions Cheshire Oaks starting the raft of English trials for the Derby and Oaks.

With the Epsom picture clouded by the outcome of the 2000 Guineas and no obvious candidate emerging from the 1000 Guineas, we are officially into the informative period and the silly season at the same time with the next fortnight set to witness the usual violent fluctuations of fortunes and ante-post prices ahead of the two crowning middle-distance Classics.

Chester's Vase and Cheshire Oaks tend to produce more place prospects than heroes at Epsom, but this is a year where a Ruler Of The World (Ire) could emerge even if the prospect of another Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) might be asking a bit much. The Vase sees Juddmonte's Arrest (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) re-engage with Ballydoyle's Adelaide River (Ire) (Australia {GB}) after they were second and third respectively and separated by six lengths in the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud in October. Given that the race's winner Dubai Mile (Ire) (Roaring Lion) neither excelled nor let the form down in the Guineas on Saturday, both probably need to do something impressive here to make big waves in the Derby market.

Interestingly, Arrest's prior efforts have also come to take on greater merit. A debut third to the G1 Dewhurst S. third Nostrum (GB) (Kingman {GB}) at Sandown in July, the John and Thady Gosden trainee beat Sea Of Roses (GB) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) convincingly at Ffos Las before she went on to beat the Oaks mover Infinite Cosmos (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and finish runner-up to Pensee Du Jour (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) in the G3 Prix Penelope.

Barry Mahon, European racing manager for Juddmonte, has misgivings about the course. “Chester is probably not his ideal track, but we were meant to go to Sandown and unfortunately it was abandoned with the rain,” he explained. “The Vase was Plan C, as originally we were going to the Dee S. but the forecast is giving plenty of rain coming in on the Wednesday afternoon and night, so we said we'd go for the fresh ground on Wednesday.”

“He was a big frame last year and he is definitely a stronger horse this year,” Mahon added. “John and Thady said the other morning that the experience of Chester would do him good. If we ended up going to Epsom, he will have that under his belt. We have seen it in the last few years with Aidan and Barry Hills before that, they all take them to Chester for the reason that they get that experience, with the crowd on top of them.”

Oaks On Her Dancecard…

Aidan O'Brien has won four of the last seven Cheshire Oaks and seven in total, so the yard's likely hot favourite Savethelastdance (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is the obvious place to start. She may have been 20-1 as she captured the same 10-furlong Leopardstown maiden in which last year's winner Thoughts Of June (Ire)–also by Galileo (Ire)–had been second, but she has made a leap forward from two to three and is as live an Oaks candidate as there is around at the moment. Dash Grange Stud's Listed Koln-Winterkonigin Trial winner Sirona (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}) is also sure to have more to offer at three, even if she disappointed when trailing as the re-opposing Luckin Brew (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) was second in the Listed Silver Tankard S. at Pontefract in October.

Sirona's owner Jayne McGivern said of the Charlie Johnston trainee, “She has wintered really well. She is working well at home and is bred for distance and we were surprised at how well she had done as a 2-year-old over a mile. We kind of were not expecting that. This will tell us a lot about her. She had a fantastic page when I bought her, she's not overly big, but her confirmation's great and she surprised us how good she was and she got black-type. I think the Silver Tankard was a race too far, as she had a few races in quick succession.”

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Doncaster Test For Auguste Rodin

Heavy rain hit Doncaster's Town Moor track on Thursday and refused to relent during the following afternoon, so the Saturday feature G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy is certain to be a thorough examination for its protagonists. It will ask a question of Ballydoyle's latest hot favourite for the juvenile endgame, the TDN Rising Star Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) who would have preferred the ground was in the other direction and now has to prove his mental resolve as well as his physical prowess.

While the son of the high-class Rhododendron (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) got away with soft as he idled when in front too far out in the G2 Champions Juvenile S. at Leopardstown Sept. 10, this could be a different proposition with Ryan Moore having to judge when to unleash him on a tacky, holding surface. Nevertheless, Aidan O'Brien's number one for this race is always the first to look at, with six winning favourites from his last seven saddled and one more would see him usurp the late Sir Henry Cecil with whom he is currently tied on 10.

Speaking on Saturday evening, Aidan O'Brien revealed that he is not a certain runner with the weather turning so drastically on Friday. “He's really fit, but whether we want to bottom him in that ground is up to the lads to decide,” he said. “We're very happy with how he is and it's a case of whether we let him run for experience or whether we don't and keep him for next year. He's done enough this year and it all depends on what that ground is like tomorrow.”

These races are the most exciting for the unknown element they carry and Moore was adding fuel to the fire as he pondered his ride on Auguste Rodin on his betfair blog on Friday. “He is a horse I have rated highly since day one,” he said. I was impressed by him at Leopardstown last time. That may not have been the strongest of Group 2s, but I think he is a Group 1 horse and hopefully he will show that here.”

Unsurprisingly, history tells us that wide-margin maiden winners from Ballydoyle are more often than not class acts and so Auguste Rodin's stablemate Salt Lake City (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) looms large here, with the potential of getting away on the front end as he did at Navan last time Oct. 5. Whether he is the High Chaparral (Ire) or Aristotle (Ire) in this renewal remains to be seen and he will relish the heavy ground.

That could also apply to the impressive Nottingham maiden winner King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who took the same race won by Eldar Eldarov (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in soft ground with some authority 10 days ago. Trainer David Loughnane is hoping to provide Kia Joorabchian's Amo Racing with the Group 1 winner they have been seeking all year. “We don't know what we beat, but Nottingham was nice, both visually and on the clock,” he said. “He's come out of it absolutely fine and he's got an exceptional mind.”

“He's a monster,” Lougnane added. “He's just over 17 hands and he weighs nearly 600 kilos. Everything about him since he first came into the yard has been a bit abnormal and Adam [Kirby] commented he'd never ridden a bigger juvenile, but for such a big horse he's very agile and well-balanced.”

All was relatively quiet where John and Thady Gosden's 2-year-olds were concerned throughout the summer months, but in the last month things have started to hot up and George Strawbridge's TDN Rising Star Epictetus (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) is perfectly poised. After winning that Newmarket maiden July 8, the son of Thistle Bird (GB) (Selkirk) took the Kingston Hill (GB) and Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) route of the G3 Autumn S. Like the latter, he was a narrow second in that Newmarket staging post a fortnight ago and adds intrigue along with Jeff Smith's impressive Sept. 16 Haynes, Hanson & Clark Conditions S. winner Stormbuster (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}).

A Case Of Espionage At Saint-Cloud

While fellow Ballydoyle representatives Auguste Rodin and Salt Lake City are sent to Doncaster, TDN Rising Star Espionage (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) takes in the G1 Criterium International for the stable which leads the honour roll with five previous winners. Ioritz Mendizabal is called upon and the yard's go-to French rider who steered St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), Joan Of Arc (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Blackbeard (Ire) (No Nay Never) to high-profile success for them has an enviable ride on the son of the G2 Ribblesdale S. winner Even Song (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) who had such poise when breaking his maiden at The Curragh last time Sept. 25.

This is just as tough as the Doncaster feature, with the July 21 G3 Tyros S. scorer and G1 Vincent O'Brien National S. runner-up Proud And Regal (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and White Birch Farm's Sept. 8 G3 Prix des Chenes winner Kubrick (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in attendance along with another TDN Rising Star in Breizh Sky (Fr) (Pedro The Great), while Valmont's Salt Bay (Ger) (Farhh {GB}) adds another later. Impressive on his sole start at Haydock Sept. 24, the Ralph Beckett-trained relative of some useful German middle-distance performers looks tailor-made for this kind of test on deep autumn ground.

An Arresting Presence

As always, abundant stamina really will be a prerequisite in the 10-furlong G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud which occupies a curious space on the 2-year-old Group 1 roster. Few of those who fit the bill in this go on to anything of major note at three, with the 2016 winner Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) the exception of late. There is the trio of Gan Teorainn (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}), Dubai Mile (Ire) (Roaring Lion) and Adelaide River (Ire) (Australia {GB}) bringing European Group 1 and Group 2 form to the race, but if there is one to go forward to the 2023 Classics it could be Juddmonte's Arrest (GB) (Frankel {GB}). One of the operation's successful purchases in 2020 and 2021, the co-topper at the Goffs November Foal Sale gave Friday's winner Sea Of Roses (GB) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) 11 pounds and a 5 1/2-length beating at the unlikely venue of Wales's Ffos Las Sept. 26. He also hails from the Gosdens' academy and Thady said, “It's a big switch up from Ffos Las, but he won't mind the easy ground as he has a nice round action on him. He should appreciate the mile and a quarter and he's a horse we've always liked.”

The Dirty Dozen

All 12 of Saturday's black-type events staged at Doncaster, Newbury, Saint-Cloud and Leopardstown will demand grit and determination as well as class from their winners with the stormy conditions making for gruelling ground everywhere. Key players in the remaining prizes are The King's Reach For The Moon (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), whose 2011 G2 Champagne S. second to Bayside Boy (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) suddenly looks a lot better as he heads to Saint-Cloud's G3 Prix Perth over a mile; KHK Racing's TDN Rising Star Knight (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), who is put to the test in a fascinating and deep renewal of Newbury's seven-furlong G3 Virgin Bet Horris Hill S. by Simon and Ed Crisford following his Sept. 25 Yarmouth maiden success; Ballylinch Stud and Aquis Farm's “forgotten horse” Lone Eagle (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) prepping for a potential Hong Kong date in that track's G3 Virgin Bet St Simon S.; and Ballydoyle's TDN Rising Star Aesop's Fables (Ire) (No Nay Never) who accompanies Auguste Rodin to England and bids to give upwards of five pounds to his peers as a result of his Aug. 20 G2 Futurity S. success in the six-furlong Listed Carlsberg Marstons Doncaster S.

The King's racing manager John Warren said of Reach For The Moon, “We think the ground and trip should be just what we have been looking for. He needs to get back racing again and it's a shame we are nearly at the end of the season as John Gosden is very happy with him.

“We are hopeful of showing his best form, especially as his form with Bayside Boy (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) looks very solid.”

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Sunday Previews: An Old Alliance Strengthens Anew

It has been mooted more than one this spring, but without labouring a point it seems clear after the declarations for the racing at ParisLongchamp on Sunday that Messrs Fabre and Peslier are linked again, at least for the time being. France's dynamic duo combine with two major chances in the group races on the fixture, with Lady Bamford's Dreamflight (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the nine-furlong G3 Prix la Force and with Gestut Schlenderhan's returning Mare Australis (Ire) (Australia {GB}) in the G2 Prix d'Harcourt over a mile and a quarter. The latter is racing for the first time since winning the G1 Prix Ganay here last May, so will he be sharp enough to deal with fellow top-level scorers Skalleti (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}) and Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB})?

Will Dreams Shatter For Tumbler?

Taking on Dreamflight in the Force is the Wertheimers' exciting colt Tumbler (Fr) (Kingman {GB}), who earned 'TDN Rising Star' status with his 10-length debut romp at Saint-Cloud in October. Entered in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains and G1 Prix du Jockey Club, the relative of Falco re-enters the fray over this interim trip to help Carlos Laffon-Parias decide which route to take. In the G3 Prix Vanteaux for fillies also over nine furlongs, man-of-the-moment Peslier maintains his allegiance to Jean-Etienne Dubois's Listed Grand Criterium de Bordeaux winner Singforthemoment (Ire) (No Nay Never) in what should be another informative afternoon.

A Clearer Picture

To say that the 3-year-old career of 'TDN Rising Star' High Definition (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was an anti-climax is an understatement, but Ballydoyle's 2020 G2 Beresford S. winner gets a clean slate in the G3 Alleged S. at The Curragh. The truth is, we still don't know how much ability he has and this should begin to enlighten us. In the card's G3 Gladness S., another star of the 2020 juvenile scene and fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) also makes his comeback. It seems a long time since Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez's colt sparkled in the G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National S. and if he can give 13 pounds weight-for-age to the Madrid H. scorer Markaz Paname (Ire) (Markaz {Ire}) he will be well on course.

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Doncaster Gears Up for Classic Finale

With Saturday’s G1 Pertemps St Leger attracting a dozen runners and Frankie Dettori booked for Ballydoyle’s G1 Irish Derby hero Santiago (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}), Doncaster’s action has its customary focus but before that is a card on Friday that features races at the extremes. In the G2 Bombardier Flying Childers S., 2-year-olds will be flying over five furlongs before the older stayers get their chance to shine in the G2 bet365 Doncaster Cup over almost two and a quarter miles. Such is the rich diversity of the meeting and although Wednesday’s limited crowd has instantly again become a thing of the past due to changing COVID regulations there is much to relish as the fixture passes the halfway stage. The Doncaster Cup is the Town Moor venue’s oldest surviving race and it plays host to last year’s Jockey Club Derby Invitational winner Spanish Mission (Noble Mission {GB}) who enjoyed the perfect confidence boost when winning the Aug. 20 Listed Chester S. over an extended 14 furlongs last time.

Transferred to Andrew Balding from David Simcock prior to his win at Chester, Spanish Mission is so far executing connections’ masterplan. “What we wanted to do was to give him a freshener and give him his best chance to win and feel good and it worked,” commented Barry Irwin, founder and chief executive of Team Valor. “He won off David Simcock’s training and he was pointing him at this race, so he deserves the credit for that even though he didn’t have the horse that day. Since then the horse has done well, according to Andrew. He phoned me on Saturday after he had worked the horse and he was very enthusiastic and very happy. Andrew and I had a long conversation and his idea was if the horse stays two and a quarter or two and a half miles, he could be an ideal horse for the Ascot Gold Cup next year. He does have a turn of foot, which most stayers don’t. He goes to the Doncaster Cup in good form. If he can do it, next year we know what to do. If not, we’ll go back to the drawing board. The long-term goal with this horse is the Melbourne Cup–not this year, but next year when he’s five, and the year after when he’s six and more mature. He was a light-bodied horse last year. This year he’s got better, and I think next year he’ll reach his maturity and we’ll find out if can do it.”

Sir Mark Prescott’s horses always carry a certain gravitas and one of his finest lines up in opposition in Revolver (Ire) (Slade Power {Ire}), a rapidly-progressing 3-year-old who has made a mockery of his opening handicap mark of 57 since enjoying the first of six handicap wins at Pontefract June 15. “He’s a very tall, leggy, narrow horse, but athletic and keeps winning,” the master of Heath House said. “He’s won over two miles and one at Pontefract, so we know he stays, and the big, galloping track at Doncaster suits him. It’s a question of whether he’s good enough. Other horses in there would have a bit more class and have done it time and time again. He’s by a sprinter and when we started him we were thinking he would be a seven-furlong or mile horse, but he didn’t work particularly well. As he went up in distance he stayed and stayed, which you wouldn’t have expected. He works well now that he’s with the stayers. As long as you get it right in the end, as we have with him, then it’s okay, but we don’t always.”

In the Flying Childers, Cieren Fallon gets the chance to shine in his new role as deputy to the suspended Oisin Murphy for Qatar Racing on The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince of Lir {Ire}). The June 19 G2 Norfolk S. winner is back in trip after finishing second in the G2 Prix Robert Papin at Chantilly July 19 and the G1 Phoenix S. at The Curragh Aug. 9 and trainer Michael Bell is expecting a bold show. “The horse worked nicely last week and is in good form,” he said. “We’re keen to let him take his chance. I’m just hoping the ground doesn’t dry out too much. I’m a big fan of Cieren’s. He rode the Qatar Racing winner for us at Catterick earlier in the week and has ridden plenty for us this year. I couldn’t say for sure, but I would guess he’s ridden half a dozen winners for us. His father rode a lot for us back in the day, and the one that sticks out is Motivator in the Racing Post Trophy. He would have kept the ride as a 3-year-old, but he took the Ballydoyle job that year.”

Cheveley Park Stud’s Sacred (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) is also back to the trip over which she ran with credit at Royal Ascot when second in the June 20 G2 Queen Mary S. In that same position in the six-furlong G2 Lowther S. at York Aug. 20, the homebred holds strong claims and trainer William Haggas is hopeful that the faster conditions will suit. “Sacred is in good order, and the more the ground dries out the better for her,” he commented. “She’s very well and I think coming back from six to five furlongs will suit.”

Adding spice from Ireland are Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez’s July 29 G3 Molecomb S. winner Steel Bull (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}) and SBA Racing’s June 27 Listed First Flier S. and Aug. 14 Listed Curragh S. scorer Frenetic (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), while Middleham Park Racing’s Robert Papin winner Ventura Tormenta (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) is another high-profile juvenile adding ballast.

At Baden-Baden, the G2 Kronimus Oettingen Rennen has attracted Godolphin’s July 12 G3 Hamburger Stutenmeile winner and Aug. 2 G1 Prix Rothschild runner-up Half Light (Ire) (Shamardal), who meets Darius Racing’s triple group-winning G2 Mehl-Mulhens-Rennen (German 2000 Guineas) runner-up Rubaiyat (Fr) (Areion {Ger}).

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