Joan Of Arc | Horse Racing Free Tips

Audarya Primed for Nassau Bid

With the major contests going the way of the 3-year-olds so far, it is up to Audarya (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) to attempt to bring that generation back into line a touch in Thursday's G1 Qatar Nassau S. at Goodwood. Improving markedly at this stage last term, Alison Swinburn's 5-year-old captured the G1 Prix Jean Romanet on soft ground at Deauville in August, was third to Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal) in the G1 Prix de l'Opera on heavy at ParisLongchamp in October before capturing the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf on firm going at Keeneland in November. Giving Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) a scare when 3/4-of-a-length second to that luminary in the G1 Prince of Wales's S. at Royal Ascot June 16, she sets a clear standard on that form. “Audarya ran really well at Royal Ascot and she's come out of the race in good form,” trainer James Fanshawe said.

“Six weeks is a nice gap between races when you are taking things step by step and we've had this race in mind for a while. She's got better as she's got older and she's doing everything right at home. It was fast ground at Keeneland and Royal Ascot, but she shouldn't have any problem on easier going because it was very testing last year when she won the Romanet and very soft when she ran so well in the Prix de l'Opera.”

Also flying the flag for the older fillies and mares is Lady Bowthorpe (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), who like Audarya has gone from strength to strength since last summer and seeks a first top-level success after two fine efforts at this level in 2021. Runner-up to Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in the G1 Lockinge S. at Newbury May 15 and fourth when suffering a troubled trip in the G1 Falmouth S. at Newmarket July 9, she tries this 10-furlong trip for the first time having won over nine in the May 2 G2 Dahlia S. at Newmarket. “She's grown up as a 5-year-old mare and she's much more amenable now,” trainer William Jarvis said. “As a 3 and 4-year-old, we thought she was very much a soft-ground filly but her run in both the Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket and more recently in the Falmouth Stakes were on good-to-firm ground and I think she's pretty adaptable. She was very tired when she came out of the Lockinge Stakes, but we had a very good preparation between Ascot and Newmarket and she's really been pleasing me since the Falmouth.”

Aidan O'Brien puts forward two high-achieving 3-year-olds in the June 20 G1 Prix de Diane winner Joan of Arc (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Empress Josephine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who beat her stablemate in the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas at The Curragh May 23. “We are lucky to have some great fillies and we try to keep them apart and give them their best chance by picking the races which will suit them best, but we have been aiming both of these fillies for this race,” he said. “Joan of Arc won the Prix de Diane and has been progressing lovely all season. Empress Josephine will be stepping up to a mile and a quarter. We went further with her in Gowran before she won the Guineas and then went back in trip. She's a full-sister to Minding, who got a mile and a quarter and got a mile and a half. It's possible she could leave that Gowran run behind her and get the trip, but she is a filly that's got plenty of speed.”

Shadwell's Zeyaadah (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}) beat Mantonbury Stud's Technique (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) by a cosy head margin in the G3 Hoppings Fillies' S. over this trip at Newcastle June 25 and the former's trainer Roger Varian is hoping the ground continues to dry. “She'll need to step up on the Newcastle form to win a Nassau, but while she only won a head she was in command at the line there. Bar the Oaks, she's done nothing wrong in her career. There was only one winner that day and the rest were nowhere. I think she's a 10-furlong filly and I also think she's a better-ground filly now she's going up against better horses, although she's got soft-ground form. She's in good form and I think she's ready for this test.”

In the G2 Unibet Richmond S. for the 2-year-olds, Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum's June 17 G2 Norfolk S. winner Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}) bids to defy a penalty moving up from five to six furlongs. His defeat of Go Bears Go (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}) was made to look even better after the runner-up captured the G2 Railway S. and there is no reason on pedigree and racing style that he will not be at least as effective over this trip. “He has a three-pound penalty for his Royal Ascot win, which is always tough but the horse is in great order,” trainer Richard Fahey commented. “The ground is drying up and should be beautiful by the Richmond Stakes, possibly just on the dead side but he should handle that. I have no worries about going up to six furlongs, in fact I think he'll be better for it.” Leora Judah's Asymmetric (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) looks to add to Alan King's week to remember and has sound claims based on his second to Lusail (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) in the G2 July S. at Newmarket July 8, while Jassim bin Ali Al Attiyah's July 17 Weatherbys Super Sprint winner Gubbass (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) represents the Richard Hannon stable.

In the G3 John Pearce Racing Gordon S., the June 26 G1 Irish Derby third and July 14 G1 Grand Prix de Paris runner-up Wordsworth (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) takes the next step towards a G1 St Leger bid. He is joined by stablemate Sir Lucan (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), who beat him in the 13-furlong Listed Yeats S. at Navan May 15 but has been absent since. “I don't think you can readily rule out any of these, so it's a competitive group 3, albeit one lacking a stand-out,” Wordsworth's rider Ryan Moore commented. “That said, I think my mount Wordsworth is the one to beat in here, even if Sir Lucan got the better of him the last time they met at Navan back in May. Wordsworth has clearly improved since then, being placed in group 1 company on his last two starts and his Grand Prix de Paris second last time came in testing ground.”

Ballydoyle's duo encounter stiff opposition headed by Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's Third Realm (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), who beat Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in the May 8 Listed Lingfield Derby Trial before disappointing when over 11-lengths fifth behind that peer in the June 5 G1 Epsom Derby. Also down the field in the blue riband was Ahmad Al Shaikh's May 5 G3 Chester Vase winner Youth Spirit (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), while Godolphin's Yibir (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) is another intriguing candidate having returned to form when capturing the 13-furlong G3 Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket July 8.

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Champ Returns In Irish 1000 Guineas

Now that the abnormally dry Spring has given way to an ongoing wet spell, Sunday's G1 Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas at The Curragh looks poised for John Oxley's Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}) to re-impose herself on a division she had largely mastered by the end of 2020. Labelled a 'TDN Rising Star' on her impressive debut at Bellewstown in July, she remained unbeaten on ground softer than good thereafter, adding this track's G2 Debutante S. and Newmarket's G1 Fillies' Mile to her tally. Second to Shale (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) when the going was markedly livelier in both the G3 Silver Flash S. at Leopardstown and the G1 Moyglare Stud S. again at this venue on her other two starts, the Joseph O'Brien-trained bay was probably fortunate to sidestep a fast-ground G1 1000 Guineas due to an unsatisfactory scope and lines up a fresh filly. “Pretty Gorgeous is obviously one of our most exciting prospects for the season,” her trainer commented. “She just wasn't quite right prior to the 1000 Guineas, so we played it safe with her and didn't run. Given how firm the ground was, missing it might have been a blessing in disguise. We know from last year that she handles soft ground well and we've been very happy with her in the last couple of weeks. She looks in great order now and will hopefully produce a big effort. Her juvenile form entitles her to be right in the mix, so hopefully she runs a big one.”

As ever, Ballydoyle will have something to say on the matter with Joan of Arc (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) bidding to provide her dam You'resothrilling (Storm Cat) with a third English or Irish Guineas winner. Having captured the G3 Irish 1000 Guineas Trial over a mile at Leopardstown last time May 9, the full-sister to Gleneagles (Ire) and Marvellous (Ire) is back on the soft-to-heavy surface on which she broke her maiden over seven furlongs here Mar. 21. “Like with most of ours this weekend, she'd much prefer better ground but we do at least know she's gone on it before, even though it was only a maiden,” Aidan O'Brien commented.

Successful in the seven-furlong G3 Athasi S. staged on testing ground here May 3, the O'Callaghans' No Speak Alexander (Ire) (Shalaa {Ire}) gets re-acquainted with Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}) who she trailed when fourth in Deauville's G2 Prix du Calvados on very soft ground in August. The latter was third in the May 2 G1 1000 Guineas on ground that would have been a touch too fast and has done very little wrong throughout her career. No Speak Alexander's trainer Jessie Harrington said, “I'm not saying she will win, but she'll be in the shake-up.” Fev Rover's trainer Richard Fahey commented, “I've been preaching all winter that I want to get her on better ground and here we are running on heavy, but she has had experience of it so she'll handle it as well as most. I was keen to get her to The Curragh, because I just thought the track would suit her. We've been pleased with her since Newmarket–she's a pretty straightforward girl.”

Pulled out of Sunday's G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, Doreen Tabor's Miss Amulet (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}), who took the G2 Lowther S. on good-to-soft in August before encountering a quicker surface when runner-up in the G1 Cheveley Park S. at Newmarket and third in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, is a certain runner here. “It's the last Classic she can run in and she'll take her chance,” trainer Ken Condon said. “The 2-year-old career she put together means she deserves her chance in a Guineas. There are genuine concerns about the ground and, as a consequence, the trip is going to be in more focus. We've a good man riding her and she's drawn around fancied horses.”

Broome Looks For Clean Sweep

Also on the card is the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup, where Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) flies the flag for Aidan O'Brien along with the G1 Melbourne Cup runner-up Tiger Moth (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and the G1 Epsom Derby hero Serpentine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Broome has rattled up a treble while his two stable companions limbered up on the home gallops, taking the Listed Devoy S. at Naas Mar. 28 and Apr. 17 G3 Alleged S. and May 3 G2 Mooresbridge S. here and his ability to handle this type of ground is already proven. “Broome lost his way last year,” Aidan O'Brien said. “He has had three trials in Ireland and I have been very happy with him in all of them. We always thought a mile and a half would suit him this year and he has only been a mile and quarter yet, but I am very happy with him. He won on soft ground earlier in the spring there and he seems to be in good form. The other two are just ready to start back. Serpentine is working very well. Ten furlongs is probably not ideal for either of them really, but they have to start somewhere.”

Moyglare Stud's dual G1 Irish St Leger heroine Search For a Song (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) drops back almost half a mile having been an encouraging second on her seasonal bow in Leopardstown's Listed Saval Beg Levmoss S. May 14. Third behind Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) when getting going too late in the delayed edition of this in July, the homebred comes into this in a better place at present and the much slower surface will only serve to aid her cause.

In the G3 Heider Family Stables Gallinule S., Fiona Carmichael's G1 Epsom Derby entry Taipan (Fr) (Frankel {GB}) escapes from the clutches of the current blue riband favourite Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) having finished third and fifth to that rival in Leopardstown's G3 Ballysax S. Apr. 11 and May 9 G3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial respectively. Up in trip and back on testing ground that looks to suit is The Aga Khan's Erzindjan (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), having been a staying-on second taking on his elders in Leopardstown's G3 Amethyst S. at a mile May 9.

Classic Appetizers In Germany

Hoppegarten stage the G3 Derby-Trial and G2 Diana Trial, with the latter the stage for Gestut Gorlsdorf's promising Mercedes (Ger) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) who impressed on debut over this 10-furlongs trip here May 9. Out of the 2016 winner of this race, Meergorl (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}), she hails from the family of last year's G1 Preis der Diana heroine Miss Yoda (Ger) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). She meets Manfred Anton Schmelzer's G3 Preis der Winterkonigin heroine Noble Heidi (Fr) (Intello {Ger}), who goes up in trip after disappointing on her return when fifth in the G3 Karin Baronin von Ullmann Schwarzgold-Rennen at a mile at Cologne May 2. In the Derby-Trial over the same mile-and-a-quarter trip, Gestut Hony-Hof's G3 Preis des Winterfavoriten runner-up Sea of Sands (Ger) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) should be sharper for his comeback third in the G3 Bavarian Classic over this distance at Munich at the start of the month.

Derby Anchors Blockbuster Rome Card

The €633,600 G2 Derby Italiano headlines a six-stake card at Rome on Sunday, and with shippers from England, France and Germany taking on the locals, it is guaranteed to be an intriguing affair. Juan De Montalban (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and Fabilis (GB) (Frankel {GB}), one-two in a 2000 metre Sandown handicap on Apr. 23, re-oppose with the former making his first start for owner Luigi Roveda and trainer Raffaele Biondi after being purchased privately from Mick and Janice Mariscotti from the yard of Andrew Balding. Juan De Montalban was making his seasonal debut at Sandown, having won by three lengths at third asking going a furlong shorter at Goodwood in October.

Fabilis, meanwhile, takes the prize on pedigree among this bunch, being a son of Frankel out of Mirabilis (Lear Fan), a Grade III-winning half-sister to G1 Prix de Diane victress Nebraska Tornado (Storm Cat). Miribilis lines up in the Juddmonte colours for trainer Ralph Beckett, and he makes his third start of the year having run fourth in a one-mile Southwell handicap on Jan. 28. He was fourth in the G3 Zetland S. in October.

Teruya Yoshida's Tokyo Gold (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}) is among the visitors from France, and the winner of last year's Listed Prix Haras de Bouquetot lines up off a second in the Listed Prix Maurice Caillault on the Polytrack on Mar. 9 and a fourth in the G3 Prix Noailles on Apr. 11. Isfahani (Ger) (Isfahan {Ger}) is among the German raiders, and he has already successfully shipped to Italy, having won the G3 Premio Guido Berardelli last term for trainer Henk Grewe and Darius Racing.

Those trying to keep Derby glory at home include Roberto Saggini's Flag's Up (Ire), one of two sons of War Command in the lineup and the winner of the ten-furlong Listed Premio Emanuele Filiberto on May 2. Tiaspettofuori (Ity) (Mujahid), meanwhile, went a half-furlong further to take the Listed Premio Botticelli over this course on Apr. 25, and all four runners from that race re-oppose here.

Click here for the group fields.

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The Weekly Wrap: Trials And Tribulation

Is the Derby picture clearer or murkier after the last week? We probably can't say for sure until after Thursday's Dante S., which may or may not feature Ballydoyle's erstwhile favoured one High Definition (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

At the moment, of those currently at 20/1 or shorter in the betting, there's certainly the potential for there to be a good story attached to the winner and, let's face it, the great old race in its first year of Cazoo sponsorship, certainly could do with that.

Who wouldn't love to see the Derby trophy return to Kingsclere 50 years after the great Mill Reef swept from Epsom glory to the Eclipse, the King George & Queen Elizabeth and on to the Arc? Youth Spirit (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) hasn't shown himself to be of Mill Reef's calibre yet but he cornered nicely at Chester to land the Vase, seeing out the extended 1m4f well despite his relatively sprint-orientated bottom line. He doesn't look terribly big, but then neither was Mill Reef.

The same can be said for Third Realm (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who sealed a good week for Roger Varian and his owner/breeder Sheikh Mohammed Obaid when freewheeling down the hill at Lingfield to overthrow the Godolphin favourite Adayar (GB) (Frankel {GB}). It was also a good day for Third Realm's dam Reem Three (GB) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}), who is compiling quite the record at stud, with the Lingfield Derby Trial winner becoming her fifth black-type performer. Another of them, Cape Byron (GB) (Shamardal), landed a competitive sprint at Haydock on Saturday at the age of seven, having also won last year's G3 Bengough S. for the Varian team.

While Third Realm looks to be on course for Epsom, the trainer's El Drama (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), bought as a yearling for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid for 425,000gns, is more likely to head to the Prix du Jockey Club following his win in the listed Dee S. at Chester.

Varian also saddled the runner-up in the Lingfield Oaks Trial, Save A Forest (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), for the Gredley family, but his big market mover for the Cazoo Oaks last week was the twice-raced Teona (Ire), who was last seen winning a Newcastle maiden in November. Despite the margin of that victory being nine lengths, the Ali Saeed-owned filly must be tearing up the gallops to have been cut to around 5/1 for Epsom even before she steps out for her formal trial in Wednesday's Tattersalls Musidora S. Not only does she have the Derby winners Sea The Stars (Ire) and Authorized (Ire) as her sire and broodmare sire respectively, Teona comes from a family which has already brought her trainer Group 1 success. Her dam Ambivalent (Ire) won the G1 Pretty Polly S. as well as being third to Cirrus Des Aigles (Fr) in the Coronation Cup at Epsom.

Following some lacklustre performances by Ballydoyle representatives in various trials, normal order was restored somewhat at Leopardstown on Sunday, where Aidan O'Brien claimed a record 14th victory in the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial. Following the route utilised for his first two Derby winners, the trainer opted for the Ballysax S./Derrinstown trial double for Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) and, emulating his sire Galileo (Ire) in victory, the dark brown colt shot into clear Derby favouritism as quickly as he accelerated away from his rivals off the home turn at Leopardstown.

He has every right to be at the head of the market following that imperious display but it's worth remembering that O'Brien's three Derby winners in the last four years have been sent of at odds of 40/1, 13/2 and 25/1, and on each occasion he has had at least six runners in the race. There is, then, arguably a case to be made for Urban Sea's female-line descendant Sir Lamorak (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), who could be seen at York on Thursday.

There's almost no getting away from Urban Sea when it comes to the Classics, and fans of inbreeding to superior mares will appreciate the appearance of Galileo and his fellow Derby winner and half-brother Sea The Stars in the pedigree of the facile winner of the Newmarket S., Mohaafeth (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), making him inbred 3×3 to the bluest of blue hens. He would also be a poignant, posthumous winner for Sheikh Hamdan.

Thrilling Continuity

One mare quickly propelling herself into that rarefied territory with the help of Urban Sea's son Galileo is You'resothrilling (Storm Cat). The sister to Giant's Causeway was not Urban Sea's equal on the racecourse but she was no slouch, winning the G2 Cherry Hinton S. and G3 Swordlestown Stud Sprint S. as a juvenile. On Sunday, she extended the record of her black-type-winning offspring to seven from seven when Joan Of Arc (Ire) became the latest in the G3 Irish 1,000 Guineas Trial and is now likely to attempt to emulate her sister Marvellous (Ire) by winning the Irish 1000 Guineas.

The 16-year-old You'resothrilling has been mated exclusively with Galileo, but if it ain't broke there's no point trying to fix it. Gleneagles (Ire) followed the mare's first foal, Happily, to become a Classic winner, winning the English and Irish versions of the 2000 Guineas as well as the G1 St James's Palace S. He too has enjoyed a good run of late via his offspring and currently boasts a 33% strike-rate of winners to runners.

Late developer Insinuendo (Ire) landed the G3 Blue Wind S. for Willie McCreery on only her third start on Saturday, while 3-year-old Eaglefield (Ire) made two quick back-to-back appearances at Gowran Park on Wednesday followed by Leopardstown on Sunday, where he held on for the win for the in-form Jim Bolger stable. So far in May, Gleneagles has also been represented by the listed winner Too Soon To Panic (Ire) as well as the smart G2 Prix Greffulhe winner Baby Rider (Fr).

Classic Sires

In the year that Dawn Approach (Ire) moved back to stand at the stud where he was born, he is another former 2000 Guineas winner enjoying something of a purple patch. Of course his own Guineas winner Poetic Flare (Ire) has been the highlight and was one of seven winners from just 12 runners in Britain for the stallion in the last fortnight. During that same period in Ireland, he has added the listed winner Lunar Space (Ire) to his record, along with 3-year-old maiden winner Texas Moon (Ire) and juvenile scorer Strapped (Ire).

The 2014 Derby winner Australia (GB) has been enjoying a similarly good run. Mare Australis (Ire), Broome (Ire) and Sir Ron Priestley (GB) combined for a group-race treble on the first weekend of May, while Freedom Of Speech (Ire) was another winning 2-year-old from the Bolger stable last week.

Sir Ron Priestley is set to make a swift return at York on Friday and is currently favourite for the G2 Yorkshire Cup. A burly horse who is nevertheless light on his feet, he runs in the trailblazing fashion so typical of those from the Mark Johnston stable and it would be no surprise to see him post some bold opposition to Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), not to mention his own half-brother Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}), in the top staying races this season.

Follow The Bear

Kodi Bear (Ire) was a smart miler in his day for Clive Cox and owner Olive Shaw and, now at Rathbarry Stud, he is starting to look a good value option for breeders at his current fee of €6,000. During a particularly fruitful spell he has been responsible for the listed-winning fillies Measure Of Magic (Ire) and Mystery Angel (Ire), while Sienna Bonnie (Ire) and Go Bears Go (Ire) have both been impressive winners from his second crop of juveniles in the past week.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the son of Kodiac (GB) has had some success when crossed with mares by his Rathbarry stud mate Acclamation (GB), and two of his three stakes winners to date are out of mares by Acclamation's sire Royal Applause (GB) and son Dark Angel (Ire).

That Dark Angel cross features in Mystery Angel, who heads to Wednesday's G3 Musidora S., and in A Pint Of Bear (Ire), who won for the third time on Monday.

It was also a notable weekend on the international stage for Germany's leading sire Soldier Hollow (GB). A rare foray to Britain for a German runner ended in victory for the Andreas Wohler-trained Axana (Ger) in the G3 Chartwell Fillies' S. at Lingfield. That same day, another daughter of Soldier Hollow, the 3-year-old Reine d'Amour, took the listed Henkel-Stutepreis at Dusseldorf, while on Sunday the veteran son of In The Wings (GB) featured as the broodmare sire of G1 NHK Mile winner Schnell Meister (Ger) (Kingman {GB}) in Japan. The 3-year-old colt is out of Gestut Wittenkindshof's G1 Preis der Diana winner Serienholde (Ger) and was bred by Katsumi Yoshida's Northern Farm. He joins recent stakes winners Waldkonig (GB) and Wirko (Ger) in being a son of Kingman from a German family replete with class and stamina.

Lanwades Goes Global

Lanwades Stud suffered the loss of Leroidesanimaux (Brz) and Archipenko in 2016 and 2017, but the lingering influence of both stallions has been felt recently, particularly in Australia.

On May 1, Wyclif (GB) (Archipenko) won the listed Port Adelaide Cup and that was followed by a stakes double for Leroidesanimaux down under when Le Don De Vie (GB) won the listed Warrnambool Cup on Thursday and Zaaki claimed the G2 Hollinsdale S. at the Gold Coast on Saturday. All three were bred at Lanwades by Kirsten Rausing.

The breeder has, however, enjoyed black-type success closer to home and in her own colours on consecutive weekends. The G1 Yorkshire Oaks runner-up Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}) got her season off on a positive footing by winning the listed Daisy Warwick Fillies' S. at Goodwood, but she was trumped in some style on Saturday when Albaflora (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) stormed to a seven-length victory in the listed Buckhounds S. The greys are descendants respectively of the Group 1-winning Alzao full-sisters Albanova (GB) and Alborada (GB).

Albaflora was not the only winner for the family and Rausing on Saturday as her 3-year-old Ralph Beckett stable-mate Aleas (GB) (Archipenko) posted his third consecutive win at Haydock in just four starts, and by a similarly impressive margin.

We Must Do Better

The TDN team in New Jersey will keep us abreast of the saga of the latest failed drug test for a Bob Baffert runner. That it was Medina Spirit (Protonico) in America's biggest race of all, and a result which had provided a first major success for a significant new owner to the sport, not to mention the thrill of a lifetime for the horse's small breeder, only makes this story even sorrier.

Racing is in trouble all around the world, and every trainer, owner and breeder is beholden to maintain the highest standards of welfare at whatever level of the sport at which they participate, even if that means resting a horse rather than reaching for the corticosteroids to perform permitted veterinary procedures. In fact, especially so.

Without the horses, racing is nothing. If we continue to allow situations which appear to show horses being abused in the name of our entertainment, then we will have nothing, and that is all that we deserve.

Clutching at straws in the maelstrom of this latest bad-news incident for racing, the one positive aspect is the loyalty shown by Medina Spirit's owner Amr Zedan to the trainer in the aftermath of Sunday's revelations. He ended his verbal show of support for Baffert with the phlegmatic line, “This, too, shall pass.”

It not only shows a temperament which looks ideally suited to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune which racing can often throw at its participants, but a sense of loyalty which is all too often missing in the sport. Let's hope it doesn't turn out to be misplaced.

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Classic Clues in Abundance on Sunday

There is no doubt that the Flat is back on Sunday, with the action at Leopardstown and ParisLongchamp featuring several Classic contenders jostling for position. In the G3 Ballylinch Stud “Priory Belle” 1000 Guineas Trial at the Foxrock venue, Coolmore hold a strong hand with last year's G1 Moyglare Stud S. heroine Shale (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) saddled with just a three-pound penalty despite those exploits. Ryan Moore has picked her over Aidan O'Brien's promising maiden winners Empress Josephine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Joan of Arc (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), with their illustrious pedigrees suggesting there could be plenty to come as 2021 rolls on. Joan Brosnan's Loch Lein (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) was impressive when winning a six-furlong maiden at Cork in September and represents the Jessie Harrington yard, while Shadwell's Mehnah (GB) (Frankel {GB}) looked a filly with a bright future when scoring on her debut over seven furlongs at Dundalk in September.

While the Listed Ballylinch Stud “Red Rocks” 2000 Guineas Trial S. lacks the same strength as the fillies' version, there is nevertheless intrigue with a clutch of aspiring Classic protagonists attempting to meet the form standard of Shadwell's G2 Beresford S. runner-up Monaasib (GB) (Bobby's Kitten) and Jim Bolger's G3 Killavullan S. scorer Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}). Of the Ballydoyle trio, Ryan Moore has opted to ride the Mar. 21 Curragh maiden scorer Horoscope (Ire) (No Nay Never) while in the 10-furlong G3 P.W. McGrath Memorial Ballysax S. he is on Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who was fifth in the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud in October. Another of Rosegreen's Derby types is the Dundalk maiden winner Lough Derg (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), while the Harrington stable puts forward Fiona Carmichael's Naas maiden scorer Taipan (Fr) (Frankel {GB}). There is also the G3 Eyrefield S. first and second Flying Visit (Ire) (Pride of Dubai {Aus}) and Wuqood (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), with the latter carrying TDN Rising Star status for Shadwell and Dermot Weld.

At ParisLongchamp, the 10-furlong G2 Prix d'Harcourt boasts Jean-Claude Seroul's high-class Skalleti (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}) bidding for a seventh Pattern-race success as he meets Jean-Louis Bouchard's returning G2 Prix Greffulhe winner and G1 Grand Prix de Paris third and G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe fourth Gold Trip (Fr) (Outstrip {GB}). The card's nine-furlong G3 Prix la Force sees G1 Prix du Jockey Club hopefuls go to post including Godolphin's Erasmo (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), who captured Chantilly's seven-furlong Listed Prix Saraca in October, while in the G3 Prix Vanteaux over the same trip the cast of fillies is headed by Miguel Castro Megias's G1 Prix Marcel Boussac and G3 Prix Francois Boutin winner Tiger Tanaka (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}). Only second in Saint-Cloud's Listed Prix la Camargo Mar. 21, she faces Juddmonte's exciting Petricor (GB) (Frankel {GB}) who won her sole start over 7 1/2 furlongs at Deauville in August when the Camargo winner Sweet Lady (Fr) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) was last. In the G3 Prix Noailles over the Jockey Club trip of 10 1/2 furlongs, Bernard Giraudon's progressive Pretty Tiger (Ire) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) looks to re-establish his dominance over another Juddmonte representative in Media Stream (GB) (Frankel {GB}) with the pair separated by seven lengths when first and third in the Listed Prix Francois Mathet at Saint-Cloud Mar. 21.

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