Stradivarius and ‘Moon’ To Return At York

High-class stayer Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and G1 Cazoo Derby hopeful Reach For The Moon (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) will both be in action at York in mid-May, co-trainer John Gosden revealed. The former holds an entry in the G2 Paddy Power Yorkshire Cup S. on May 13. After winning the G2 Doncaster Cup S. in September, the Bjorn Nielsen-owned chestnut ran second in the G1 Prix du Cadran at ParisLongchamp a month later, and finished his season with a third in the G2 British Champions Long Distance Cup. Her Majesty The Queen's Reach For The Moon is a winner of the G3 Solario S. at Sandown on Aug. 21, and he was a good second in the G2 Champagne S. at Doncaster on Sept. 11. His next engagement will be the G2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante S. at York on May 12.

John Gosden said, “They are all fine. Stradivarius will go to York. Both of them will be pointing towards York. Stradivarius for the Yorkshire Cup and Reach For The Moon to the Dante. They are going all right at this stage. It is early days.”

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Breeders’ Cup Champs Next Starts Announced

Glass Slippers (GB) (Dream Ahead), the winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland last November, will head straight to Royal Ascot for her 2021 debut, the G2 Temple S. at Haydock having been ruled out. Both the G1 King's Stand S. and the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. are options for the 2020 G1 Derrinstown Stud Flying Five S. heroine.

“We're skipping the Temple S.,” trainer Kevin Ryan said. “We'll go straight to Ascot, or at least that's the plan. She's in both races and we'll decide a bit closer to the time which to go for.”

“We'll worry about that [the Breeders' Cup] when we get to the end of the year,” he added. “We'll think about her targets in Europe first, but she's in great nick at home.”

Another 2020 Breeders' Cup victress who will return to action even sooner than Glass Slippers is GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf heroine Audarya (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). The bay also saluted in the G1 Darley Prix Jean Romanet last August for trainer James Fanshawe, who revealed that the G2 Prix Corrida  on May 26th was the likely next start for the 5-year-old.

Fanshawe said, “She's in good form and I'm hoping to start her off next week, she's got a couple of options. She's in the Prix Corrida at Saint-Cloud and she has a couple of other entries as well.”

Later in the season, the mare is also entered in Royal Ascot's G1 Prince of Wales's S. and the G1 Pretty Polly S. at The Curragh and the G1 Coral-Eclipse with the Breeders' Cup on the horizon, too.

He added, “The race next week is for fillies and mares only and the conditions are good. There are good races across the country, but we'll get this one out of the way first.

“She's won two Group 1 races against her own sex. So we'll see how we get on and see whether we can take on the colts at some stage.”

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Thunder Moon Heads Straight to The Guineas

Group 1 winner Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) will make his next start in the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas on May 1. A winner of a maiden at The Curragh in August, the bay stepped up and won the G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National S. by 1 ½ lengths there in September. He lost his unbeaten record with a third-place finish in the G1 Darley Dewhurst S. behind St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) and Wembley (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), both trained by trainer Joseph O'Brien's father Aidan.

“He's wintered very well,” O'Brien said on Nick Luck Daily on Tuesday morning. “Obviously we put him away after the Dewhurst, but I was very pleased with that run. The ground went a bit slow on us and we probably weren't drawn in the perfect position, but it was a very good run.

“The plan all winter has been to go straight to the Guineas and not have a prep. He's in good shape. His National S. win was a very good performance. It was a very messy race, but he got himself out of trouble and showed a fantastic turn of foot.

“Turn of foot and speed are probably his two attributes, he'd love a bit of firm ground as he's a strong traveller with a turn of foot, which he showed a couple of times last season. It would be pretty important to us that the ground is good or better.”

“I don't know if he's classier [than the two who beat him in the Dewhurst], but I probably feel that we are the quickest horse,”  O'Brien added.

“We travelled very well through the Dewhurst and looked the winner, but on the day there was a severe bias to the rail, we were drawn on the other side and also the ground was on the slow side so I thought it was a fantastic run.

“When we broke down the race afterwards we were very proud of his run, we're looking forward to taking them on again on what we hope will be quicker going.

“His pedigree suggests he'll stay further, I'm quite confident about the mile but after that I'm not sure how much further he'd go as he's quite a pacey horse.

“I'd say Declan McDonagh is most likely to ride at Newmarket and we'll go from there, but it hasn't really been discussed yet. I'd imagine it will be Declan as he has a good relationship with him.”

O'Brien's G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas hopeful Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}), a winner of the G1 bet365 Fillies' Mile, is also in good form. Like her yardmate, she will also not have a prep prior to her run in the fillies' Classic.

“She's in good shape too, I'm pleased with how she's wintered,” O'Brien said. “She's a big, powerful mare and the plan is to go straight there,” he said.

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Future Targets Outlined For Mishriff and Lord North

After his victory in the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic on Saturday, Prince Faisal's Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) exited the race well. A potential long-term goal for the bay is the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp in October. Successful in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano at three for trainer John Gosden, who now trains with his son Thady, the 4-year-old colt saluted in the $20-million Saudi Cup on dirt in Riyadh on Feb. 20 before switching back to grass for his Meydan appearance. It was his first try at the Arc's 1 1/2-mile trip and he will now receive a freshening.

“I will discuss it with Prince Faisal, but it was always the plan to see if he could be an Arc horse and I think he proved he gets the mile and a half,” Gosden said of Mishriff on Racing TV's Luck On Sunday programme. “They went quick to the bend, then they slowed it up and he finished well, so I think he'll freshen for the summer.

“My feeling would be races like the Eclipse, the Juddmonte International, the Arc and the King George. Those are the races to be looking at and seeing where we are at the time. That's a long way off. He deserves a pretty good holiday.”

One race that is most likely off the table is the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar in the fall.

“Having had a lot of success at Del Mar over the years I do know that straight very well and I always feel they should pick up the finishing wire and move it another 100 yards down,” he said. “It's a very short straight and a different style of racing. You've got to have real tactical speed and you ping off the bend. This is a horse who enjoys the length of the straight. I don't think it's going to suit him.”

His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Mohammed Racing's Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who won the G1 Dubai Turf earlier on the Dubai World Cup card, as well as the G1 Prince Of Wales's S. last June, will target the latter race after a break as well.

Gosden added of Lord North, “I think he'll go back for the Prince of Wales's S. again [at Royal Ascot]. We'll freshen him up now for the summer.”

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