Ascot Braced for Frankie’s Champions Day Farewell

As if conjuring the renowned Babet as a personal Tempest for his [probable] European goodbye, racing's true Duke of Milan rides back into his beloved Ascot on Saturday as the eye of the storm for a suitably dramatic instalment of the Qipco Champions Day. While this fixture has fast become a resounding success, despite its mid-October nook being that bit too far into the wet season to deliver a fair playing field, it always needs at least one dynamo per year to power it into the headlines. Officials are lucky that the 2023 edition is already taken care of. It's a fitting goodbye to a totem, a genuine racing institution and, quite possibly, a national one too who 27 years ago used the old Ascot Festival card that boasted the QEII as its showcase to carve out his unfathomable Magnificent Seven.

We all know that the imperative glorious farewell victory will come, but from where? Will it be a late gift from King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in the G1 Qipco Champion S., the key race of them all? Dettori will hope that it comes much sooner in the afternoon to release the enormous emotional pressure. There is the 2000 Guineas hero Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S., his old friend Kinross (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in the G1 Qipco British Champions Sprint, and the aptly-titled Free Wind (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares S. Away you go, Prospero.

Ahead of one of his biggest days in the saddle, the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame jockey is trying to hold it together. “I'll try to keep my emotions in check until after my last ride, but obviously all my friends and family will be there. I'm sure I'll shed a tear on the day, but at the moment I'm really trying to focus on the races and give my friends and family something to shout about on the day,” he said.
King Of Steel's trainer Roger Varian summed up the general feeling ahead of the rider's tumultuous farewell. “We're happy to have him on our horse on Saturday and on the big day, when the goggles come down, he's one of the very best there has ever been and the season he's had tells everyone he is still riding at the top of his game,” he said.

Adding to the sense of occasion is the fact that Dettori will sport the Godolphin royal blue he is most synonymous with as he partners the G2 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup contender Trawlerman (Ire) by his renaissance horse Golden Horn (GB). Hugh Anderson, managing director of Godolphin, is keen to stress the import of the situation. “For Godolphin, Frankie Dettori has been a huge part of our history,” he said. “For my whole adult life–and I'm a little bit older than Frankie–he has been the top jockey or one of the top jockeys in this country and I think his contribution to the sport has been incalculable. I'm very pleased he is going to be wearing Godolphin blue on what is potentially his last Champions Day and we hope he does well.”

Paddington | PA Media

Ballydoyle Big Guns Are Rolled Out…

Despite the feeling of inevitability that things will ultimately fall his way, there are of course 52 reasons why Frankie won't ride a single winner and six of them are from Ballydoyle, with the TDN Rising Star Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) having been on the receiving end of Dettori's magic as he suffered a momentum-stopping defeat to Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 Juddmonte International. Prior to that, he had hoarded the Irish 2000 Guineas, St James's Palace, Eclipse and Sussex and his role in a rich renewal of the QEII will tell us where he stands among the season's kingpins. If Paddington isn't a mortal lock, the yard's Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) could well be as he continues his improbable comeback from his well-documented strife in the Long Distance Cup.
Aidan O'Brien reflected on his key duo earlier this week. “Paddington loves racing and loves work–when you build up his work, he starts putting on weight and that's just the way he is,” he said. “He's a good strong traveller and quickens very well and handles all types of ground. He goes like a real miler, even though he's won over a mile and a quarter. I couldn't believe Kyprios made it back to any race really–I couldn't believe the day he went out of the parade ring at The Curragh he was actually there. He was just barely ready to run and we think he's made progress since then.”

Allez France?

While the feature Champion has been kind to France since moving to Ascot and the focus is understandably on Horizon Dore (Fr) (Dabirsim {Fr}) to cap a momentous autumn for Gousserie Racing, there is also the prospect of the QEII-bound Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) to keep Yeguada Centurion and Christopher Head in the big time that they have become accustomed to during the current campaign. Those keen to write off the latter after three excusable defeats will be well served to remember that he dismantled Horizon Dore in Chantilly's nine-furlong G3 Prix de Guiche when the ground was given as officially heavy. Patrice Cottier's emerging star has moved up in trip subsequently while Big Rock has gone the other way, so a sensational double for this Gallic pairing is not a far-fetched scenario.
Pauline Chehboub said of Horizon Dore in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf qualifier, “He is doing well, he is in good form with some freshness. He is stronger than at the start of the season. He needed time this year, so we chose to stay in France for the first part of the season and now it's time to travel and see him at group one level.”

Girl Power…

Nashwa | Scoop Dyga

This day is all about bringing the best together and, luckily, the two power contests boast three power players among the females. It just so happens that Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) represents double trouble in that regard, with Hollie Doyle combining to make for a potent threat in the QEII that has for so long looked tailor-made for her. More about pure muscular pace than stamina at four, Imad Al Sagar's beloved filly bullied her sex in the G1 Falmouth S. and comes back to that mile trip after two huge efforts attempting to carry her speed over 10 furlongs.

Hollie Doyle, who will have already steered her perennial hero of the hour Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}) in the Long Distance Cup, is geared up for her latest dose of the Nashwa treatment. “It really hasn't mattered to me which race they chose,” she said. “Nashwa seems just as good at a mile as a mile and a quarter, so the trip doesn't seem to be an issue and she goes on any ground. The figures say she's improved significantly again, which is mad, so I'm delighted she's staying in training.”

What Nashwa has in brute strength, The Aga Khan's Tahiyra (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) possibly makes up for in tactical elan but this potentially horrible going is not what she needs and Dermot Weld will be quick to spare her a gruelling examination in the QEII–a “Win and You're In” for the GI Breeders' Cup Mile–if the expected torrents come this way. Any volume of rain is of no concern to the Champion S. siren Via Sistina (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), whose performance in Newmarket's G2 Dahlia S. in May still stands as one of the season's major moments. What she achieved subsequently, even when winning at a higher level in The Curragh's Pretty Polly, did not have that same elevated feel but the ground has come right for another tour de force from Rebecca Hillen's star of the George Boughey show.

“She looks amazing for this time of year and her best performances come after a break, which she's had since Deauville two months ago,” Boughey said. “Oisin [Murphy] already knows her well, having ridden her work when she was with Joe [Tuite].”

Not A Bridge Too Far…

Bay Bridge | Megan Ridgwell

When it is on the soft side, it is fair to describe last year's Champion S. hero Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}) as one of the best of the middle-distance division. His success over Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and My Prospero (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) in this 12 months ago, and more importantly his brushing aside of Mostahdaf in the G3 Brigadier Gerard S. last May, mark him as a special talent when conditions are kind. On the Polytrack, James Wigan and Ballylinch Stud's flag-bearer again showed what he is capable of on his penultimate start in the G3 September S. and it is possible to excuse all defeats around those wins mostly on surfaces too quick.

Sir Michael Stoute's sole runner in the card's pattern races is probably still the one to beat in the feature and the master trainer's assistant James Savage is giving out the right vibes. “We've been very pleased with how Bay Bridge came out of the Arc, which was a tough race on ground that dried out throughout the day,” he said. “He ran well at Longchamp and was only beaten about six lengths, having done a little bit too much in Richard's hands in the early and middle parts of the race.”

“We are pretty sure he stayed the mile and a half, as he did at Kempton, but you'd have to say that going back to Ascot in conditions we've been waiting for all year he'd have a great shout,” he added. “I think Mostahdaf is a very, very good horse, and so is Horizon Dore, so in my opinion it's just as strong a race as last year, but conditions will hopefully be very much in our favour once again and he's training very well.”

Time Calls For Charlton…

Another subplot to the fixture is the last Champions Day for Roger Charlton as he nears the handover to son Harry at the end of the season. They saddle the fast-improving Time Lock (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the Fillies & Mares and her impressive defeat of the re-opposing Sweet Memories (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in Newmarket's G3 Princess Royal S. last month marks her down as one of the favourites. “She is in great form and is on the right path, growing in confidence with her success. It looks very competitive with a big field but she's in as good form as any of the others at the moment,” Harry said. “It's hard to be too confident, as the conditions aren't ideal. We'd be going with more confidence if they weren't looking at so much rain, as good ground would have been ideal, but she handles soft.”

Inner Track Decision Made…

Ascot announced that the inner flat course will be used for the middle-distance races on Saturday, with the going at soft, heavy in places on Friday. It was good-to-soft, soft in places on the inner track then and soft on the straight course. As a result of the change, the Long Distance Cup will now be run over 82 yards shorter, the Fillies & Mares will be 78 yards less while the Champion Stakes remains at 10 furlongs.

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Inspiral To Avoid Ascot; Paddington To The QEII

Storm Babet has decided the final shape of the fields for Saturday's Qipco Champions Day fixture, with the softening ground ruling Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) out of the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. and making up Aidan O'Brien's mind as to where to point Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}). That four-times group 1 winner takes up his engagement in the QEII, leaving a total of nine to take part in the G1 Qipco Champion S. Heading the list for the 10-furlong highlight is last year's winner Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}), with the improving Horizon Dore (Fr) (Dabirsim {Fr}) and Derby runner-up King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) declared alongside Shadwell's G1 Juddmonte International and G1 Prince of Wales's S. hero Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), who had been a doubt earlier in the week due to the dire forecast. There are 11 engaged in the QEII, with The Aga Khan's Tahiyra (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) a doubt to tackle Paddington if the ground worsens again, while Imad Al Sagar's Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) has been diverted from the Champion by the Gosdens.

Cheveley Park Stud's managing director Chris Richardson said of Inspiral on Thursday, “We've obviously been monitoring the weather and the rain that's fallen. I know John Gosden walked the track yesterday, there's been a subsequent 12 millimetres and it looks like there's more to come. As we know, when she ran on soft ground in the Sussex at Goodwood in the summer, Frankie looked after her as it wasn't the sort of performance she was enjoying. The decision now is whether the Breeders' Cup [Filly & Mare Turf] is an option. John is going to speak to Mrs Thompson about it and then we'll know more, but it's very much up to her to decide whether she wants the filly to go to America. They're liaising between them and there's decisions to be made on whether she runs again this year and whether she's kept in training next year. She's a wonderful filly, Mrs Thompson is the owner of the horse and will make the decision.”

In other news, the G1 Commonwealth Cup and G1 July Cup hero Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) will not run in the G1 Qipco British Champions Sprint. Steve Brown said of the 3-year-old, who was disappointing in the G1 Haydock Sprint Cup, “He wasn't just tracking through as normal behind with his movement. It looks minimal, but given the ground conditions, which are obviously going to be pretty testing, we're just not prepared to take any chances with him. It's as simple as that really.”

Marc Chan's defending Champions Sprint title-holder Kinross (GB) (Kingman {GB}) will face 14 in the six-furlong bonanza, there are 14 declared for a wide-open G1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares S., and Ballydoyle's star stayer Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) faces seven in the G2 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup. The storm has resulted in 13mm of rain falling, with further rain forecast on Friday.

Ascot's clerk of the course Chris Stickels is ready to switch the Long Distance Cup, Filly & Mares and Champion S. to the drier inner hurdles track for the first time since 2019. “If we have heavy ground on any part of the round course, we can move the round course races to the inner track and we have to decide that before 8 a.m. on Saturday,” he explained. “Looking at the forecast for Friday, I would say that is quite likely. I think the rain we will get overnight will turn us back to soft on the round course and maybe even if we get the top end, some heavy places on the round course. It's a shame we are a week later in the calendar this year and even today, John Gosden said if we were racing today the ground would have been perfect.”

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Siyouni’s Tahiyra Too Good In The Matron

There were few surprise outcomes on Leopardstown's Irish Champions card on Saturday, merely simple rubber-stamping of the positions of the season's category leaders. Step forward The Aga Khan's G1 Irish 1000 Guineas and G1 Coronation S. heroine Tahiyra (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}–Tarana {Ire}, by Cape Cross {Ire}) in the G1 Coolmore America “Justify” Matron S., which has a history of upsets but which this time kept to script. If Dermot Weld, who had earlier opted to withdraw Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), had concerns about the winner's readiness beforehand one look at the body language of Chris Hayes would have steadied the nerves.

Content to follow the leaders throughout the early stages in this berth for the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, the half-sister to the luminary Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal) cruised to the fore soon into the straight and once committed took command a furlong out. Soon beyond reach, the 5-6 favourite had 1 1/4 lengths to spare over Rogue Millennium (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) at the line, with half a length back to Just Beautiful (GB) (Pride Of Dubai {Aus}) in third.

“No matter how many Group 1s you're fortunate in life to win, that will always go down as a special one for us–all the pressure was on this filly and she keeps winning,” Weld said of the second of three successful TDN Rising Stars on the card. “Leopardstown has been very lucky for me and the way to ride it, like most tracks, is to just keep it simple and ride her with confidence. She's a very talented filly. She was eight to 10 kilos heavier today than when she won at Royal Ascot and I was just very happy when I saw Chris cruising there on the outside. Obviously the Breeders' Cup has to be a possibility and a decision will be made on whether she's kept in training for next year.”

 

Pedigree Notes

Tahiyra is the third foal out of the Listed Oyster S. and Listed Martin Malony S. winner and G3 Curragh Cup-placed Tarana (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), whose first was the aforementioned GI Breeders' Cup Turf, G1 Prix Vermeille and G1 Prix de l'Opera heroine Tarnawa who was also second in this card's feature and the Arc. The second dam Tarakala (Ire) (Dr Fong), who captured the Listed Galtres S. and was third in the G3 Noblesse S., is connected to the G1 Prix Royal-Oak hero and G1 Prix du Cadran runner-up Tiraaz (Lear Fan) and the G1 Phoenix S. heroine Damson (Ire) (Entrepreneur {GB}). Tarana's 2-year-old colt by Frankel (GB) is named Tarafi (Ire), while she also has a yearling filly by Lope De Vega (Ire).

 

Saturday, Leopardstown, Ireland
COOLMORE AMERICA JUSTIFY MATRON S.-G1, €400,000, Leopardstown, 9-9, 3yo/up, f/m, 8fT, 1:37.50, gd.
1–TAHIYRA (IRE), 128, f, 3, by Siyouni (Fr)
1st Dam: Tarana (Ire) (MSW & GSP-Ire, $141,525), by Cape Cross (Ire)
2nd Dam: Tarakala (Ire), by Dr Fong
3rd Dam: Tarakana, by Shahrastani
'TDN Rising Star'. O-H H The Aga Khan; B-H H The Aga Khan's Studs SC (IRE); T-Dermot Weld; J-Chris Hayes. €240,000. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Eng, 6-5-1-0, $1,382,723. *1/2 to Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal), MG1SW-Fr, GISW-US, MGSW & G1SP-Ire, $4,508,464. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Rogue Millennium (Ire), 133, f, 4, Dubawi (Ire)–Hawaafez (GB) (GSW-Eng, $111,512), by Nayef. 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (35,000gns 2yo '21 TATMA). O-The Rogues Gallery; B-Shadwell Estate Company Ltd (IRE); T-Tom Clover. €80,000.
3–Just Beautiful (GB), 133, m, 5, Pride Of Dubai (Aus)–Astrelle (Ire) (GSP-Eng), by Makfi (GB). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (8,000gns Ylg '19 TAOCT; 625,000gns 3yo '21 TATMA). O-Moyglare Stud Farm; B-Essafinaat UK Ltd (GB); T-Paddy Twomey. €40,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, HF, 1 3/4. Odds: 0.83, 12.00, 6.00.
Also Ran: Meditate (Ire), Jumbly (GB), Zarinsk (GB), Prosperous Voyage (Ire), Ocean Jewel (Ire), Olivia Maralda (Ire), Clever And Cool (Ire), Gozen (Ire), Cadeau Belle (Fr). Scratched: Homeless Songs (Ire).

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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.

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