Valia | Horse Racing Free Tips

Europe's penultimate group 1 prize takes place on Sunday and the 2021 running of ParisLongchamp's Prix Royal-Oak carries extra significance as the last of its kind to include the name Alain de Royer-Dupre. Soon set for an honourable retirement from the field he has mastered for so long, the doyen of Aiglemont has one more shot at the big time with last year's runner-up Valia (Fr) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). Seemingly prepped perfectly for her return tilt, The Aga Khan homebred has no Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) to deal with this time and has already shown that she retains all her ability with a win in the 14-furlong G2 Prix Maurice de Nieuil here July 14. Subsequently third in the 12 1/2-furlong G2 Prix de Pomone at Deauville Aug. 22 and in the G1 Prix de Royallieu back over a mile and three quarters at this venue Oct. 2, a return to winning ways at the right time would bring emotive scenes.

Moyglare Stud's dual G1 Irish St Leger heroine Search For a Song (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was back to her best last time when issuing a 9 1/2-length beating to the G1 St Leger third The Mediterranean (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in The Curragh's G3 Loughbrown S. over two miles Sept. 26 and the lightly-raced 5-year-old may be Valia's greatest threat. “She's in very good form. We're hoping there isn't too much rain, but I don't think there has been and hopefully the ground won't be as bad as it was on Arc weekend,” Fiona Craig said. “The Aga Khan's filly could be tough to beat, but we're hoping she'll run well. When she was younger she used to like the ground fast and firm. I don't think she needs that now, she just doesn't need to be stuck in a bog.”

Three-year-olds have won five of the last nine renewals and Godolphin's June 16 G2 Queen's Vase scorer Kemari (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) has experience of this track having finished runner-up to stablemate Manobo (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in the Oct. 2 G2 Prix Chaudenay over half a furlong shorter. “We have been pleased with how Kemari came out of the Prix Chaudenay, which was a step back in the right direction following his run [when last of eight in the Aug. 18 G2 Great Voltigeur S.] at York,” trainer Charlie Appleby said. “He has handled these conditions before and we are hoping he can make the first three in what looks a competitive event.”

Also in the mix is Le Haras de la Gousserie's Skazino (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}), who took the course-and-distance G3 Prix de Barbeville and G2 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier in May and Deauville's G2 Prix Kergorlay Aug. 22 either side of a second to Valia in the Maurice de Nieuil. Perhaps overstretched when fourth in the 2 1/2-mile G1 Prix du Cadran here last time Oct. 2, he bids to cap a recent purple patch for connections while Julian Richmond-Watson's Oct. 1 Listed Noel Murless S. winner Scope (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) and Haras de Saint Pair's Aug. 29 G2 Grand Prix de Deauville scorer Glycon (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) add intrigue to a competitive renewal.

The post A Perfect Swan Song appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

ParisLongchamp stages the G1 Prix Royal-Oak on Sunday, with the fillies and mares very much at centre stage. Fresh from a career-best success in the 2 1/2-mile G1 Prix du Cadran here on Oct. 3, Princess Zoe (Ger) (Jukebox Jury {Ire}) is partnered by Seamie Heffernan with regular rider Joey Sheridan suspended due to a whip ban handed out by these stewards on Arc Saturday. On the same day, The Aga Khan’s Valia (Fr) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) took the G2 Prix Chaudenay in the manner of a filly going places and she is bound to have been prepared meticulously by Alain de Royer-Dupre.

If there is a colt capable of making an impact it is Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}), who showed how much he appreciates testing ground and a staying trip when scoring by 15 lengths in Goodwood’s G3 March S. on Aug. 29.

Trainer Tony Mullins said of Princess Zoe, “Hopefully it’s not too quick a return. We wouldn’t be here if we saw any evidence that it was, but you’re not really going to know until the last 200 metres on Sunday–that will be the acid test. Everything has gone according to plan and we don’t see any problems at the moment. We think we’re in as good a form as we were the last day, if not better.”

“We see the Aga Khan filly and Mark Johnston’s horse as the two dangers,” he added. “I think more the Aga Khan filly, who is a possible improver. She’ll have to improve again, I think, but it’s very possible that she will.” Charlie Johnston said of Subjectivist, “If you had asked me a month ago where he was going to go, I would have said the Long Distance Cup at Ascot last weekend–that was Plan A, but then when Stradivarius turned up and Aidan declared everything he did, it looked a deeper field than we expected it to be so at the last minute we decided to give it a swerve and go for the Royal-Oak. Looking at it, I think it’s the right decision. The trip is a little bit of an unknown–you are always a little bit hesitant with him, because of his run style and how he likes to get on with things. Princess Zoe needed every yard of the two and a half miles last time and I would like to think over this trip we might have too much class for her. Our horse will handle the conditions and goes there with a good chance.”

In the 11-furlong G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris, Gestut Schlenderhan’s 3-year-old colt Mare Australis (Ire) (Australia {GB}) is running for the first time since making hard work of winning the Listed Prix de l’Avre over 12 furlongs at Chantilly on June 14. He faces the vastly-more experienced Nagano Gold (GB) (Sixties Icon {GB}) who will be hard to beat if able to reproduce the form of either his second in the June 28 G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud or his third placing behind Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G2 Prix Foy at this venue on Sept. 13.

The post Zoe Sits Royal Oak Test appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post