Vertem Futurity Trophy | Horse Racing Free Tips

There is an abundance of potentially exhilarating 2-year-old action across Britain, France and Ireland on Saturday which will act as significant pointers to the 2022 Classics for which Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) is already favourite. Whether Ballydoyle's latest G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy hope is the next Epsom Derby winner in waiting, as the current ante-post lists suggest he is, we will in part find out mid-afternoon on Doncaster's Town Moor. Unbeaten in two starts, with the latter resulting in a 4 3/4-length success in The Curragh's G2 Beresford S. Sept. 25, the son of the 2011 winner of this prize known then as the Racing Post Trophy has since been the subject of an undeniable undercurrent of positivity. Showing impressive pace at the end of that contest, he is no less a 2000 Guineas than Derby contender at this point and interestingly this race has seen the last four winners go on to mile Classic success the following spring.

Aidan O'Brien is already responsible for nine winners of this and could equal the record of the late Sir Henry Cecil. “He was a very green baby when he won first time, but he looked very nice and he's had a little bit of time,” he said. “He's a big, rangy horse who travels very easily usually through his races. He finds things very easy, he's very easy to train and very natural really. The Doncaster race is a very prestigious race, it's a flat mile so they have to have quick feet and they have to stay as well. It's not a slog, you have to travel, it's a flat track and you would learn a lot about a horse. This year's race is no different, it's a very strong, competitive race. There are horses with plenty of form in it, horses with plenty of experience really.”

If the Westerberg colour-bearer fails to live up to the great expectations, Highclere Thoroughbred Racing's Royal Patronage (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) will be there to expose him and at this point there is no reason for the large discrepancy between their predicted starting prices. Excelling this term for Mark Johnston, the strong-galloping bay had Imperial Fighter (Ire) (The Gurkha {Ire}), Dubawi Legend (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Noble Truth (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) behind when dominating York's G3 Acomb S. Aug. 18 before upstaging Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G2 Royal Lodge S. at Newmarket Sept. 25. “Any time you chuck your hat into the Group 1 ring, you know you're going to have to run like the wind but he deserves to be there,” Highclere's managing director Harry Herbert said. “He's improved with every run and I'm sure he's not stopped improving, so we're very excited and we hope he can be very competitive.”

Another setting an elevated standard is Teme Valley and Ballylinch Stud's Bayside Boy (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), who beat the G3 Solario S. winner Reach For the Moon (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in the G2 Champagne S. over seven furlongs at Doncaster Sept. 11 before finishing a respectable third in the G1 Dewhurst S. at Newmarket Oct. 9. Trainer Roger Varian has been convinced by his demeanour in the interim period to go again and commented, “He ran very well in the Dewhurst and he looks like he's going to be suited by stepping up a furlong. He should be okay with a cut in the ground–it was good-to-soft when he won the Champagne S.–and he brings a high level of form to the race, so we're looking forward to running him. He's a top-level juvenile and he looks like he might improve for going the mile.”

Michael Blencowe's Imperial Fighter, who followed his second to Royal Patronage in the Acomb with a second to Coroebus in the G3 Autumn S. at Newmarket Oct. 9, is already proven at this mile and trainer Andrew Balding is keen to have another crack at the Johnston runner. “I hadn't been happy with him after the Acomb for a while. I think he was just going through a growing spurt–I think he'd grown about an inch between York and Newmarket. I thought the Newmarket run was excellent–I think Coroebus is probably as good a 2-year-old as there is out there. He beat us fair and square, but we were clear second-best and I'd hope he'll be very competitive.”

There are a brace of Group 1 races for this generation at Saint-Cloud, with the Criterium International over a mile seeing Marc Chan's Angel Bleu (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}) looking to uphold the form of the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at ParisLongchamp Oct. 3. Beating the aforementioned Noble Truth and the re-opposing Ancient Rome (War Front) in that seven-furlong contest, he is bred to stay this trip being out of a full-sister to Highland Reel (Ire) but Ancient Rome already has winning form at the distance having captured ParisLongchamp's G3 Prix des Chenes Sept. 9 and he was finishing to real effect when third in the Lagardere. Aidan O'Brien has won this five times and saddles a duo headed by Glounthaune (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) who is having his third run on consecutive Saturdays having finished sixth in Newmarket's G1 Dewhurst S. and won Leopardstown's G3 Killavullan S.

In the other Group 1 contest, the Criterium de Saint-Cloud staged over 10 furlongs, the Oct. 9 G3 Zetland S. one-two Goldspur (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Unconquerable (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) re-oppose, with Godolphin's 'TDN Rising Star' a head in front of the Donnacha O'Brien trainee in that Newmarket contest over this trip. Trainer Charlie Appleby said, “We were pleased with how Goldspur won his race at Newmarket, when his stamina came to the fore. He broke his maiden on soft ground, so conditions in France shouldn't be an issue. This is another step up, but looks the right race for him and he brings a nice profile into it.”

Lady Bamford's Dreamflight (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who took this venue's G3 Prix Thomas Bryon over a mile at the start of the month, and the Wertheimers' Sept. 15 Compiegne maiden and Oct. 7 course conditions scorer Martel (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) make up a two-pronged assault from the Andre Fabre stable, while James Ferguson sends across the Sept. 29 G3 Prix de Conde winner El Bodegon (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) who showed that he had the stamina for nine furlongs in that Chantilly contest.

At Newbury, the G3 Virgin Bet Horris Hill S. over seven furlongs sees the Lagardere runner-up Noble Truth bid to make his experience tell and trainer Charlie Appleby said, “We were obviously delighted with Noble Truth's performance in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, when he showed that he can cope with heavy ground. He looks the one to beat if he can bring that level of form to the table again.” He faces the Never Say Die Partnership's impressive Sept. 14 Yarmouth six-furlong novice scorer Light Infantry (Fr) (Fast Company {Ire}) from the David Simcock stable armed with some smart juveniles this season, and Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's Dubai Poet (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) who was third behind Coroebus and Imperial Fighter in the Autumn S. “He didn't quite see out the stiff mile at Newmarket and the return to seven furlongs on testing ground should be right up his street,” trainer Roger Varian, who is also represented on the card by Staghawk Stables' Sept. 25 Newmarket maiden winner Miss Carol Ann (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) in the Listed Radley S. for 2-year-old fillies over the same trip.

Leopardstown's Classic pointer is the nine-furlong G3 Eyrefield S., where a pair of 'TDN Rising Stars' clash in Newtown Anner Stud Farm's Duke de Sessa (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) and Gillian Khosla's Caroline Herschel (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}). While the former has disappointed since his impressive Aug. 21 Curragh maiden win when sixth of seven over the same track and seven-furlong trip in the Sept. 12 G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National S., Caroline Herschel is set to be tested for the first time following her 3 1/2-length debut success over a mile at Killarney Oct. 2. Jim Bolger's Boundless Ocean (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) appears for the third time in nine days and looks to gain recompense for his luckless fourth in Saturday's G3 Killavullan S. at Leopardstown, while two other maiden winners who look to have more to give are the Donnacha O'Brien-trained Flaxman Stables Ireland homebred Piz Badile (Ire) (Ulysses {Ire}) and J P McManus's Good Heavens (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) from Joseph O'Brien's yard.

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Saturday sees some leading Classic prospects for 2021 look to cement their claims, with intriguing 2-year-old action at Saint-Cloud, Doncaster, Newbury and Leopardstown. The French venue gets it all underway, with the G1 Criterium International playing host to Godolphin’s unbeaten ‘TDN Rising Star’ La Barrosa (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) who tackles an extra furlong having gone through the motions in Ascot’s “Future Stayers’ Maiden” on Sept. 4 and the G3 Tattersalls S. at Newmarket on Sept. 24. Charlie Appleby said he has no concerns about the distance, with this race restored to its original trip from seven furlongs as part of a two-year trial.

“La Barrosa is stepping up to a mile for the first time, which we feel will suit,” he said. “He brings a nice profile going into the race, having won both his starts to date. It’s going to be very testing ground at Saint-Cloud, but we are confident with his pedigree that should suit him. He did show his class to win from the position he was in at Newmarket, but he has got to improve again stepping up to a Group 1.”

Also unbeaten is Gerard Ryan’s Oct. 2 G3 Prix Thomas Bryon scorer Normandy Bridge (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}), while others with proven pattern-race form are Haras du Logis Saint Germain and Pia Brandt’s Sept. 10 G3 Prix des Chenes winner Policy of Truth (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) and Ballydoyle’s Aug. 6 G3 Tyros S., Sept. 12 G2 Champions Juvenile S. and Oct. 10 G3 Autumn S. runner-up Van Gogh (American Pharoah). Aidan O’Brien said of the latter, “We were delighted with Van Gogh at Newmarket. We took our time on him and he came home very well. It was a good performance–he looked like he was finishing his race off well and we are looking forward to seeing him run.”

O’Brien’s day is expectedly busy and 10 minutes after the Criterium International the stable’s Oct. 11 G3 Anglesey S. runner-up Lipizzaner (Uncle Mo) takes part in the six-furlong Listed Doncaster S. and then it is on to the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud. Rosegreen’s representative in this 10-furlong contest is last Friday’s impressive Leopardstown mile maiden winner Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who puts his ‘TDN Rising Star’ status on the line against some high-class domestic runners headed by Miguel Castro Megias’s Aug. 16 G3 Prix Francois Boutin and Oct. 4 G1 Prix Marcel Boussac heroine Tiger Tanaka (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}). “He ran green at Newmarket first time out, but then he won well at Leopardstown the next day,” O’Brien said of the full-brother to Southern France (Ire). “There’s lots of stamina in the pedigree, so you wouldn’t be too worried about stepping up to 10 furlongs. Hopefully he runs well.” Tiger Tanaka’s now-famous jockey Jessica Marcialis told Le Parisien, “Apart from the Marcel Boussac, Tiger has often run against the colts,” she said. “We don’t yet know her limits, so this will be an opportunity for us to learn more.”

His Highness The Aga Khan’s unbeaten Makaloun (Fr) (Bated Breath {GB}) handled both nine furlongs and heavy ground with ease when registering a five-length success in the G3 Prix de Conde at Chantilly on Sept. 28 and will be a tough nut to crack attempting to provide Jean-Claude Rouget with a third renewal. Godolphin supply Botanik (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}), who hails from the Andre Fabre stable successful six times and he looked one to relish this trip when scoring by three lengths in a mile maiden at the track Sept. 23. The operation’s Lisa-Jane Graffard commented, “Botanik is in great form and his work has been encouraging leading into this. He seems at ease on this type of ground, but with young horses it is always less certain. We don’t yet know if he has the level of ability to win a Group 1 race, but Andre has prepared him for this and couldn’t be happier with his condition.”

O’Brien Eyes Futurity Record

Hot on the heels of the Criterium de Saint-Cloud is the G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy, which features another Ballydoyle-Godolphin clash as the Sept. 13 G1 Vincent O’Brien National S. and Oct. 10 G1 Dewhurst S. runner-up Wembley (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) bids for compensation. One more win for Aidan O’Brien would see him tie with Sir Henry Cecil on 10 and the stable’s sole representative looks well up to standard, particularly on his latest piece of form in what was rightly heralded as a top-class renewal of the Newmarket contest. “Obviously he ran a great race in the Dewhurst and before that the National S., so he’s got Group 1 form,” the Ballydoyle handler said. “He seems to have been in good form since. He is stepping up to a mile for the first time, but we don’t think that is going to be an issue. Hopefully the ground isn’t that soft–the better it is, the more he’ll like it.”

Charlie Appleby again provides the main opposition, with One Ruler (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) impressing when brushing aside Van Gogh in the aforementioned Autumn S. over this mile trip at Newmarket. “He has handled the juice well at Newmarket and will be going there as a serious player,” his trainer said. “He is out of a French family and generally they run on the slower side of good, so the ground wouldn’t worry me. Getting the trip last time and seeing that improvement was key for me. On the mare’s side she was a miler and he shows a lot of natural pace, but he saw that mile out well. I don’t see him at the moment being a mile-and-a-half horse, at this stage, but we will let him winter away first. He did what he did at Newmarket and he did get beat on the flat track at Doncaster, but I think that was a bit of inexperience and tactically we rode a different race to what we had done on his previous starts.”

Few would rule out an Andrew Balding trainee and in Apollo Racing and DTA Racing’s King Vega (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) the Kingsclere handler has a live contender following his latest second in the G3 Solario S. over seven furlongs on Aug. 23. “I think he’s probably the highest-rated maiden in the country, but I’m sure there are plenty of unraced horses that are pretty decent waiting to come out,” he said. “He’s a horse we’ve always rated very highly. He ran a very decent race in the Solario and the extra furlong will certainly be to his advantage. It’s going to be slow ground. Lope de Vegas tend to go well with dig in the ground. He was worked on the grass here in the last three weeks. He seems to enjoy a bit of ease and I don’t think the ground conditions will be too much of a concern for him.”

Radley, Horris Hill Highlight Newbury Card

There is no time to take breath, with Newbury coming in on the action five minutes after the Futurity as Normandie Stud’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ Love Is You (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) takes aim at the seven-furlong Listed Racing TV S., registered as the Radley. The daughter of the G1 Coronation S. winner Fallen For You (GB) (Dansili {GB}) earned that tag on the same card as the Criterium International protagonist La Barrosa and looks very much a potential Classic prospect, but has heavy ground to deal with here along with Godolphin’s Sept. 30 Nottingham maiden scorer Little Kitten (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). One who should handle the surface is John Fretwell’s Gift List (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), who should appreciate the step up from six furlongs having finished runner-up and beaten all on her side of the track in Newmarket’s £150,000 Tattersalls October Auction S. on Oct. 3. Trainer Karl Burke said, “She’s in great form. She came out of the race at Newmarket really well. She’s fresh and well, she deserves the chance to get some black-type. That’s what we’re trying to do. I’m not saying she’s definitely going to win, but she’ll put up a good show.”

Also at Newbury, the G3 Molson Coors Beverage Company S., or Horris Hill as it is known, will see Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Laneqash (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}) start a warm order having split the subsequent G2 Royal Lodge S. winner New Mandate (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) and One Ruler when second in Doncaster’s Listed Flying Scotsman S. on Sept. 11. It may not be plain sailing, however, with three of the unexposed types being the unbeaten Percy’s Lad (GB) (Sir Percy {GB}) from Eve Johnson Houghton’s yard and a pair who scored at Salisbury at the start of the month in the David Menuisier-trained Autumn Twilight (Ire) (Buratino {Ire}) and Gary Moore-trained Champagne Piaff (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}). Menuisier, whose career has taken off in the last month, said of Autumn Twilight, “He won first time out and he looked very professional. He seems to have come out of the race well. He’s entered in the horses-in-training sales next week, so rather than take it steady, steady, I prefer to run him in a race like this and see how he goes rather than take the easy route. He’ll be going to another yard, so I might as well see how he good he is now. He should really enjoy the ground. We’ve been happy with him, so we feel there’s not much excuse really. We go there with no pressure. Let’s hope he runs well.”

At Leopardstown, another Ballydoyle maiden winner with Classic pretensions is Carlisle Bay (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who scored with authority over nine furlongs at Tipperary on Oct. 3 and lines up in the G3 Eyrefield S. over the same trip. Shadwell’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ Wuqood (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) is in opposition, but needs to settle better than when seventh in the G2 Beresford S. over a mile at The Curragh on Sept. 26.

Of the other pattern races across Europe, the G3 Prix Perth at Saint-Cloud sees Gestut Schlenderhan’s Alson (Ger) (Areion {Ger}) return to the scene of his emphatic success in the G1 Criterium International 12 months ago, while the fillies and mares take in the 10 1/2-furlong G3 Prix de Flore. The Aga Khan’s unbeaten Zaykava (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), a prized possession as a daughter of Zarkava (Ire) (Zamindar), took the Oct. 9 Listed Prix Charles Laffitte over a mile and a quarter at Compiegne last time and is an exciting prospect on a day replete with them.

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