Other than at Royal Ascot in June, it’s rare we have a couple of days of racing quite this high in quality with Group 1 races all over the show.
Ascot, Redcar and Newmarket all have great pattern action over Friday and Saturday but the main focus this weekend is on ParisLongchamp where the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is the highlight of a brilliant championship meeting.
Top filly Enable will look to perform the rare feat of winning the race twice and will go off favourite, however we start with domestic action and a young colt definitely going places.
Saturday 6th October 2018
Embed from Getty Images2.40 Newmarket (Class 4 Novice Stakes) – TURGENEV
What sort of price we can expect for John Gosden’s horse is in the lap of the gods until Saturday rolls around, but in giving 6lbs away to a very well bred and exciting field means perhaps the layers will look to take our horse on.
This race is chock full of sons of Dubawi, some with Derby entries, and whatever happens this will be a race to watch for the future. There will be money on Saturday morning for several of them but they will need to run to Listed or Group 3 level on debut which hardly ever happens and it should pave the way clear for our boy to follow up his Newcastle win and set up a Group 1 date at Doncaster in the Futurity at the end of the month.
3.15 Newmarket (Sun Chariot Stakes – Group 1) – VERACIOUS
This is a good fillies’ Group 1 and we can’t really argue with the form in the book posted by French raider Wind Chimes, Irish trained I Can Fly and Clemmie as well as the more than admirable Laurens of Karl Burke’s yard, however none of them have a whole lot of improvement left to come unlike Sir Michael Stoute’s Veracious.
The Frankel filly has been brought along slowly in typical Stoute fashion and, having already run third to bona fide top level stars Alpha Centauri and Wild Illusion as an inexperienced horse, she was given a lovely prep when taking a one mile Group 3 contest last time and will come on a ton for all that.
Frankie Dettori’s mount has plenty in her favour and can topple the big guns in the market to land a first Group 1 victory and a very valuable one for Cheveley Park Stud in terms of her broodmare value later down the line.
Sunday 7th October 2018
Embed from Getty Images1.10 Longchamp (Prix Marcel Boussac – Group 1) – BEYOND REASON (each-way)
A top quality juvenile fillies’ event and one in which we may see a true improver stay on for a huge victory. Charlie Appleby is a tip-top trainer, albeit with some of the best bred horses in the world at his disposal, and his Beyond Reason has got better with each run this season reaching a peak with a fine Group 2 win at Deauville in August.
Being by Australia out of an Azamour mare she surely wants this step up in trip now from 7f to a mile and at the projected odds at the time of writing (8/1+) she is worth an each-way bet. Aiden O’Brien may field Zagitova but it’s another one of his who rates the bigger danger in the shape of Hermosa.
3.05 Longchamp (Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe – Group 1) – ENABLE
Europe’s premier race bar none and with £2.5 million to the winner you’d expect all the main challengers to be prepared superbly. That being said we have no English or Irish Derby winner in the line-up, no King George winner and no Eclipse winner so it has to be said that it has opened up somewhat.
With that in mind, last year’s heroine Enable could probably just run to what for her is an ordinary level and still win this. Some are concerned about the injury that forced her off the track this year until last month, however regardless of the grade and the opposition her own performance was as good as ever at Kempton and she should have too much once more.
St Leger winner Kew Gardens may well be best of the opposition if as effective over this shorter trip while the well-touted Sea Of Class is a terrific three-year-old filly but not one as good as Enable was last year and who may just come up short. Watch out for Defoe putting in a big performance at a massive price for each-way backers.
3.50 Longchamp (Prix de l’Opera – Group 1) – WILD ILLUSION
Having won on this card last year as a juvenile in the Prix Marcel Boussac Charlie Appleby’s lovely filly could repeat the trick in taking this prestigious race.
Having been outstayed in both the Oaks and the Ribblesdale Stakes in the summer, the latter time by Wagic Wand who rates the biggest danger here, she was dropped to this 1m2f trip for the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood where she put in a top class performance to beat a quality field in great style.
There is more to come from the daughter of Dubawi and so she can take this ahead of the O’Brien horse and local challenger With You.
4.35 Longchamp (Prix de l’Abbaye – Group 1) – BATTAASH
Much like with Enable we have to play at shorter odds here, but also like her if Battaash shows up in the same form as when winning either the King George Stakes this year or even this very race twelve months ago then this lot cannot hold a candle to him.
He is the speediest horse on the planet and can do it on any surface, something which from a risk point of view negates the fact that he can be a monkey sometimes. As he gets older, he’ll get more consistent and can take care of City Of Light who has progressed into a fine sprinter along with Mab’s Cross who did so well at York.
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