Japanese visitor is the most interesting horse around after being locked in the pocket at Leopardstown on SaturdayYou can keep your “Pinaturbo”. Star Catcher and Logician are all very fine, I suppose, if you like that sort of thing. But the horse from last weekend’s racing that I can’t wait to see next time didn’t even get a place.I won’t be alone in this. There was an enormous quantity of top-class racing on Saturday and Sunday but surely nobody failed to notice the classy animal who spent most of the Irish Champion Stakes trying to crawl over the backs of the rivals in front of her. Related: Troubled jockey Graham Gibbons jailed after fourth drink-driving conviction Redcar 2.00 Rebel Soldier...
Godolphin runner hosed up in German Group One on Sunday but will he be as fit to take on Enable in Paris next month?Next month’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe took on a new layer of fascination when Ghaiyyath blew apart what was supposed to be a race for the Grosser Preis Von Baden, winning by 14 lengths. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can do so here and I strongly recommend giving it a look.A powerfully built four-year-old, Ghaiyyath eased to the front with a little under a circuit to race and soon had his rivals on the rack. They were toiling behind him at the home turn and, impressively, he pulled further clear in the straight, scoring...
Winners of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe have a lousy record when flying out for the Breeders’ Cup the next monthEnjoyable as it is to contemplate Enable’s participation in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, one consequence is that punters will have another of those really difficult decisions to make. Do you take short odds about a horse who, for all her quality, is trying to do something that has never been done before? Related: Champions Day: James Fanshawe hopes Tin Man can strike gold Nottingham 1.30 Deebee 2.00 Poetic Legacy 2.30 Dorah 3.05 Moon King 3.35 Existential 4.05 Elasia 4.40 Samovar 5.15 Savannah’s Show Continue reading...
Three-times Arc winning trainer thinks punters should focus on André Fabre in Sunday’s big raceWith a family history steeped in the magic of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Criquette Head-Maarek is better placed than most to pass judgement on this year’s renewal at Longchamp.Head-Maarek’s father, Alec, won the great race four times, as did brother Freddy in the saddle, grandfather William struck twice and she herself managed three victories – once with Three Troikas in 1979 and then back-to-back with the magnificent Treve in 2013 and 2014. Many of the family’s successes came with fillies, and with Enable and Sea Of Class dominating the betting, the odds suggest the female division will hold sway once more this weekend. Related:...
Europe’s most prestigious Flat race takes place on Sunday and it looks as though Cracksman is not going to get his groundSunday will bring us the best of all European Flat races, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, so it’s time to get excited, unless you’re the type of punter who insists on maintaining a Gallic sangfroid, and also to start looking at the weather forecast for Paris. The website I use predicts about 1mm of rain over the next six days and that makes me feel I can start my Arc calculations by putting a line through the name of Cracksman. Related: Bryony Frost ‘pumped’ for comeback at scene of Newton Abbot fall Catterick 2.00 Red Saree 2.30 Royal Variety...