Longchamp’s juvenile contests on Arc day have so far
this season proved highly pertinent to the classic form, and the two main fillies who
contested the Prix Marcel Boussac (Fr-G1) — Found (Galileo) and Ervedya (Siyouni)
— meet again in Friday’s Coronation S. (Eng-G1) at Royal Ascot.
Found emerged on top
by 2 1/2 lengths in that contest, but there is a feeling that Ballydoyle’s
runner has yet to click this
term while Ervedya has improved. Aidan O’Brien had considered running his filly in the Epsom Derby
(Eng-G1) before she was second in the Irish One Thousand Guineas (Ire-G1) at The Curragh
on May 24, so she is obviously one who has impressed at home for a long time.
“We were absolutely delighted with her (in the Irish Guineas). She ran a great race and finished really well,”
O’Brien explained. “We’ve been very happy since. Obviously she’ll stay at a mile for this race, but we might step up after that. She won around Longchamp going right-handed, so hopefully she will be okay at Ascot.”
“Things just haven’t quite worked out for her so far this year, but I’m hopeful she goes to Ascot with a very good chance. We think a lot
of her,” Ryan Moore added.
His Highness The Aga Khan’s Ervedya has gone from
strength to strength since her defeat in the Marcel Boussac, winning the April 2 Prix
Imprudence (Fr-G3) going seven furlongs on testing ground at Maisons-Laffitte before defying a
poor draw to follow up in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (Fr-G1) on livelier ground at
Longchamp May 10.
“We are facing stiff competition, but the filly has traveled well and
everything is as good as it can be. She is ready,” said The Aga Khan’s Racing Manager, Georges Rimaud. “There are no issues with fast ground or soft ground. She is equally competitive
on either — as long as it’s safe we are happy. It is a difficult race, but this is normal
and what you would expect.”
Just three-quarters of a length behind Ervedya in the
Poulains was Irish Rookie (Azamour), who had earlier been sixth in the May 3 One
Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) at Newmarket. Rick Barnes’s bargain buy would prefer easier ground, but jockey Fergus Sweeney is in positive mood.
“We thought at the start of the year a mile would be her absolute minimum, but now we’re not quite so sure,”
Sweeney said. “I’m confident she has improved since France and it gives you a good chance. There are a lot of good fillies there, but I can’t see why she shouldn’t be good enough.”
In front of Irish Rookie at Newmarket was Godolphin’s Lucida (Shamardal), who found only Legatissimo
(Danehill Dancer) three-quarters of a length too
strong and arrives here fresh. Also in the royal blue is the John Gosden trainee
Sperry (Shamardal), who is on the upgrade after wins in an April 29 course-and-distance conditions
event and over the re-opposing Yasmeen (Sea the Stars) in York’s listed Michael Seely Memorial S.
over Friday’s eight-furlong trip on May 15.
David Elsworth puts forward Jeff Smith’s Princess Elizabeth S. (Eng-G3)
winner Arabian Queen (Dubawi), who was hugely impressive over an extended mile in that June 5 Epsom contest. Despite winning the Duchess
of Cambridge S. (Eng-G2) going six furlongs at Newmarket in July, the homebred
miss had given the
impression she had plateaued at sprint trips, and her jump up the ratings last time
suggests she has been crying out for this trip.
“This is the toughest assignment Arabian Queen
has ever had, it’s a race full of quality and will probably be won by the best
three-year-old
mile filly in Europe. It’s a big ask for her but believe you me, she’s a very good filly,”
Elsworth explained. “She’s in good form having come out of her Epsom win well. In the end she
had quite an easy race there and she’s going to go to Ascot ready to run to her full
potential.
“I think there’s still some improvement in her. She made the running both at Epsom,
because we wanted to take advantage of her good draw, and when she won her Group 2
last season because it just unfolded that way. But I would be quite happy for her to
take a lead from something.”
Commonwealth Cup (Eng-G1)
Wesley Ward’s beaming smile has already graced Royal
Ascot’s winner’s circle this week courtesy of Acapulco (Scat Daddy) in
Wednesday’s Queen Mary S. (Eng-G2), and the Florida-based conditioner offers up last year’s
listed Windsor Castle S. hero Hootenanny (Quality Road) in the inaugural rendition of the
Commonwealth Cup (Eng-G1) on Friday.
Edged out of Prix Morny (Fr-G1) glory by the now-retired The Wow
Signal (Starspangledbanner) when backing up his Royal Ascot triumph at Deauville
in August, Hootenanny registered a career high and closed his freshman campaign when
annexing the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) stretching out to a mile at Santa Anita in
October. He confirmed he had a wheel in each corner when easily landing a 5 1/2-furlong Keeneland allowance test
in his April 18 seasonal comeback last out, and gets the assistance of Acapulco’s partner, Ryan Moore, in this sophomores’ sprint.
“Since he won the Breeders’ Cup last year, I’ve been pointing for this race,” Ward said. “Of all of them that I brought over last year he thrived, he took it in his stride and took everything right. He’s had only one start since he won the Breeders’ Cup when he won at Keeneland in preparation for this. He’s had plenty of time to get ready and every workout in the mornings has been better than the last so I’m really looking forward to it.”
There is also a pair of intriguing contests within a
contest as regular foes battle to earn bragging rights.
Anthem Alexander (Starspangledbanner) bagged round one on the judges’ cards when besting Tiggy Wiggy
(Kodiac) in last year’s Queen Mary, but was down on points after subsequent
reversals to that rival in York’s Lowther S. (Eng-G2) and Cheveley Park S.
(Eng-G1) at Newmarket. She
returned this term to take out the Lacken S. (Ire-G3) at Naas at the beginning of this month and
will enter this ring in fine fettle.
“She came out of the (Naas) race very good and I’m
very happy with her,” trainer Edward Lynam revealed. “The soft ground was not ideal at
Naas and that was nothing like her best form, but my horses usually improve for a run. I
definitely expect improvement from her and fast ground would be in her favor.
“She’s the
guts of 500 kilograms and a very big, strong filly. She’s taken everything in her
stride. I was never tempted to try stepping her up to mile and, given that we preferred to
stay at home in Ireland for her first start of the campaign, the Naas race was the first
opportunity over six furlongs that was available to her.”
Tiggy Wiggy disappointed, despite
finishing third, in the Fred Darling S. (Eng-G3) at Newbury in her campaign opener and confounded
the experts by gaining a measure of redemption when stretching beyond her limit and
hitting the board in the One Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) at Newmarket on May 3. This event has been the
long-term plan and she drops back to what is probably her optimum trip.
“We are looking forward to running Tiggy Wiggy in the Commonwealth Cup; it has always been her prime target and, though she ran an absolute blinder in the
One Thousand Guineas, it was only her class and courage that enabled her to finish third,” trainer Richard Hannon explained. “We had nothing to lose by trying the mile, but sprinting is her forte and dropping back to six furlongs will suit her well. She looks a million dollars and you would not think she is the same filly from last season. It is a very hot race, but I would not swap her for anything.”
Limato (Tagula), the latest speedball to drop off Henry Candy’s conveyor belt, had the measure of
last year’s Coventry S. (Eng-G2) eighth Adaay (Kodiac) in the July 18 listed Rose
Bowl S. and April 29 Pavilion S. (Eng-G3) over this strip, but lost his perfect record
when giving best to the William Haggas trainee in the Sandy Lane S. (Eng-G2) at Haydock three
weeks ago.
“He didn’t run a bad race at Haydock, but he wasn’t quite himself and I put that
down entirely to the ground,” Candy explained. “We walked the (Haydock) track and it was
definitely good-to-soft and quite sticky, but the faster the ground the better. He’s
one of those extraordinary horses that really wouldn’t mind galloping on tarmac.
“One thing
that does concern me is, with the passage of time, some of these other colts are going to
progress physically more than he is. He does look fairly insignificant, but the fact remains
that on the evidence of his first run this year at Ascot, and to a lesser degree at Haydock,
he still has that amazing engine. He was more exuberant in his work last year as a
two-year-old, but he’s a more mature creature now and is quite careful what he does.”
Adaay progressed from his defeat in the Pavilion to
annex Newbury’s listed Carnarvon S. last month at the expense of Jungle Cat (Iffraaj), which proved the perfect prep for his breakthrough score in the Sandy Lane.
Cyclogenisis (Stormy Atlantic), supplemented for this
after retaining his unbeaten record trying Tapeta for the first time in the listed Tom
Ridge S. at Presque Isle Downs in his May 18 seasonal return, is the number two
American challenger
in the Commonwealth Cup and becomes a first Royal Ascot runner for Louisville native George Weaver.
King Edward VII S. (Eng-G2)
Not long ago seen as a valid contender for the Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) and
Epsom Derby (Eng-G1), Ol’ Man River (Montjeu) has ground to make up after two
high-profile defeats so far this term as he tackles Royal Ascot’s King Edward VII S.
(Eng-G2) on
Friday.
The bay colt was never able to go the gallop before finishing last of 18
in the Two Thousand Guineas at Newmarket on May 2 and, although he put up an improved effort when sixth in the Dante S.
(Eng-G2) at York stepped up to 10 furlongs 12 days later, he was still off the pace and finished 22 lengths adrift there. Last year’s Beresford S.
(Ire-G2) winner has potentially an easier task at hand here and stable confidence has returned.
“There was something amiss with Ol’ Man River, but we have given him a break,” Aidan O’Brien explained. “He has bounced back
from York and we have been happy with him since. For whatever the reason, I couldn’t get the Derby horses to come to hand.”
Like Sir Michael Stoute’s two most recent winners — Hillstar (Danehill Dancer) and Papal
Bull (Montjeu) — Stravagante (Rip Van Winkle) has emerged from the handicaps and he bids to
provide his trainer with a seventh winner of this prestigious race. Now part-owned by Al
Shaqab Racing after a last-minute transaction Thursday, he sported the silks of his other
owner, Michael Tabor, when winning the same Epsom Derby-day handicap which the
stable’s 2008 King Edward VII runner-up Conduit (Dalakhani) had taken en
route.
In a race of unexposed types, Al Asayl Bloodstock’s
Balios (Shamardal) looked to have much improvement in him when second in the May 2
listed Newmarket S. going 10 furlongs, and that may also apply to Godolphin’s
Festive Fare (Teofilo). He was last seen filling the fourth spot behind Epsom
Derby victor Golden Horn (Cape
Cross) in the listed Feilden S. going nine furlongs at Newmarket on April 15, and trainer
Charlie Appleby believes this rise in trip will bring out the best in him.
“We purposely took
our time with him after the Feilden as he’s still very immature, mentally as much as
physically, but we’ve been very pleased with his preparation,” Appleby said. “The Feilden form
has obviously worked out well and I think the step up in trip is there to help him. The
job is to get him to settle and hopefully he will come home over the trip.
“I think the
ground will suit him and we’re looking forward to running, but he is still very much a
work in progress. It’s a small field, so hopefully we’ll learn a bit more about him and he’ll
learn a bit more about racing.”
Albany S. (Eng-G3)
Richard Hannon, who has yet to strike with his juvenile
band at the Royal meeting, relies on likely favorite Illuminate (Zoffany) and Palenville (Rip Van Winkle) in Friday’s Albany S.
(Eng-G3), Royal Ascot’s penultimate two-year-old
contest.
Illuminate created a highly favorable impression when easily besting stablemate
and subsequent listed Naas Fillies’ Sprint victress Great Page (Roderic O’Connor) by 2 3/4 lengths in a five-furlong conditions heat at Salisbury in her only prior
start. She lines up with an abundance of stable confidence and will bid to become the second group winner, following Waterloo Bridge (Zoffany) in Thursday’s Norfolk S.
(Eng-G2), and third stakes winner at the meeting for Europe’s leading freshman sire Zoffany.
“Illuminate was impressive when beating Great Page first time out at Salisbury on
One Thousand Guineas day,” Hannon remarked. “She was getting weight, but she went there a bit heavy as she had only done one piece of fast work, so it was a pleasant surprise and the runner-up franked the form when winning a listed race in Ireland.”
Palenville was no match for Queen Mary S. (Eng-G2) third Besharah (Kodiac) after an awkward departure over five furlongs of this strip
in her May 8 debut, but gained
compensation in good style when upped one panel at Newmarket one week later.
“We also
run Palenville, who came on a lot for her first run when winning in style at
Newmarket and she is a filly who is going the right way,” Hannon added.
William Haggas has already registered a pair of thirds
at the meet and has yet another live contender in the shape of Tutu Nguru (Blame). The bay
was impressive when winning over six furlongs on Lingfield’s artificial surface May 26,
and received a form boost after runner-up Lolla Fincess (Dark Angel) duly
obliged on the turf there last week.
Nowadays, no juvenile contest would be complete without
Wesley Ward representation, and he does not disappoint, saddling Laxfield Road (Quality Road) and Back at the Ranch (Artie Schiller) for this distaffers’
test. Laxfield Road created a huge impression in her only start to date, making all to win a 4 1/2-furlong maiden by
more than 11 lengths on the Keeneland dirt on April 22. Back at the Ranch was denied late in her
April 15 Keeneland debut and easily justified odds-on favoritism going five furlongs of the Belmont main track last
out on May 7.
Team Valor was denied a throw of the dice when Euro Charline (Myboycharlie) was a controversial scratching from Wednesday’s Duke of Cambridge S.
(Eng-G2) after causing trouble behind the gate, and will seek retribution with Eoghan O’Neill incumbent Spanish Romance (Rip Van Winkle). She was acquired by
her current connections after streaking to a five-length debut score for the France-based Irishman at Chantilly in April, and doubled up in equally convincing fashion over the same course and distance when lowering the colors of the previously unbeaten
yardstick Du Pyla (Vertigineux) last month. The manner of that victory suggests this
extra furlong should pose no problem.
“She’s traveled over well and we’re happy to be
here,” O’Neill said. “In her last race, she beat a horse that had already won a couple of
times (Du Pyla) and Stan Moore’s French Encore (Showcasing), who had previously won at Saint-Cloud and
has since won easily at Bath. I haven’t trained too many world beaters, but I’ve trained
some nice two-year-olds that have won races like the Champagne S. (Eng-G2) and the Richmond
S. (Eng-G2), and her work is as good as any of them. I don’t think she’ll have any problem with
the ground and we’ll see what she can do.”
Elegant Supermodel (Lope de Vega) is another
unbeaten winner of two crossing the English Channel from France and lines up off a
brace of easy wins, within the space of five days last month, at Chateaubriant and
Lyon-Parilly.
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