Unbeaten and so far unchallenged, antepost Arc favorite Sea the
Moon has
the pressure on Sunday as he bids to extend his tally in the Group 1 Grosser Preis
von Baden. Despite showing
errant
tendencies in his last two starts, Gestut Gorlsdorf’s homebred has left nobody
in any doubt as
to his superiority, as he captured the 11-furlong Oppenheim-Union-Rennen by three lengths at Cologne June 15 and Hamburg’s
Deutsches Derby by a scarcely believable 11 lengths over this trip last time
July 6.
Second in
that Classic was Gestut Winterhauch’s Lucky Lion,
who had previously annexed the Dr. Busch-Memorial over 8 1/2 furlongs at Krefeld April 27 and the Mehl Mulhens-Rennen
(German Two Thousand Guineas) over a mile at Cologne May 18. He has subsequently beaten
the
Tattersalls Gold Cup winner Noble Mission in Munich’s Grosser
Dallmayr-Preis dropping back in trip to 10 furlongs July 27, and it may be that
this 1 1/2-mile trip stretches his stamina.
Two that contested the Grosser Preis von Berlin
are Sirius and last year’s Deutsches Derby hero Lucky Speed, and they were first and third, respectively, in that August 10 Hoppegarten
contest over
this trip. While the latter is beginning to look exposed at four, Stall
Molenhof’s three-year-old colt
Sirius could be on the upgrade and adds substance to the line-up along with
French raider
Terrubi. Australian Bloodstock Syndicate’s acquisition
comes here on the back of a win in the 14-furlong Prix Maurice de Nieuil on testing ground at
Longchamp on
the Grand Prix de Paris undercard July 13, and it is interesting that he is
brought back in trip.
At Longchamp Sunday, the Group 3 Prix la Rochette features the unbeaten winner of the Prix
Francois Boutin,
Nucifera, and two who were scratched from that seven-furlong
Deauville
contest August 17 in Romeo Lima and Territories.
The Niarchos Family’s Nucifera stepped up on prior efforts to account for the
July 30
Vintage runner-up Tupi, but that rival has subsequently
disappointed
when last in a listed contest so the form is open to question. The race was
certainly robbed of much interest when Joseph Allen’s Romeo Lima was withdrawn
due to the testing conditions, as he had looked a potential monster when scoring
by 10
lengths on debut over six furlongs at Deauville at the end of July. Also missing
was
Godolphin’s Territories, who had the subsequent listed scorer Souvenir Delondres back in second in a six-furlong conditions event at Chantilly last time
July 29.
In a
fascinating renewal, Guy Pariente’s homebred Kenfreeze is
impossible to
ignore as he seeks a fourth straight win on the back of a hard-fought success in
the
Prix Roland de Chambure over this track and seven-furlong trip July 13, while that also
applies to the
Juddmonte representative Full Mast. That son of Mizzen Mast and Yashmak accounted
for the impressive subsequent winner War Dispatch in a debutantes
race over 6
1/2 furlongs on Deauville’s Polytrack August 16, and should be better over further
in time.
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