Bookmaker Reviews & Sports News

Posts Tagged ‘Prix’

Connections of Midday are plotting an autumn campaign centred on her defence of the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Churchill Downs in November.

Henry Cecil’s star filly recorded her fourth Group One triumph in the Yorkshire Oaks last week and is reported to have taken those exertions well.

Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager for the owner Prince Khalid Abdullah, said: “We’ve decided Midday will head for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, but whether she’ll run again before then has not totally been established.”

“We’ll see how she goes over the next couple of weeks but at this stage, I would think the Prix Vermeille (September 12) would be more likely than the Prix de l’Opera (October 3).

“There is not a big issue there and the Breeders’ Cup is her main objective.”

Makfi gave star milers Goldikova and Paco Boy a shock when scooting to victory in the Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville.

The 2000 Guineas winner left a dismal display in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot behind him to show his Classic victory was no fluke.

The Mikel Delzangles-trained colt led inside the final furlong and drew away on the rain-softened ground to score by two and a half lengths from Goldikova, with Paco Boy just behind in third.

Goldikova’s two pacemakers Saying and Only Green set off in front with the brilliant mare on their tails, while Makfi slipstreamed her under Christophe Soumillon, with Paco Boy in rear.

Although Goldikova took over as planned, she could not produce her trademark acceleration in the testing conditions and Makfi swept into the lead to beat his talented older rivals, with the favourite regaining second spot from Paco Boy close home.

Delzangles said: “I’m delighted. I was a bit disappointed after Ascot, but we knew he was sick, so there was a reason for that. The horse has proved again he is a top miler. The ground doesn’t bother him. He goes on any ground and is very easy to ride.”

The trainer suggested Makfi’s next race is likely to be either the Prix du Moulin at Longchamp in three weeks’ time or the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.

British raiders Black Spirit, trained by Clive Cox, and Circumvent, from the Paul Cole yard, were third and fourth respectively in the Prix Guillaume D’Ornano.

The Group Two heat over 10 furlongs went to Scalo, trained in Germany by Andreas Wohler and ridden by Maxime Guyon.

Richard Hughes will adopt his customary waiting tactics on Dick Turpin in Tuesday’s Juddmonte International Stakes at York.

Richard Hannon’s consistent three-year-old was supplemented for the prestigious 10-furlong Group One contest on Wednesday, with owner John Manley forced to fork out £50,000 for the pleasure of seeing him attempt the trip for the first time.

However, after victory over a mile in the Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly, connections have high hopes of stretching his stamina.

“They asked me for my opinion. It’s a very brave decision by John and it’s a credit to him, it’s really made it a proper Group One,” said Hughes.

“We were thinking of running him over 10 furlongs in a Group Two in France on Sunday with a 7lb penalty but my reasoning was if you are not going to stay 10 furlongs, you may as well do it against the big boys.

“John was very happy to supplement. He asked me if he’d stay and I said I think he will, but I couldn’t put my hand on my heart and say he’ll definitely stay and also ‘it’s not my money, it’s yours’.

“John was quite happy to make the decision on his own behalf with the advice that we’ve given him. I’ll ride him to get the trip and if he has a turn of foot over a mile-and-two, he’s going to be a serious horse.”

Godolphin have two chances with Cutlass Bay and Cavalryman, with the latter also having the option of the Prix Gontaut-Biron at Deauville on Saturday.

“It is possible that Cavalryman could run in the Juddmonte International Stakes. He is in good form,” said Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford.

“He pulled a muscle at Royal Ascot and didn’t run any type of race there, but prior to that at Epsom he ran well. Hopefully he will come back and have a good second half of the season.”

Goldikova put up another magnificent display to land a third consecutive Prix Rothschild at Deauville and clinch her 10th career Group One victory.

The Freddie Head-trained wonder mare settled in third for most of the way and Olivier Peslier eased her up to challenge two furlongs out.

She soon left the field trailing in her wake and won with consumate ease as Mick Channon’s Music Show settled for second, three lengths behind, with Elusive Wave in third.

The victory means Goldikova (2-5 favourite) joins the former Head-ridden Miesque as the only horse to have won 10 Group One races since the inception of the Pattern in 1970.

Like Miesque, she has claimed two Breeders’ Cup Miles, and Paddy Power left her unchanged at 6-4 to add an unprecedented third at Churchill Downs in November.

Pierre-Yves Bureau, racing manager to owners the Wertheimer brothers, said: “Goldikova is a wonderful mare. She’s incredible and today she did not have too hard a race.

“There is the Prix Jacques le Marois in two weeks’ time and hopefully she will go for that. We’ll see what she is like in the morning.

“Music Show was the main contender and she finished a good second.

“Last year she had a disappointing comeback in the Prix d’Ispahan, probably because of the very heavy rain just before the race, and this year we are very proud she won at Ascot (in the Queen Anne Stakes).

“What is great is that everything is going to plan so far with what was scheduled for her during the winter. There is a lot of credit to give to Freddie for keeping this fantastic filly at this level for so long.”

Behkabad is likely to be campaigned with a tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in mind following his triumph in the Grand Prix de Paris.

Having finished fourth in the Prix du Jockey Club on his penultimate start, Jean-Claude Rouget’s colt showed further progress to land Wednesday’s Group One in rain-softened ground.

Georges Rimaud, racing manager for owner the Aga Khan, said: “It was a good performance and very enjoyable to watch. The horse is fine and the normal route for a horse like him now would be to go for an Arc trial, possibly the Prix Niel, and then the Arc itself.”

He added: “But there is still a long way to go so we will see how it goes along the way. I don’t think the ground matters to him too much. I don’t think he would like it if the ground was very heavy, but that is the case with most horses.”