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Malcolm Heyhoe asked:


May ushers in the first Classics of the current turf Flat season, beginning with the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 6. All eyes will be upon the short-priced favourite George Washington as he bids to bring trainer Aidan O’Brien back-to-back victories in the colts’ Classic following Footstepsinthesands smart success twelve months ago.

In recent years the 2,000 Guineas has been the personal preserve of the Flat’s big battalions with Sir Michael Stoute, Saeed Bin Suroor and Aidan O’Brien dominating the race year after year with a succession of expensive blue-bloods.

This time around it’s the tight-lipped O’Brien who seems to hold all the aces courtesy of the aforementioned George Washington, a brilliant, if at times temperamental, colt who swept all before him as a juvenile and sets out this season to prove he’s not just a two-year-old wonder but can mix it with the best and come out on top as a three-year-old.

Only Barry Hills and Dermot Weld have broken the big boys’ monopoly of the 2,000 and this year it’s Marcus Tregoning who has been cast in the role of party-pooper as he bids interrupt the top guns by training Sir Percy to land the opening Classic. Regarded as the best horse that he’s ever trained by his astute handler, last season’s Dewhurst winner is sure to go close in a race that will be run to suit his talents.

On the same day Newmarket stages the Palace House Stakes, a Group 3 for up-and-coming sprinters and the fast-improving Reverence well be an interesting runner while over at Haydock, the jumps stages a last hurrah with the valuable William Hill Swinton Handicap Hurdle, and Philip Hobbs could hold a strong hand here courtesy of Wellbeing and Motorway, two progressive and late-blossoming timber-toppers.

On Sunday May 7, it’s the fillies’ turn to strut their stuff in the 1,000 Guineas where Gololphin’s Silca’s Sister, Ballydoyle’s Rumplestiltskin and Race For the Stars will do battle with John Gosden’s Nanina for the fillies’ Blue Riband. On the same day Breeders’ Cup hero Shirocco is likely to come up against Sir Michael Stoute’s late-developer Hard Top and the evergreen John Porter winner, Mubtaker, in the Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket. Spring gallop s reports have singled out the Stoute horse for top honours.

Chester’s prestigious three-day meeting follows hot on the heels of Newmarket and the Derby hopefuls will be on show in the MBNA Europe Bank Chester Vase (May 11), with the fillies taking centre stage in the Weatherbys Bank Cheshire Oaks on May 10. Barry Hills has a superb record on this turning track and any horse he runs in the previous two races will be worth close inspection.

On Wednesday May 10 the totesport Chester Cup is the meeting’s big betting race and recent Newmarket winner Mikao set down an early marker for this big staying prize. Four-year-olds often run well here and trainer Barry Hills boasts an excellent record. Friday, May 12, closes the Chester meeting and the feature race for the older horses is the Blue Square Ormonde Stakes landed last year by Day Flight.

The run of Classic trials continues at Lingfield on May 13 with the Letheby and Christopher Derby Trial and the totesport.com Oaks Trials respectively for the real things at Epsom the following month. It isn’t just the Classic colts and fillies that are in the firing-line at Lingfield because the Surrey course also stages the totesport Victoria Cup, a closely fought and always influential 7f handicap that frequently throws up a Royal Ascot winner or two.

Over in France the following day, May 14, the European Flat season raises the volume with the Poule de’Essai des Poulains (French 2,000 Guineas) and the Poulai d’Essai des Pouliches (French 1,000 Guineas) on the same card at Longchamp.

Ballydoyle and Godolphin have begun to target these two important races in recent seasons and their runners should be respected, but Criquette Head-Maarek’s Quiet Royale will be fancied for the ‘Pouliches’ after a satisfactory spin in second at Longchmap the other day.

Flat racing’s domestic caravan rolls on to York for their three-day Dante meeting and the potential Oaks fillies will run in the Musidora Stakes on May 17, the meeting’s opening salvo which is now a Wednesday on account of the fixture moving forward by a single day.

On May 18 the Derby hopefuls will run in the Dante Stakes and it’s worth recalling that in recent times, North Light and Motivator, the last two winners of this race, have gone on to glory at Epsom in just over three weeks’ time, while looking a little further back in the race’s illustrious history, it’s worth noting that Shahrastani, Reference point, Erhaab and Benny The Dip all went on from the Dante to Derby success.

This mile and a quarter Group 2 contest has clearly become a key Classic trial in recent seasons and mustn’t be missed. There’s sure to be a host of top-class performers in contention on the Knavesmire and Sir Michael Stoute has the best contemporary Dante record with two winners and three placed horses.

On the same day as the Dante keep a close eye upon the outcome of the Hambleton Stakes, a valuable mile handicap that has a habit of throwing up the winner of the Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot the following month especially if the Hambleton winner is trained by Sir Michael Stoute.

The final day of the Dante meeting sees the stayers take centre stage in the Yorkshire Cup, a useful pointer to the rest of the campaign’s leading staying races. Alan Swinbank’s stable star Collier Hill, a winner of the Irish St Leger last season, is a likely runner and may well be capable of surprising more fancied horses.

On May 20 it’s the turn of the season’s crack milers to unleash their firepower in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury and this has been a good race for Saeed Bin Suroor and the boys in blue in recent seasons, and it would be no surprise to see them land this Group1 event with Proclamation, who is surely heading for the top after joining Godolphin on the back of a brilliant three-year-old season.

In France the following day Longchamp’s Prix d’Ispahan always draws the top mile and mile and a quarter horses and this a race that mustn’t be missed as a key pointer to some of the season’s top races over this classic ten furlongs.

The month of May rounds off with the Irish 2,000 Guineas on May 27 followed by the Irish 1,000 Guineas on the following day. Both these valuable races tend to go to horses that have raced in the equivalent events at Newmarket and inevitably British trainers hold an excellent record in both races.

Finally, Sandown’s two-day fixture at the very end of the month is always informative with the Henry 11 Stakes for top-notch staying horses on May 29 followed on May 30 by the Temple Stakes for sprinters over the minimum trip and the Group 3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes in which trainer Sir Michael Stoute boats a useful record. Any runner from his yard should be noted carefully.



Horse Racing Odds

Malcolm Heyhoe asked:


Punters are in for a busy time of it in September as the Flat racing season moves swiftly into its autumn phase starting with the William Hill Sprint Cup, a Group1 contest over six furlongs at Haydock on Saturday September 2.

Class has traditionally been the defining factor in this well-contested sprint course and it’s therefore no surprise to see horses that have run well in the Group1 July Cup featuring again over the sharp six furlongs at the Lancashire course.

Weather permitting, the imperious Iffaaj should take all the beating if he turns out at the Lancashire course after an unlucky second to Les Arcs in the July Cup. Arguably the best sprinter in Europe right now, the Godolphin-trained colt won’t want the ground too soft if he’s to turn out at the Lancashire course.

In his absence the Jeremy Noseda-trained Soldier’s Tale would hold strong claims. He is less ground dependent than Iffraaj and after a lengthy absence his connections are hopeful that she can return to the fray in winning form at Haydock Park. Nunthorpe hero Reverence is another to consider if he can harness his sublime talents to the longer trip.

If it’s September then racing’s rolling caravan must be in Yorkshire for the St Leger, the world’s oldest classic which normally takes place at Doncaster. This time around the latter venue is being thankfully re-built at enormous cost and as a consequence the Leger meeting has been shoe-horned into two days at York - September 8 and 9 - instead of the usual four days.

This is no bad thing given the dodgy state of the ground on the Knavesmire and it will be relief when racing returns at Doncaster for 2008. Staged over a mile and six furlongs, the St Leger calls for stamina, courage and class in a prospective winner. A select field of eight or nine are likely to go to post and the hot favourite, Sixties Icon holds strong claims.

He’s looked a class apart from most of his rivals when waltzing away with the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood last time, a race which is an acknowledged trial for the St Leger. Of the rest, the Mick Channon-trained Youmzain showed fine speed to land the Great Voltigeur Stakes at the Ebor meeting but that piece of form doesn’t looks as strong as the Goodwood success of Sixties Icon.

The Tote Portland Handicap on September 8 is the big handicap race of the truncated Leger fixture and could go the way of the Stuart Williams-trained Hogmaneigh, an easy winner at Sandown last time who could well take in this race en route to a crack at the Ayr Gold Cup later in the month. Anna Pavlova is also a name to look out for in the Park Hill Stakes, a Group race for fillies on the same day.

Over at Leopardstown on September 9 the Baileys Irish Champion Stakes takes place at Leopardstown, and is one of the better clashes of the generations run over a mile and half all season. This time around all eyes will be upon Dylan Thomas as he bids to put a dreadful effort in the Juddmonte International at York behind him over a course that he has won over previously.

The following week racing heads north of the border or the three fine days of the Ayr Western Meeting and the Ayr Gold Cup, the richest spring handicap in Europe is the feature on Saturday September 16.

This year’s race, which has been landed in four out of the past five seasons by trainer Dandy Nicholls, features not one runner from the Nicholls yard after an administrative error meant that no horse from the stable was entered for the great spring contest. The air must surely have turned the deepest blue above the Nicholls yard on the day this blunder was discovered.

Still northern trainers, who tend to do better in this race than their southern counterparts, will be gunning to secure the valuable prize once again with Stewards’ Cup hero, Borderlescott sure to be among the leading fancies while Kevin Ryan’s Mutamared holds good claims and Ian Semple’s Scottish raider, Appalachian Trail is another for the short-list. Remember too that is a poor race for three-year-olds who often struggle in the large fields against their more experienced and older rivals.

Over at Newbury on the same day as the Ayr Gold Cup there’s the always informative and influential Cambridgeshire trial in the shape of the £100,000 John Smith’s Handicap which is required viewing for any prospective Cambridgeshire backers. Last year’s winner of the latter race, Blue Monday, was just touched off at Newbury and this year’s race may again supply the winner of the first leg of the autumn double.

On a cracking day’s racing Leopardstown also stages the Irish St Leger, the only classic run outside of Britain this month and this should provide the fast-improving stayer Yeats with a golden opportunity to add to his Ascot and Goodwood Cup successes. It’s had to see any horse being god enough to lower this one’s colours.

On September 23 it’s the chance for the top milers to strut their stuff in the Group1 Queen Elizabeth 11 Stakes at the newly re-vamped Ascot. George Washington’s eclipse at the hands of the workmanlike Caradak in a muddling Celebration Mile at Goodwood represented the low point of three-year-old fortunes against the older horses and it will

Be interesting to see whether the 2,000 Guineas hero can come good again in the Ascot showpiece.

This year’s classic generation has been wretched in competition with their elders and the Godolphin team will be hopeful of landing a fourth Queen Elizabeth Stakes in the past decade with their fast-improving Deauville winner, Librettist. A multiple winner this season, he should again go well now that he’s shown he can cut it at the top level.

Newmarket is the final port of call in September for three days of the Cambridgeshire meeting on the Rowley Mile. Those keen to glean further Classic clues for 2007 will be hoping that Jeremy Noseda’s star filly Sander Camillo turns up for the Cheveley Park Stakes for two-year-old fillies on September 28 while a day later the Prix Morny winner Dutch Art might will most likely be in action with the juvenile colts for the Middle Park Stakes. Whatever the final nature of the fields for races, the outcome of both contests could well have a significant bearing upon next season’s spring Classics.

A cracking months’ racing comes to an exiting close with the totesport Cambridgeshire on September 30 and there can be no better handicap run all season than this one mile and a furlong contest. Recent York winner Smart Enough looks a likely sort as does his fellow three-year-old Sir Gerard while of the older generation Fairmile makes plenty of appeal after a luckless defeat at Haydock in August.



Horse Racing Bets

Malcolm Heyhoe asked:


There has been more than whiff of cordite about the way the current Flat turf season has burst into life and further fireworks can be expected at Newmarket on Guineas weekend. Jim Bolger’s unbeaten Teofilo should fill more than the eye as he bids to extend his unbeaten run in the 2,000 Guineas on May 5 and banish the temporary blues that greeted the news of a recent training setback for the short-priced favourite for the first colts’ Classic.

The imperious Teofilo has been given a clean bill of health by connections and remains the one they all have to beat but the opposition has grown more potent by the day and includes Sir Michael Stoute’s formidable colt Adagio, an nonchalant winner of the Craven Stakes and arguably the greatest threat to Bolger’s mighty star.

On Sunday May 6 Newmarket hosts the 1,000 Guineas and the first fillies’ Classic is a demonstrably less competitive heat than the colts’ counterpart. Once again that man Bolger holds all the aces courtesy of his star filly Finsceal Beo, a dual Group 1 winner last autumn and a worthy favorite to land the fillies’ prize.

Reported in the best of form by her astute handler, she should take the world of beating after the failure of Sander Camillo, her main market rival, to run any sort of race at Newmarket in the Nell Gwyn Stakes. It will take something special to stop the 1,000 Guineas crossing the Irish Sea while on the same day Sixties Icon, the 2006 St Leger winner, should begin his season on a high note by lifting the Jockey Club Stakes for trainer, Jeremy Noseda.

Chester’s prestigious three-day meeting follows hot on the heels of Newmarket and the Derby hopefuls will be on show in the Chester Vase on May 10 where John Gosden’s easy Epsom winner Raincoat could bid to put flesh on the bones of his Classic challenge while in the Cheshire Oaks on May 9 the fillies will seek to do the same for their Classic aspirations. Barry Hills boasts a superb record on this turning track and any horse he runs in the aforementioned two races should be worth close inspection.

On Wednesday May 9 the Chester Cup is the meeting’s big betting race and Philip Hobbs may well let the irrepressible Fair Along, his dual purpose National Hunt star, bowl along in front on the Roodeye in a race where four-year-olds often run well. Queen’s Vase runner-up Galient represents this age group while smart northern challengers Halla San and Admiral, a winner in 2006, stir the pot even thicker.

The run of Classic trials continues at Lingfield on May 12 with the Lingfield Derby Trial and the similarly-titled Oaks Trial for the fillies’ on the same day while over at Haydock the Lancashire course stages the valuable Swinton Hurdle, a 2m handicap that invariably draws a high-class field. This year backers should look no further than Charlie Swan’s Empatt for the winner. He comes here bidding for a hat-trick following impressive victories at Fairyhouse and Ayr.

Over in France on the following day, May 13, the European Flat season steps up a gear with the Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French 2,000 Guineas) and the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (French 1,000 Guineas) on the same card at Longchamp. Ballydoyle and Godolphin have both targeted these prestigious prizes in recent seasons and their runners should be closely inspected while the talented Darjina flies the flag for France in the ‘Pouliches’.

Flat’s racing roller-coaster month pitches up next at York for its three-day Dante meeting and a handful of possible Oaks fillies will run in the Musidora Stakes on May 16 when Henry Cecil’s current Oaks favourite Passage Of Time is expected to go head-to-head with Godolphin’s rising star, Measured Tempo.

On May 17 it is the turn of the Derby hopefuls in the Dante Stakes and all eyes will be upon Peter Chapple-Hyam’s Classic hopeful Authorized who is likely to face a stern challenge from Godolphin’s number one contender, Eastern Anthem. This mile and a quarter Group 2 contest has developed into a key Derby trial and Sir Michael Stoute’s chosen runner should also be noted. He has the best contemporary record in the race with two winners and three placed horses.

On May 19 it is the turn of the season’s top-class milers to strut their stuff in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury and in recent renewals this has been a good race for Saeed Bin Suroor and the Godolphin team, but given the poor showing of their horses in the recent Dubai Carnival at Nad Al Sheba, the boys in blue will be looking for a lift in this valuable Group1 prize. Intriguingly, Aidan O’Brien may have something to say about the race’s outcome courtesy of George Washington who returns from a barren spell at stud to vex his rivals on the racecourse once more.

In France on the following day, Longchamp’s Prix d’Ispahan regularly draws the top mile and a quarter horses and this is often a contest that exerts a powerful bearing on some of the season’s best ten furlong races. Andre Fabre’s Manduro should be hard to beat here.

The high-class action in May comes to a thrilling climax with the Irish 2,000 Guineas on May 26 followed by the fillies’ equivalent, the Irish 1,000 Guineas on the next day. Both these top-class contests tend to be won by horses that have raced in the Newmarket Classics and British trainers boast an enviable record in both races.

May’s racing roundabout ends with Sandown’s Temple Stakes on May 29, a high-class pattern contest for sprinters that should see Ireland’s Dandy Man bid for a famous victory against a resurgent Tax Free while on the same day the Group 3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes is always interesting. Trainer Sir Michael Stoute is the man to side with in this event. He won it again twelve months ago courtesy of Notnowcato and any runner from Freemason Lodge is worth a close look.



Horse Racing Bets

Keith Driscoll asked:


Newmarket

Newmarket is the home of the British Jockey Club, remains the headquarters of many national and international racing organisations. Newmarket thrived because of its marketplace and a profitable trade in accommodating travellers and so it continued for centuries, until King James I “discovered” its Heath in February 1604 as a fantastic leisure venue for his court and Newmarket’s sporting relations began.

Newmarket is well served for trouble-free transport links to the remainder of East Anglia: the A14 takes you in about 20 minutes to Cambridge in the west, where you can benefit from the delights of the ancient University Town. Newmarket racing is ingrained in Suffolk history and is alive and kicking turf today as one of the most exciting racecourses in the UK. Newmarket early in the morning is a strange place, busy with the activities of hundreds of centaur-like figures, nonchalant but serious, as though unaware of the danger and absurdity of answering rich men’s whims by teaching racehorses to run faster.

Charles II’s involvement from the mid 17th century secured Newmarket’s future at the heart of British racing. The local history of Newmarket is inextricably tied up with the history of horseracing. The historic centre of English racing is today home to the world renowned Newmarket racecourse, the National Stud and the National Horse Racing Museum.

Racing

Newmarket is on the up and up, boasting world class racing and facilities and the strikingly picturesque July Course offering its own exclusive brand of entertainment over the summer months.

Bronze Age barrows, showing proof of early activity, were dotted across Newmarket Heath until the 19th century when they were removed to make better conditions for horse racing. The Rowley Mile hosts racing of the highest calibre during the Spring and Autumn, including two of Britain’s five Classic races in early May: the 1000 and 2000 Guineas.

Racehorses

Of course, no visit to Newmarket is complete without visiting sites associated with its rich sporting heritage as the historic home of horse racing. You can visit the world prominent National Stud, take in a tour of the National Horse Racing Museum, and even arrange a tour of the town’s training facilities and gallops. The town has a exclusive environment consisting of the world’s most extensive training grounds (situated on the world’s largest expanse of tended grassland), over 2500 racehorses, some 70+ licensed trainers and more than 60 stud farms where the racehorses of the future are bred.

Course

The Rowley Mile racecourse sports a brand new grandstand which is a great feature of this lovely racetrack. The distinctive thing about teh Rowley mile course is that it is a straight track and has a large dip about two and a half furlongs out which can catch out three year olds, as you need to have a exceedingly well balanced horse to keep up an even tempo going into the dip and then have the endurance to come back up the dip to finish out the race. In the autumn the Rowley Course stages two further outstanding meetings in the Cambridgeshire and Champions’ Day race days.

Have a fantastic day out at Newmarket racing.



Horse Racing Odds

Malcolm Heyhoe asked:


When racing fans think of March, they think only of the four days of the Cheltenham Festival and the start of the new turf Flat season at Newcastle. The build-up to the former begins in November and never lets up. Barley a day goes by without a bookmaker supplying a story, or a trainer talking about the tricky road to Cheltenham. The Festival defines the entire jumps season like no single event in any other sport.

Thankfully March’s racing programme starts quietly enough on the 3rd of the month with Newbury’s VC Casino.com Gold Cup, a classy two and a half mile handicap chase that is now in its third year. Trainer Paul Nicholls may well have the answer to this year’s race with the hat-trick seeing Nozic. This would be nothing new because the same stable won the race a year ago with Cornish Sett.

The following Saturday, March 10, sees Sandown stage its traditional eve of Cheltenham fixture and the Sunderlands Imperial Cup takes centre stage. This race is usually won by a lightly-raced youngster that has managed to hide its talents in the current season and is often to be found taking a step up in class. David Pipe will be seeking to emulate his father’s terrific record of four wins in the past ten runnings while any Irish raiders should also be respected.

The Sandown card also plays host to the EBF “NH” Novices’ Hurdle Final and this is always a race to watch for future chasing prospects. Some smart types have collected this prize down the years and backers should look out for Nicky Henderson’s Sir Jimmy Shand, who might just turn up here in preference to a tilt at a Cheltenham Festival prize.

The 2007 Cheltenham festival kicks off onMarch 13 with the Champion Hurdle occupying prime position. Once again all eyes will be upon the powerful quintet of Irish hurdlers that have dominated this race in recent years and include Brave Inca, the reigning champion and Hardy Eustace, a dual winner in 2004 and 2005. Throw into the mix a precocious talent such as Iktitaf, who can be forgiven his latest dismal run on the grounds of a virus infection, and the Irish challenge looks as strong as ever.

Twelve months ago many among the Irish raiding party would not have expected to perform as well as they had done one year earlier. Nine Irish trained winners in 2005 had been hailed as a special achievement but that figure was swiftly eclipsed by a total of ten victories for the Irish in 2006. I doubt whether they will be able to emulate either of these figures in 2007.

They certainly look up against it in the Champion Hurdle with home-based challengers Detroit City and Straw Bear putting down a serious challenge to the Emerald monopoly on the hurdling crown. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see either of the aforementioned horses give the British their first Champion Hurdle winner since Rooster Booster in 2003.

The two-mile speed machines enjoy their place in the spotlight on Wednesday March 14 when the Queen Mother Champion Chase pits reigning champion Newmill against the powerful talents of Well Chief, Nickname and Voy Por Ustedes. The former looked back to his very best when landing Newbury’s Game Spirit Chase on his first start for two years the other day.

Providing he isn’t hit with the ‘bounce’ factor that can often see a horse perform below-par on its second star back after a long absence, he should go well but rising stars Nickname and Voy Por Ustedes will be no pushovers. Nickame has looked unbeatable over two miles on soft ground and if those conditions prevail at Cheltenham, he might be the one to give Ireland its second successive Queen Mother title.

On Thursday March 17 the Festival features its quietest day for championship races with the World Hurdle and the Ryanair Chase combining to put substance into the creation of an extra day for the modern Cheltenham. In the former contest the disgraced Black Jack Ketchum will attempt to put his season back on track after a dismal capitulation in last month’s Cleeve Hurdle at the same course. He seemed not to stay a testing three miles that day and connections will be looking for better ground this time around. Otherwise he may not run.

Decent rivals lay in wait and they will include Mighty Man, last year’s World Hurdle third who also requires a sound surface, and the Francois Doumen-trained Kasbah Bliss, who handles cut and is a live outsider. In the Ryanair Chase the Nicky Richards-trained Monet’s Garden will never have a better chance of winning a Festival race and laying his cautious trainer’s Cheltenham hoodoo. This is a weak race.

Friday March 16 sees the Cheltenham Festival climax with the Gold Cup and it is hard to see beyond Kauto Star in what looks a below-par running of chasing’s Blue Riband. You know that this is an ordinary renewal when a plodder like The Listener features in the top six in the betting. Exotic Dancer aside, there seems no reason why Kauto Star shouldn’t add this race to the King George he secured at Christmas. Much has been made of his last-fence demolitions but he’s still been standing and his canny trainer will adopt more enterprising race tactics in the Gold Cup, thus playing to his horse’s strengths and inconveniencing his rivals.

At the end of Gold Cup week on March 17 Uttoxeter stages the Midlands National and watch out for Nil Desperandum, the current Grand National favourite in this marathon four-miler while March ends on the 31st with the Lincoln Handicap at Newcastle that features Willie Knight’s recent Dubai winner Illustrious Blue among the market leaders while over in the desert kingdom, Discreet Cat and Invasor could clash in the Dubai World Cup at Nad Al Sheba. Isn’t it great to have the Flat back?



Grand National

Malcolm Heyhoe asked:


The first Sunday in October can mean only one thing and that’s Paris in the autumn for the Prix de l’Ac de Triomphe at Longchamp on October 1. Not content with staging Europe’s premier Group1 contest for middle-distance racehorses, the French racing authorities have done plenty to develop this day as a fixture to match next month’s Breeders’ Cup bonanza at Churchill Downs, Kentucky

As well as the Arc, there will be five more Group One contests on a stupendous Sunday’s action for racing fans. Knowing where to start as a punter is half-the secret to success on a busy and brilliant day.

As ever the name of French trainer Andre Fabre is the essential starting-point for trying to find the winner of the Arc. No trainer has done as supremely well in the great race as the French master, successful five times since 1992 and as concerned as ever to land a sixth Arc to his recent tally.

Fabre supplies a three-pronged attack to this year’s prize beginning with Hurricane Run, last year’s Arc hero who is sure to be thereabouts again but struggled to land a below-par renewal of the King George at Ascot in July. Perhaps this time around he will be upstaged by his hugely talented stable companion Shirocco, who has been aimed at the Longchamp spectacular all season according to connections.

Getting stronger and better with age, Shirocco should be hard to beat in the Arc especially if the ground enjoys any give in it on Arc day. Andre Fabre’s horse is at his best with cut underfoot. The same wouldn’t be true of Japanese superstar, Deep Impact, whose connections are absolutely set on winning the Arc. Whether this top-notch colt can overcome unsuitable ground, the lack of prep race and the transition to a European climate is doubtful but he clearly adds spice to a cracking contest.

The rest of the Arc card features five more Group one races with Reverence likely to take the world of beating in the Prix de l’Abbaye over the minimum trip while the possibility of a clash between Ouija Board and Alexandrova in the Prix de l’Opera is a mouth-watering prospect. Elsewhere Andre Fabre will be attempting to better his record as the leading French-based trainer with his three-year-olds of particular note. Fabre tends to target the Prix du Cadran on Arc day each season, and his leading entry should be noted.

It’s a quiet weekend after the thrills of spills of the Arc and Cambridgeshire weekend with Ascot staging the day’s premier meeting on October 7. As ever the two-year-old sprinters take centre stage in the Cornwallis Stakes and the Willie Haggas-trained Enticing could be an interesting runner in this 5f event.

Over at York there’s a traditionally insoluble afternoon of large field and tricky handicaps headed by the Coral Sprint Trophy. Given the shock results in this 6f handicap it’s no wonder that bookmakers are keen to sponsor such races. On the same card the two-year-olds add some respectability to proceedings courtesy of the Listed Rockingham Stakes and the Barry Hills-trained Captain Marvelous is name to look out for among the entries.

It’s top drawer action at Newmarket on Champions Day, October 14, with two Group 1 contests heading an afternoon of superb action. Throw in the second leg of the autumn double for good measure, stir in the Rockfel, Challenge and Darley Stakes and you have the recipe for a perfect day’s racing.

When it comes to finding the winner of the Champion Stakes, looking for something fresh isn’t a bad policy. Most of the winners of this mile and a quarter contest haven’t endured the rigours of a long hard season. That’s certainly true of Derby hero Sir Percy and Henry Cecil’s rapid improver Multi Dimensional but whether these talented three-year-olds are up to lowering the colours of the older horses is open to question.

In the Challenge Stakes John Gosden’s Sleeping Indian could well prove hard to beat while Sir Gerard can take the Darley Stakes before heading off to Dubai and the winter sun. The James Fanshawe-trained colt has been sold to Sheikh Mohammed and is almost certain to race next season in the deep blue Godolphin colours.

In the Dewhurst all eyes will be upon Jim Bolger’s Teofilo should he make this Group1 contest his last race of a scintillating two-year-old season. This terrific prospect would tackle the world of beating but in his absence the Paul Cole-trained Strategic Prince might be the one to take advantage. He isn’t in Teofilo’s class but this has been his target since a pattern success at Goodwood in early August.

The main Flat action switches to Newbury after the high-points of Champions day and John Gosden’s Broghill could be a name to note in the October Yearling Stakes on October 20, the first day of Newbury’s two-day meeting that now includes the Racing Post Trophy on October 21. Mick Channon will be hoping that Halicarnassus can build upon his big reputation in that final Group 1 prize for juveniles while Aidan O’Brien will be attempting to build upon his bright record in the race and any runners from his Ballydoyle operation should be noted.

On the same day as hosting the Racing Post Trophy, Newbury also stages the Horris Hill Stakes and Jeremy Noseda’s Ready for Spring is being primed to take this prize while in the St Simon Stakes Geoff Wragg will be hoping that Dragon Dancer can lose his maiden tag at last. It seems scarcely believable that this frustrating type almost landed the Derby back in June at 66-1.

The dying embers of the 2006 turf Flat season share the spoils at Newmarket on October 28 with jump racing at Wetherby. At the former track there’s a valuable two-year-old contest in the guise of the Zetland Stakes and any runner from the Mark Johnston squad should be heeded here while over at Wetherby Star de Mohaison would have the look of a good thing if he begins his season in the Charlie Hall Chase. Finally, some of the top two-mile chasers will be strutting their stuff in the William Hill Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter and the outcome of this grade prize will be a pointer to the pecking order amongst the two-mile titans.



Grand National Royalty