Coolmore, Godolphin square off in Vertem Futurity

Just like in the good old days, it’s Godolphin versus Coolmore in the Group 1 Vertem Futurity on Saturday at Doncaster Racecourse in England.

These days, of course, are neither good (global pandemics have that effect) nor old (the Vertem Futurity was called the Racing Post Trophy until 2019), and the once-bitter Godolphin-Coolmore rivalry has cooled over time. The matchup at Doncaster between Godolphin’s One Ruler, trained by Charlie Appleby, and Wembley, trained by Aidan O’Brien, looks pretty hot, and there is further Group 1 action for European 2-year-olds Saturday with the Criterium International and the Criterium de Saint-Cloud, both at Saint-Cloud.

All three of these races can be live-streamed and wagered upon Saturday morning at DRFBets.com.

One Ruler had been listed as a candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, and while he could still do a quick turnaround for that race at Keeneland, Saturday’s run seems likely to end his campaign. It’s a campaign that has begun with two wins from four starts, One Ruler stretching to a mile for the first time in the Autumn Stakes on Oct. 10 at Newmarket and winning by nearly two lengths. One Ruler coped comfortably with soft ground at Newmarket; Doncaster course a was listed good-to-soft as of Thursday.

Wembley is the narrow favorite ahead of One Ruler in overseas antepost wagering, and deservedly so. Wembley has won only once in six starts but has been second four times, including in his last two, when he was cut down by a standout performance by Thunder Moon in the National Stakes at The Curragh in September before finishing a good second to stablemate St. Mark’s Basilica in the Group 1 Dewhurst at Newmarket two weeks ago. Wembley tries one mile for the first time Saturday and seems likely to see out the trip.

The 1 1/4-mile Criterium de Saint-Cloud drew several talented entrants, including the unbeaten Makaloun and the filly Tiger Tanaka. An Aga Khan homebred trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, Makaloun, a son of Bated Breath, won twice at provincial tracks, captured a listed race at Deauville, and ran his record to 4 for 4 Sept. 28 at Chantilly with a five-length romp in the Group 3 Prix de Conde. That 1 1/8-mile contest was run over heavy ground and as of Thursday the Saint-Cloud course, too, was designated “heavy.”

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Tiger Tanaka has her own heavy-ground success, a last-out Group 1 victory in the Prix Marcel Boussac on the Arc undercard at Longchamp. Her connections mentioned the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf after that one-mile score, but neither Tiger Tanaka nor her sire, Clodovil, are Breeders’ Cup-nominated, and it would’ve cost $200,000 to supplement the filly into the race.

Gear Up, in from England for trainer Mark Johnston, could offer some BC Juvenile Turf clues in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud since he was second last out in the Royal Lodge Stakes to Juvenile Turf probable New Mandate.

Policy of Truth, a horse Breeders’ Cup officials once had on their list of possible Juvenile Turf starters, is part of the field for the one-mile Criterium International, which also drew La Barrosa, another Godolphin colt trained by Appleby, this one 2 for 2 to start his career. La Barrosa, by Lope de Vega, was a debut winner over seven furlongs at Ascot and captured the Group 3 Tattersalls over the same trip at Newmarket on Sept. 24. O’Brien and Coolmore counter with Van Gogh, who was second to One Ruler last out in the Autumn Stakes.