Fintry seeks fourth straight in Sun Chariot at Newmarket

Fintry, the winner of three consecutive group stakes in England and France this year, will be favored to win her first Group 1 race in Saturday’s $318,718 Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket, England.

The Sun Chariot Stakes is run over a mile for fillies and mares. Fintry is one of three runners in the race trained by Andre Fabre, who starts Esoterique and Miss France, the first two finishers of the Group 1 Prix Rothschild at Deauville, France, in August. Esoterique was later fourth against males in the Group 1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp on Sept. 14.

The race drew a field of eight. The best hope of the British runners is probably Integral, who was third in the Prix Rothschild and won the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket in July.

There are four Group 2 races on Saturday’s program at Longchamp, the start of the biggest weekend of flat racing in France. Sunday’s program is highlighted by the $6.2 million Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe over 1 1/2 miles.

Cirrus des Aigles, who cannot run in the Arc because the race does not permit geldings, will be favored to win Saturday’s $250,000 Prix Dollar for the fourth time in the last five years. An 8-year-old gelding, Cirrus des Aigles has not raced since winning the Group 1 Coronation Cup at Ascot in England in June, emerging from the race with a minor leg injury.

Saturday’s richest race at Longchamp is the $317,500 Prix de Royallieu over 1 9/16 miles for fillies and mares. Mayhem, the winner of the minor Prix Joubert at Saint-Cloud in France on Sept. 14, can win her first group race against 11 rivals. There will be support for Zarshana, a stakes winner at Longchamp and Deauville during the summer.

Veda, second in the French 1000 Guineas in May, starts against males in the $252,000 Prix Daniel Wildenstein over a mile. She faces 11 rivals, including Sommeraband, a winner of three stakes this year at Paris tracks.

The longest stakes race at Longchamp on Saturday is the $252,000 Prix Caudenay over 1 7/8 miles. Vazira, the winner of the Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary in May but fourth in two subsequent starts, is part of a field of nine.