Hurricane Lane could bounce back on French soil in Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud
Two of England-based Hurricane Lane’s finest moments have come in France, and on Sunday at Saint-Cloud the 4-year-old colt will try to get back on track in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.
Last July, Hurricane Lane won the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris by six lengths, and in October despite a less-than-ideal trip he finished third of 14 in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, one of only two losses, along with a third in the Epsom Derby, Hurricane Lane took through eight starts at ages 2 and 3. Hurricane Lane disappointed in his lone race this season, finishing a fading third in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, and he’ll have to do better to win the 1 1/2-mile Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.
The deep nine-runner field also includes Alpinista, who quietly developed into one of the more exciting older fillies in Europe last season. After winning just two of her first seven starts, 5-year-old Alpinista went 5 for 5 in 2021, the last three of those starts Group 1 races in Germany. Among the capable set of males she beat after shipping from England was subsequent Arc winner Torquator Tasso, whom Alpinista handled by nearly three lengths last August. The Frankel mare, trained in England by Mark Prescott, is out on the road again for her 2022 unveiling and gets a three-pound sex allowance.
Hurricane Lane, trained by Charlie Appleby for Godolphin, was odds-on in the Group 2 Hardwicke. Broome was sent to the lead in the Hardwicke, and hard ridden for nearly the last mile of that 1 1/2-mile contest, bottomed out the horses chasing him. It’s entirely possible Hurricane Lane, who will have William Buick on his back Sunday, merely needed the start to shake off rust, but there’s also the chance the colt has not trained on at age 4.
Ryan Moore put Broome on the lead to good effect at Royal Ascot. On Sunday he pilots Broome’s Aidan O’Brien-trained stablemate High Definition, whose career peak came two starts ago, when he led most of the way under Moore in the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup before Alenquer nabbed him on the line. High Definition sweated before the race and failed to make the lead when taking a step back in the Coronation Cup on June 3 at Epsom and could revert to front-running tactics in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.
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Lone Eagle finished second, beaten just a neck by Hurricane Lane in the 2021 Irish Derby, before his season was cut short in July. He returned from a long layoff with a useful third May 21 in a listed race at Goodwood and stands to show meaningful improvement Sunday. Third Realm, who finished two places behind Hurricane Lane in last year’s Derby, won Lone Eagle’s comeback start at Goodwood.
The solid French contingent includes the improving 4-year-old Baratti, Bubble Gift, Mare Australis, and the filly Sweet Lady.
* A field of 20, six trained by Markus Klug, is entered in the Group 1 Deutsches Derby over 1 1/2 miles on Sunday at Hamburg.