Inspiral leads Sun Chariot, possible prep for Breeders' Cup start
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Inspiral will be heavily favored to win the Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes on Saturday at Newmarket in what may or may not be a stepping-stone to the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
The John and Thady Gosden-trained 4-year-old filly won Group 1 races at age 2 and 3, but started a calculated 4-year-old campaign with two defeats before breaking through with a decisive victory over males Aug. 13 in the Group 1 Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville.
Inspiral started in the Marois just 11 days after she failed to cope with a soft course at Goodwood and was all but eased across the finish of the Nassau Stakes by jockey Frankie Dettori. With the better part of two months since her last run and the prospect of good ground for Saturday’s straight mile contest, Inspiral will be difficult to defeat.
Mqse De Sevigne comes to Newmarket from trainer Andre Fabre’s yard in France on a two-race Group 1 winning streak, but victories in the Prix Jean Romanet and the Prix Rothschild came on a French course considerably softer than the one she’ll find in England. Meditate, the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner, likes to stay on top of the ground but isn’t quite in Inspiral’s league.
The Marois is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series and Inspiral has an automatic fees-paid entry into the BC Mile. She has been considered a prospective starter in the race since her win in France, but connections have made no commitments going into the Sun Chariot.
Westover retired
Westover sustained a career-ending injury during his second-place finish Sunday in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and subsequently has been retired to stud. The 4-year-old Juddmonte homebred by Frankel out of Mirabilis, by Lear Fan, had been intended for a start in the Breeders’ Cup Turf before his injury was detected earlier this week.
Trained by Ralph Beckett, Westover in 2022 was third in the Derby at Epsom before winning the Irish Derby. He captured the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in July but his better performances this year were a string of second-place finishes: Westover was beaten by the great Equinox in the Sheema Classic, by an in-form Emily Upjohn in the Coronation Cup, by Hukum in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and last Sunday by Ace Impact in the Arc.
BC Turf possibly in flux
The loss of Westover is a blow for the Breeders’ Cup Turf and two more prominent possible participants now are being considered for the Champion Stakes on Oct. 21 at Ascot.
Mostahdaf, winner of the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes and the Group 1 International at York in his last two starts, might start in the Champion, his connections revealed late this week. Mostahdaf excels at 1 1/4 miles, though he stands a good chance of staying 1 1/2 miles on an American course with a short homestretch.
Onesto’s connections were targeting the BC Turf following his third-place finish in the Arc, which was run over the firmer footing Onesto prefers. Mostahdaf also wants nothing to do with very soft going, and with good ground still prevailing in England, both horses could wind up in the Champion.
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