Recent starts at prominent Australian tracks such as Caulfield and Flemington were not successful ventures for the gelding Sagarra. Prior to losses at those tracks, Sagarra won handicaps at Sale Racecourse and Sandown Park. When the 5-year-old Australian-bred starts in a handicap at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf at Ballarat Racecourse on Sunday, he appears to be well-suited to the conditions.
Siskin was as brave as he was brilliant winning a rough-and-tumble renewal of the Irish 2000 Guineas on Friday at The Curragh
Shaman beat Sottsass by two lengths May 11 in the Prix d'Harcourt but Sottsass beat everyone last year in the French Derby and is the strong early favorite over Shaman to win the Group 1 Prix Ganay on Sunday at Chantilly.
It will be quiet at Ascot, the historic racecourse sited about 30 miles west-southwest of central London. Royal Ascot is all about tall hats, royal carriages, seeing, and being seen, but owing to the coronavirus pandemic, still galloping strongly through England, the Royal meeting runs spectator-free this year.
Royal Ascot Trends for 2020 from At The Races.
Frank Gabriel Jr. has resigned his position as executive director of racing at the Dubai Racing Club.
Albigna traveled all the way from Ireland to Southern California for her final start at age 2 last fall but has a much shorter trip ahead of her Saturday to begin her 3-year-old season as the favorite in the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas.
A quiet Sunday card at Sha Tin in Hong Kong features a pair of Class 2 handicaps for horses rated 100 to 80. The 11-race program, which starts with a griffin race for unrated horses, features race 4, a Class 2 over 1,600 meters, and race 8, a Class 2 over 1,200 meters.
A three-race winning streak, which included two minor stakes, and a fine record of six wins in nine career starts will make Vanna Girl the favorite in her group stakes debut in Saturday’s Group 2 The Roses Stakes at Eagle Farm Racecourse in Australia.
Trainer Aidan O’Brien has won the Irish 2000 Guineas 11 times. There are 11 runners in Friday’s belated 2020 renewal of race. O’Brien trains six of them. O’Brien, whose first Irish 2000 Guineas winner came in 1997, is winning the numbers game, but he doesn’t have the favorite to win Friday’s race.
