Two of the better horses racing in Europe, Alpha Centauri and Saxon Warrior, were retired Sunday after sustaining injuries in Saturday races at Leopardstown in Ireland.
The filly Kitesurf and colts Brundtland and Waldgeist won group stakes at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris on Sunday in what were likely prep races for the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at the famous track on Oct. 7.
Some people believe that imputing a will to win to horses is a merely anthropomorphic act. They would be hard-pressed to maintain that position after watching Roaring Lion win the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes by a neck over Saxon Warrior on Saturday at Leopardstown Racecourse.
Favored filly Lah Ti Dar took a good long run at Kew Gardens in the Group 1 St. Leger Stakes, the last European classic race of the season, but Kew Gardens never wavered, bravely seeing out the testing 1 13/16 miles to post a 2 1/4-length victory.
Winx extended her winning streak to 27 races with an emphatic victory in Saturday’s Group 1 Optic White Stakes at Royal Randwick, moving closer to an attempt at an historic fourth consecutive win in the Group 1 Cox Plate on Oct. 27.
Fourteen are entered for the Class 2 Woodpecker Handicap, the Sunday feature at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong. Whether they get to take their place in the starting gate depends on Super Typhoon Mangkhut.
The improving filly Kitesurf and the established veteran Talismanic, the winner of the 2017 Breeders' Cup Turf at Del Mar, give Godolphin Racing and trainer Andre Fabre the favorites in two of the three major prep races for the Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp Racecourse on Sunday in Paris.
The Aidan O'Brien-trained Flag of Honour is 2 for 2 since being stretched to 1 3/4 miles and is the mild antepost favorite to beat fellow 3-year-old Latrobe in Sunday's Group 1 Irish St. Ledger.
Roaring Lion will be heavily favored to add the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes on Saturday at Leopardstown Racecourse to his already considerable seasonal haul.
Andrew Hawkins' Hong Kong selections and analysis for Sunday, September 16, 2018 - Sha Tin
