Siljan’s Saga can become the first horse in nine years to win consecutive runnings of the $224,520 Grand Prix de Deauville when she faces three male rivals in the turf marathon on Sunday at Deauville Racecourse in France.
Prince of Penzance, the upset winner of the Melbourne Cup last November at 100-1, will start as a longshot in Saturday’s Memsie Stakes at Caulfield Racecourse in Australia, the first start of a spring campaign geared toward the Melbourne Cup on Nov. 1.
Blue Point won the first stakes of his brief career and moved to the fore of the British 2-year-old division with a three-length win in Saturday’s $262,860 Gimcrack Stakes for colts and geldings at York Racecourse.
After winning a maiden race at Keeneland by 7 1/2 lengths in April, Lady Aurelia cruised to an impressive win by seven lengths in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at Royal Ascot in June. Her next objective is France's top August race for 2-year-olds – Sunday's $395,990 Prix Morny for 2-year-old colts and fillies at six furlongs at Deauville Racecourse. As of Friday, Lady Aurelia was as low as 1-3 with some European bookmakers to win the Group 1 race against four rivals.
Blue Point lost his unbeaten record with a second by a neck in the Group 2 Richmond Stakes at Goodwood Racecourse in England on July 27. The loss did not dent the long-term expectations for trainer Charlie Appleby and owner Godolphin Racing.
Seventh Heaven led an Aidan O’Brien-trained sweep of the top two placings Thursday in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks at York Racecourse, beating her favored stablemate, Found, by 2 3/4 lengths. Queen’s Trust finished third, and another O’Brien-trained filly, Pretty Perfect, was fourth, and none of these fillies is even rated the top female in the O’Brien stable, a position presently occupied by Minding.
Limato, winner of the Group 1 July Cup last month, is a mild favorite to win Friday's $445,400 Nunthorpe Stakes at York Racecourse in northern England, a race that could have implications for the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Santa Anita in November.
Postponed already has proven himself among the very best 1 1/2-mile horses in the world, and on Wednesday at York he will try to expand his Group 1 repertoire to 1 1/4 miles in the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes.
The Gurkha, one of Europe’s leading 3-year-olds, has been sidelined with an undisclosed injury, his owners announced on Twitter on Saturday.
The lightly raced longshot Richard Pankhurst won his first group stakes in Saturday’s $194,325 Hungerford Stakes for sprinters at Newbury Racecourse in England.
