Treve solidifies status as Arc favorite
This is Treve’s fourth season of racing, and from the look of her win Sunday in the Group 1 Prix Vermeille at Longchamp, her passion for competition has hit an all-time high.
Marcus HershSep 13, 2015
This is Treve’s fourth season of racing, and from the look of her win Sunday in the Group 1 Prix Vermeille at Longchamp, her passion for competition has hit an all-time high.
A great day of racing overseas was marred Saturday by controversial results in the St. Leger Stakes at Doncaster in England and in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown.
The day after a tremendous Irish Champions card at Leopardstown, there is more high-class racing in Ireland on Sunday at The Curragh, which hosts a pair of important 2-year-old races as well as the Irish St. Leger.
Almost nothing went right in 2014 for the super-mare Treve until she won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for the second time last fall, but so far this year, as Treve bids to become the first three-time Arc winner, everything has gone right. The season-long plan laid out by her connections makes a stop Sunday at Longchamp, where Treve has her final start before the Arc de Triomphe in the Group 1 Prix Vermeille, one of three Arc de Triomphe preps on an outstanding card that also includes the Group 1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp over one mile.
On Saturday, Leopardstown Racecourse will host possibly the deepest race of the European flat season – the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes – provided the race stays together.
Prince Gibraltar, who struggled in Group 2 races in France and England in May and July, won Sunday’s $278,000 Grosser Preis Von Baden at Baden-Baden Racecourse in Germany. The Group 1 Grosser Preis Von Baden was part of the Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In program, offering a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland on Oct. 31.
Goldstream, fourth in the Grade 1 Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park on Aug. 15, is part of a modest field in Sunday’s $278,000 Grosser Preis von Baden at Baden-Baden Racecourse in Germany, a race that will award the winner a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland on Oct. 31.
Saturday, Gordon Lord Byron makes his fourth appearance in the big sprint race at Haydock, the Group 1 Betfred Sprint Cup, and if he runs like he did the first three times, Gordon Lord Byron will be a factor
Gleneagles, one of the best horses in Europe, is being pointed to the Breeders’ Cup Classic, trainer Aidan O’Brien announced Tuesday. The 3-year-old colt, winner of the English 2000 Guineas in May, has been a miler during his excellent overseas career, but will try to stretch his stamina over the Classic’s 1 1/4 miles at Keeneland this fall if his connections’ plan holds.
Acapulco, the 2-year-old filly who was second against older horses in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York Racecourse in England on Aug. 21, will be rested for the remainder of the year.