Four-year-old filly The Fugue, winning her first big race against males, overhauled pace-setting Trading Leather and outfinished Al Kazeem to win the Group 1 $570,000 Irish Champion Stakes on Saturday at Leopardstown.
For the first time all season, Al Kazeem figures to get the rain-softened grass he prefers in Saturday's Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown.
Novellist won his third consecutive Group 1 race in Sunday’s $330,000 Grosser Preis Von Baden but had to work a little harder than expected to win Germany’s top race for older horses.
Novellist, winner of consecutive Group 1 races in June and July, can solidify his claims as a leading contender for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in France in October when he starts favored in Sunday’s Group 1 Grosser Preis Von Baden at Baden-Baden in Germany.
Astaire won his first group stakes in Saturday’s $306,127 Gimcrack Stakes for 2-year-olds at York, England, leading throughout the six-furlong turf race.
Jwala scored a huge upset in the $444,000 Nunthorpe Stakes on Friday at York in England, beating favored Shea Shea by a half-length in the Group 1 sprint race.
The Fugue won her first stakes of 2013 in Thursday’s $506,000 Yorkshire Oaks at York Racecourse in England, a win that could lead to a start in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in France in October.
Topping the Friday card at York is the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes, a five-furlong sprint that, through the Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In program, offers a fees-paid berth in the BC Turf Sprint plus travel expenses to the race.
Declaration of War could be a candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Classic this fall after a 7-1 upset win in Wednesday's Juddmonte International at York.
The Fugue starts against fillies and mares for the first time since a third-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf last fall when she runs in Thursday’s $500,500 Yorkshire Oaks at York Racecourse in England.
