Chicquita, who fell when leading an allowance race in May and later finished second in the French Oaks on June 16, won Saturday’s $524,000 Irish Oaks at The Curragh, her first career win in her fourth start.
Meandre, sixth in the Dubai World Cup behind Animal Kingdom in March, faces a stern test in an attempt to defend his title in Sunday’s Group 1 Grosser Preis Von Berlin at Hoppegarten Racecourse in Germany.
Epsom Oaks winner Talent and Ribblesdale Stakes winner Riposte head an eight-horse field entered in Saturday’s Group 1, $303,688 Irish Oaks at The Curragh.
Four-year-old Lethal Force won only once in his first nine starts during 2011 and 2012, but he has figured things out now. Winning his second straight Group 1 on Saturday, Lethal Force staked a claim as Europe’s best sprinter with a front-running, 1 1/2-length victory in the $815,000 July Cup at Newmarket in England.
Elusive Kate won Friday’s Group 1 Falmouth Stakes for fillies and mares at Newmarket, England, a result that was not confirmed until a stewards’ inquiry reviewed whether the winner bothered 4-7 favorite Sky Lantern in the final quarter-mile.
No Nay Never, the American-trained undefeated winner of the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 20, remains on schedule for a return to Europe for the Group 1 Prix Morny at Deauville, France, on Aug. 18, trainer Wesley Ward said.
There is Group 1 action on both sides of the English Channel on Saturday in the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp and the July Cup at Newmarket.
Sky Lantern, winner of the English 1000 Guineas and Coronation Stakes in recent months, will have just three rivals when she makes her first start against older fillies and mares in Friday’s Group 1 Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket, England.
Grandeur, last seen winning the Hollywood Turf Cup in December, was among the seven final declarations for the Group 2 Princess of Wales’s Stakes on Thursday at Newmarket.
The British Horseracing Authority full report on suspended trainer Mahmood al Zarooni’s use of anabolic steroids is nearing completion, but the full report will be shared only with al Zarooni’s former employer, Godolphi, the Authority announced Tuesday.
