Black Caviar will attempt to stretch her unbeaten streak to 16 races when she starts as a prohibitive favorite in Saturday’s $1.03 million Patinack Farm Classic at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia.
Dunaden, a Group 3 stakes winner at Longchamp in April, continued the recent domination of foreign horses in the $6.1 million Melbourne Cup on Tuesday with a nose victory over the British invader Red Cadeaux.
French Fifteen won Sunday’s Group 1 Criterium International for 2-year-olds colts and fillies at Saint-Cloud, France, and in doing so flattered the chances of a European invader in Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Churchill Downs.
The influence of French racing, and even a longshot from the United States, will be strongly felt in Tuesday’s Group 1 Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse, Australia’s most famous horse race. Defending champion Americain will be favored for French trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre.
In front of a crowd of over 100,000 on a glorious day, many of Australian racing's biggest heroes were in action on the first day of Flemington's Spring Carnival. The four Group 1s contested at the Melbourne oval, resulted in mixed performances by the betting favorites.
The French stakes winners French Fifteen and Kendam make their first starts in a Group 1 in Sunday’s Criterium International for 2-year-olds colts and fillies at Saint-Cloud, France. They pose a home-country threat to Irish invader Learn.
Four Group 1 races, including the Mackinnon Cup, the last prep for the Melbourne Cup, are part of Saturday’s program at Flemington Racecourse in Australia, the first day of that track’s famous spring carnival.
Improving 4-year-old filly Be Fabulous won her group stakes debut Sunday, capturing the Group 1 Prix Royal Oak by 1 3/4 lengths at Longchamp.
Orfevre became the first horse in six years to sweep the Japanese Triple Crown with an impressive victory in Sunday’s Group 1 Japanese St. Leger, the Kikuka Sho, at Kyoto Racecourse.
Camelot, looking like the next stable star for trainer Aidan O’Brien, sparkled in his stakes debut Saturday at Doncaster in England, where he won the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy Stakes by 2 1/4 lengths.
