Rosallion goes for first win since last summer in City of York Stakes

Rosallion, scratched from last weekend’s Jacque le Marois in France and winless since June 2024, heads the Group 1 City of York Stakes on Saturday at York Racecourse.

A bruised foot kept Rosallion from traveling from trainer Richard Hannon Jr.’s base in England to the Marois at Deauville Racecourse in France, but Rosallion quickly pops up in the seven-furlong City of York, seeking his first win since the St. James’s Palace Stakes at the 2024 Royal Ascot meeting.

Among his rivals is Qirat, who was 150-1 in England when he beat Rosallion by a neck on July 30 at Goodwood in the Group 1 Sussex. Qirat raced as a pacemaker for odds-on favorite Field of Gold, but while Field of Gold failed to fire and came out of the Sussex lame, Qirat failed to stop and posted a historic upset.

Never So Brave makes his Group 1 debut after winning his first group race of any sort when he captured the Group 2 Summer Mile. That victory came after Never So Brave beat 26 foes in a seven-furlong Royal Ascot handicap, winning by more than two lengths while carrying top weight.

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