Some Breeders' Cup form may come through Vertem Trophy, Criterium de Saint-Cloud

Saturday stakes racing in England and France is all about 2-year-olds as the European flat racing season winds to a close.

The Group 1 Vertem Futurity Trophy over a straight mile at Doncaster drew a field of eight headed by Auguste Rodin. Winner of the Champions Juvenile Stakes over one mile on Sept. 10 at Leopardstown, Auguste Rodin is trained by Aidan O’Brien, who has sent out the Futurity Trophy winner five times in the last 11 years, including last October, when Luxembourg won. Luxembourg had raced only twice before winning at Doncaster while Auguste Rodin is making his fourth start. The Deep Impact colt already has won over soft ground, which he is likely to encounter Saturday, but odds-on as of Thursday seems too short a price given the relatively modest competition Auguste Rodin has faced.

How Epictetus fares could offer a clue about Silver Knott’s chances in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf; Epictetus was second by a neck to Silver Knott just two weeks ago in the one-mile Autumn Stakes at Newmarket. A troubled third in that race was Holloway Boy, who also is among the entrants in the Futurity Trophy. Breeders’ Cup officials had listed Holloway Boy as a potential Juvenile Turf starter for weeks, but it’s hard to see him shipping to America to run his third race in a month.

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Also on the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf list this week was Dubai Mile, who is one of nine entrants in the 1 1/4-mile Criterium de Saint-Cloud, which looks like an extremely competitive race. Dubai Mile was second in a four-runner renewal of the Royal Lodge, a Group 2 mile of questionable quality this year. Co-trainers John and Thady Gosden, who have Epictetus for the Futurity Trophy, here try the Frankel colt Arrest, who has won two straight mile races over softer opposition and looks very progressive. O’Brien has two entrants, Adelaide River and Covent Garden, while another Ireland-based horse, the filly Gan Teorainn, looks like a win contender after a close second behind Blue Rose Cen in the Group 1 Prix Marcel-Boussac earlier this month.

Among seven entrants in the one-mile, Group 1 Criterium International on the Saint-Cloud card is the Peter Brant homebred Kubrick, based in France with trainer Jean-Claude Rouget and a winner of the Group 3 Prix du Chenes last month over Adelaide River.

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