Ward looks for third Prix Morny win with Campanelle

Campanelle will be out to give trainer Wesley Ward his third win in the Prix Morny on Sunday at Deauville, but the going could play against the American invader.

Ward won the Morny, a Group 1, six-furlong, straight-course dash for 2-year-olds with No Nay Never in 2013 and with Lady Aurelia in 2016. Campanelle, owned by Stonestreet Stables, doesn’t look as smart a performer as either of those horses, though she comes into Sunday’s race unbeaten in two starts – a Gulfstream maiden win and a three-quarter-length tally in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot.

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Both Campanelle’s starts came over five furlongs, but her pedigree – by Kodiac out of Janina, by Namid – suggests she can stay Sunday’s six. But while Campanelle won over good going at Ascot, the ground as of Friday at Deauville was labeled “very soft,” which cannot be a good thing for an American shipper facing European-based opposition. Frankie Dettori has the mount on Campanelle, who gets a four-pound sex allowance from her male rivals.

The opposition is led by Tactical, who was co-favored with Campanelle at a general 2-1 Friday in overseas antepost wagering. Tactical, by Toronado, was third in his career debut before capturing the Windsor Castle Stakes over five furlongs at Royal Ascot and, even more relevant to Sunday’s race, the Group 2 July Stakes last month at Newmarket. That race was contested over a straight six furlongs on good-to-soft going and Tactical beat eight rivals with speed to spare.

The other horse getting early betting support is Rhythm Master, an impressive winner of his lone start, a six-furlong maiden at Haydock that he won by more than three lengths.

The Prix Jean Romanet, a one-mile contest for fillies and mares, fills out the Sunday card at Deauville with a second Group 1. Nazeef, Dettori riding for John Gosden, is the heavy favorite here, and likely for good reason. Nazeef had her six-race winning streak snapped July 30 at Goodwood in the Group 1 Nassau, a defeat that shouldn’t be held against her.

Four-year-old Nazeef, a miler at heart, was stretched out to 1 1/4 miles, which proved to be beyond her scope, and finished third to a pair of tough 3-year-olds, Fancy Blue and One Voice, who were getting nine pounds from Nazeef. At Ascot, Nazeef won the Duke of Cambridge, followed by victory in the Group 1 Falmouth, both run over one mile. Nazeef handles a variety of course conditions and looks formidable.

Battaash repeats in Nunthorpe

Battaash won the Group 1 Nunthorpe for the second year in a row on Friday at York. Europe’s top sprinter, at five furlongs, at least, had to work hard to post a one-length victory over Que Amoro, prevailing as a 1-2 favorite. The York course was listed as “good” for the Nunthorpe but Friday rain softened the ground more than firm-turf-loving Battaash prefers.

Jim Crowley rode the winner, a 6-year-old gelded son of Dark Angel and Anna Law, by Lawman, for Hamdan al Maktoum and trainer Charlie Hills.

The Nunthorpe is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Win and You’re In race for the BC Turf Sprint, but for now, the Battaash camp has their sites on the Prix de l’Abbaye on the Arc undercard.