Baaeed, rated the best horse on the planet in the latest Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, is an odds-on favorite to run his career unbeaten mark to nine in the Group 1 Sussex Stakes on Wednesday at Goodwood Racecourse in England.
Rated 128 in the latest international ratings, two points higher than American star Flightline and Australian sprinter Nature Strip, Baaeed would have to take a serious step backward to lose the Sussex, one of Europe’s premier races over one mile.
Danetta has compiled a three-race winning streak in Australia with a flair for drama in the last two months.
In each win, Danetta has closed from the middle of the field to take a late lead. She has never won by more than three-quarters of a length and won the second race in that span by only a nose.
Danetta will attempt a fourth consecutive win when the 3-year-old filly starts favored in a handicap at 6 1/4 furlongs at Taree Racecourse on Tuesday.
The Australian gelding The Big Seal seemed stuck in a series of second-place finishes until he recorded a breakthrough win in a maiden race at Gilgandra Racecourse on July 13.
The Big Seal was the even-money favorite and won by a half-length after setting the pace. The win may be the start of a trend. The Big Seal is the 2-1 favorite to beat winners for the first time in a five-furlong handicap at Scone Racecourse on Monday.
Pyledriver, the longest shot in a six-horse field, beat Torquator Tasso, the second-longest price, as older horses ruled the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Saturday at Ascot.
Pyledriver, getting a great trip just behind a pace battle between Westover and Broome, ran the race of his life beating 2021 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Torquator Tasso by 2 3/4 lengths. Mishriff, another older horse, finished a distant third, beaten eight lengths by Torquator Tasso after missing the break, and Broome, was fourth.
Tara Jasmine has won 6 of 17 starts in Australia since her career began in October 2020, and would have had a seventh win at Grafton Racecourse on July 14 with any luck.
Through the final furlong of a seven-furlong handicap at Grafton, Tara Jasmine raced behind and between runners, finding a clear path only in the final strides. She finished third by two noses.
The Australian filly Mileva has won an impressive 7 of 15 starts in a career that began in January 2020, but only achieved an important milestone earlier this month.
Until she won the Group 3 Sir John Monash Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs at Caulfield Racecourse on July 11, Mileva was winless in four starts in group level stakes. The recent win has led to a start in Saturday’s Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes at six furlongs at Caulfield, a chance for Mileva to win another group stakes in advance of more important races in Australia in coming weeks.
On two occasions in 2020, the Australian gelding Edison won consecutive races at prominent tracks in Sydney.
No such milestone was achieved in 2021, but the opportunity for a repeat win may occur for Edison in Friday’s Mildura Cup at tiny Mildura Racecourse in the Australian countryside.
Edison ended a nine-race losing streak with a win in a lucrative handicap at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne on July 9 and is rated as a leading contender in a field of 11 in the Mildura Cup at seven furlongs.
Tidal Creek will start at 1 1/4 miles for the first time in a handicap at Kembla Grange Racecourse in Australia on Thursday, which has led to a jockey switch for the lightly raced Southern Hemisphere 3-year-old.
Tidal Creek will be ridden for the first time by apprentice jockey Ellen Hennessy, an assignment that reduces the weight from 134.4 pounds to 130.
Green Flash will be reunited with a familiar jockey when the 4-year-old gelding has his third start of the year in a handicap at 7 3/4 furlongs on the infield Kensington course at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday.
Green Flash has won 2 of 11 starts and won his debut when ridden by James McDonald in March 2021. McDonald later rode Green Flash to a fourth- and second-place finish in 2021 and regains the mount for this race.
