Proper Rogue and Wilmot Pass have had similar careers in Australia in the last year.
They are both lightly raced 4-year-olds, excel in sprints, and have run well in recent starts. They meet for the third time in a six-furlong handicap on the Lakeside course at Ladbrokes Park in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Pat’s Nipper returned from a four-month layoff to finish a decent fourth in a handicap at Moree Racecourse in Australia on July 16.
The recent outing should allow Pat’s Nipper to show improvement in his second start after the rest in a handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs at Gunnedah Racecourse on Tuesday.
Palace Pier took his record to 5 for 5 with a sharp three-quarter-length win over the 3-year-old filly Alpine Star in the Group 1 Prix Jacques le Marois on Sunday at Deauville.
Frankie Dettori went to France from England to ride this weekend knowing he’d have to quarantine for 14 days upon returning home, but the trip was worth the travail. The day before Dettori rode Palace Pier to victory for trainer John Gosden, he piloted the Gosden-trained Mishriff to a comfortable win in the Group 2 Prix Guillaume d’Ornano.
Mishriff, The Summit, and Victor Ludorum, the first three home in the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club on July 5, meet again Saturday at Deauville in the Group 2 Prix Guillaume d’Ornano.
Mishriff, trained by John Gosden, was making his group stakes debut in the Prix du Jockey Club, the French Derby, and won by 1 3/4 lengths thanks to an electric turn of foot in deep stretch.
The three-race winning streak compiled by The Sledgehammer in Australia in the last six weeks has occurred at tiny racetracks such as Warren, Dubbo, and Forbes.
The next stop is Sunday at Narromine, northwest of Sydney, for the Narromine Cup at a mile on turf.
While those four venues in the New South Wales countryside are not well known to most racing followers, there is universal appeal in the way The Sledgehammer has performed of late.
Seven horses are entered in the Group 1 Prix Jacques le Marois on Sunday at Deauville, and it takes no great leap of the imagination to envision five plausible winners.
Romanised won the 2019 Marois and rates as a contender again, but the foes he faces Sunday in this one-mile fixture are much stronger than those he beat last summer. Shaman was second in the Marois last year and would be nowhere near the top of the betting Sunday.
Mystic Journey won the Group 2 P.B. Lawrence Stakes at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne in August 2019 for her seventh consecutive win, the sort of performance that suggested the mare was going to have a brilliant season in Australia in the final months of the year.
Mystic Journey has not won since. She was later fifth in the Group 1 Cox Plate, Australia’s top weight-for-age race, last October and fifth in her only start this calendar year in the Group 1 William Reid Stakes at six furlongs in March.
The 7-year-old Australian-bred gelding Buster Block started at 1 1/4 miles for the first time when he was second in the Mackay Cup on July 31, finishing 4 1/4 lengths behind Best Hoffa.
Friday at Townsville Racecourse, Best Hoffa will be favored at about 3-1 in the Townsville Cup, against a field that will include Buster Block, who is likely to be around 12-1. A weight difference between the two runners makes Buster Block an attractive alternative to the deserving favorite in his second start at the distance.
Gary West, co-owner of Maximum Security with his wife, has responded to the decision by Saudi Arabian horse racing officials to continue to withhold the winning purse of the inaugural Saudi Cup by urging the country’s authorities to make their investigation into the matter “transparent,” including releasing any test results that would indicate that Maximum Security had been administered an illegal substance.
The recent New Zealand import Sig Positano and The Gauch, unraced since December, start in a handicap at 5 1/2 furlongs at Sale Racecourse in Australia on Thursday with both facing key questions.
Sig Positano is winless in five starts since October, but was a game second in a handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs at Echuca Racecourse in July 26 in his Australian debut. Sig Positano was the 2-1 favorite and was beaten a length in his first start since February. If he can repeat that effort, the 4-year-old Sig Positano has an excellent chance for a second career win in his ninth start.
