Poet’s Word, the dominant older male in England this summer, and Roaring Lion, one of the country’s top 3-year-olds, meet for the first time in Wednesday’s Group 1 Juddmonte International at York Racecourse.
The $1.27 million race has widespread ramifications for the remainder of the European season as well as the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3.
Pretty Pollyanna won the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes by seven lengths, a staggering margin in a six-furlong European turf race, and while she’s unlikely to duplicate that sort of performance Pretty Pollyanna is favored to win the Group 1 Prix Morny on Sunday at Deauville.
The Australian supermare Winx won her 26th consecutive start in a race named in her honor, the Group 1 Winx Stakes, at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Saturday.
Winx broke Black Caviar’s record for consecutive wins by an Australian-based horse. Black Caviar was unbeaten in her career from 2009 to 2013.
The $362,200 Winx Stakes at seven furlongs, known in past years as the Warwick Stakes, was the first start for Winx since the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes in April.
Winx continues to set records in Australian racing.
The 7-year-old mare can win her 26th consecutive race in the Group 1 Winx Stakes at seven furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Saturday. A win in the $362,200 race, which was formerly known as the Warwick Stakes, would break Black Caviar’s record of consecutive wins by an Australian-based horse.
Winx tied Black Caviar’s record with a win by 3 3/4 lengths in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes in April.
Alpha Centauri confirmed her status as Europe’s leading turf miler with a comprehensive win against males in Sunday’s Group 1 Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville, France.
Alpha Centauri’s win in the $1.14 million Prix Jacques le Marois could easily lead to a start in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3. The race offered a fees-paid berth for the winner to the BC Mile.
Alpha Centauri is owned by the Niarchos family, which has a spectacular record in the BC Mile, having won a record six runnings, the most recent of which was Karakontie in 2014.
Alpha Centauri has gone from the surprise winner of the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas in May to the leading female turf miler in Europe this summer.
The winner of three consecutive Group 1 races, the 3-year-old Alpha Centauri will face males for the first time in Sunday’s Group 1 Prix Jacques le Marois at a straightaway mile on turf at Deauville, France.
The $1.15 million Prix Jacques le Marois will define the rest of Alpha Centauri’s season.
The Australian star mare Winx retained her position as the world’s leading racehorse, according to monthly rankings published Thursday by an international panel of handicappers, but the British star Poet’s Word has risen to second.
Winx is rated at 130 points, one higher than the retired Gun Runner and Poet’s Word, who has won consecutive Grade 1 races at Ascot in recent months – the Prince of Wales Stakes at the Royal meeting in June and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes on July 28.
Poet’s Word was tied for third, at 125, in rankings published in early July.
Polydream closed with a rush in the final furlong to win Sunday’s Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville, France, a race that could lead to a start in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3.
Polydream (9-2) finished a half-length in front of 42-1 James Garfield, who was near the front throughout the $440,116 race at 6 1/2 furlongs. The Tin Man (10-1) ran third, beaten a length in a field of 20.
Brando was a 9-1 outsider when he beat 12 rivals for his first Group 1 win in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville, France, last August.
Since then, Brando has had mixed form leading to a reappearance in Sunday’s $440,116 Prix Maurice de Gheest at 6 1/2 furlongs, France’s top summertime sprint.
Brando, who is trained by Kevin Ryan, has one victory in seven starts - the Group 3 Abernant Stakes at Newmarket, England, in May.
Wild Illusion, the beaten favorite in the Group 1 English Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at Epsom on June 1 and the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot later that month, won her first start against older fillies and mares in Thursday’s Group 1 Nassau Stakes at the Glorious Goodwood meeting in southern England.
Ridden by William Buick, Wild Illusion (4-1) led throughout the 1 1/4 miles on turf to finish two lengths in front of 3-1 Wild Fox, the winner of the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes for fillies and mares in Ireland on July 1.
