Approaching the four-mile mark of the 2017 Grand National, Blaklion had a commanding lead and looked every bit the winner of the famous race.
The problem was the Grand National is 4 5/16 miles. In the last quarter-mile, Blaklion was passed, eventually finishing fourth, 8 3/4 lengths behind winner One For Arthur.
Winx’s connections quashed a run in the Queen Anne Stakes in June at Royal Ascot but are game for a start in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Saturday at Randwick Racecourse in Australia.
Winx is not going abroad anytime soon, but in the Group 1, $1.9 million Queen Elizabeth she’ll be going for her 25th consecutive victory, a mark that would equal that of the great Australian female sprinter Black Caviar. Winx’s 24 straight wins include 17 Group 1’s as well as a triumph a year ago in this very race, which she won by five lengths over Hartnell.
The streaking Litterateur tries for his third straight win when he faces nine foes in the featured Pottinger Handicap, race 7 of eight on Wednesday night at Happy Valley in Hong Kong.
A third win in a row is a big ask for Litterateur, a 6-year-old Irish-bred gelding trained by Richard Gibson. The Pottinger, contested at 1650 meters, one lap around the Happy Valley course, is a Class 2 handicap for horses rated 80-100. Not only is Litterateur top-rated at 91 and correspondingly the 133-pound highweight, he is up in class from a Class 3 win in his most recent start.
Prep races for the French 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas originally scheduled to be run at Maisons-Laffitte but moved because of wet conditions will be run Monday at Deauville.
The Group 3 Prix Impudence for 3-year-old fillies over seven furlongs drew nine entrants, none of whom presently rate among the leading hopes for the French filly classics.
Spaday, trained by Carlos Laffon-Parias for the Wertheimer brothers, might be slightly more interesting than the four other top contenders.
Almond Eye dethroned champion Lucky Lilac in Sunday’s Grade 1 Japanese 1000 Guineas at Hanshin Racecourse.
Almond Eye, the 5-2 second choice, caught 9-10 favorite Lucky Lilac in deep stretch to win the one-mile turf race by 1 3/4 lengths in a stakes-record time of 1:33.20. The $2.12 million 1000 Guineas was the first loss in five starts for Lucky Lilac, the champion 2-year-old filly of 2017.
Beat the Clock and Mr Stunning finished first and second in the Group 2 Sprint Cup at six furlongs on turf at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong on Sunday, giving trainer John Size a deep team for the Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize on the same course April 29.
