English Derby runner-up Kingston Hill stormed home from the back of the field and won the Group 1 St. Leger Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths over Romsdal on Saturday at Doncaster in England.
Kingston Hill drifted left while making his winning move, and the stewards conducted an inquiry into the incident but left the order of finish unchanged. Kingston Hill appeared to be going much the best as he herded Romsdal, who was not cost a placing. Snow Sky, who also rallied from well back, finished third.
The Grey Gatsby flew home under Ryan Moore to nail the heavily favored Australia on the wire in the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes on Saturday at Leopardstown.
Australia had beaten The Grey Gatsby by two lengths Aug. 20 in the Juddmonte International Stakes, but after being caught very wide on the turn and making a somewhat early bid into a fast pace, Australia and Joseph O’Brien could not stave off a late challenge from fellow 3-year-old The Grey Gatsby, who rallied from last.
Treve, unbeatable last year at age 3 but winless in two starts this year, will try to position herself for a defense of her Prix de l’Arc d’Triomphe crown when she starts Sunday at Longchamp in the Group 1 Prix Vermeille.
Treve is one of 10 fillies and mares entered in the Vermeille, one of three Arc preps at Longchamp along with the Prix Niel for 3-year-olds and the open Prix Foy. The card also includes the Group 1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp at one mile.
Australia will be an odds-on favorite to add another Group 1 win to his r é sum é when he starts Saturday at Leopardstown in the Irish Champion Stakes.
The Irish Champion is one of two Group 1 races on the day, along with the Matron for older fillies and mares, and is one of three Breeders’ Cup Challenge Win and You’re In races on the card. The Irish Champion winner earns automatic entry and travel expenses to the BC Turf, the Matron winner to the BC Filly and Mare Turf, and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Trial winner to, obviously, the BC Juvenile Turf.
Ivanhowe comfortably won the Group 1 Grosser Preis Von Baden on Sunday at Iffezheim Racecourse in Baden-Baden, Germany.
Rallying from 10th in an 11-horse field, Ivanhowe collared pacesetting Sea the Moon with about a quarter-mile left in the 11/2-mile Grosser Preis Von Baden, and to the surprise of most, pushed past for a three-length victory.
Sea the Moon, the heavy favorite, came into the race unbeaten in four starts and was the ante-post favorite for the Prix de l’Arc d’Triomphe on the strength of his 11-length tour de force July 6 in the German Derby.
The 3-year-old G Force won the biggest race of his career, splitting rivals with about a quarter-mile to run and wearing down the defending champion Gordon Lord Byron to win the Group 1 Sprint Cup on Saturday at Haydock Park in England.
Unbeaten and untested in four starts, Germany’s best horse since Danedream, and the summer favorite to follow in Danedream’s footsteps and win the Prix de l’Arc d’Triomphe, Sea the Moon makes a greatly anticipated return to the races Sunday at Baden-Baden in the Group 1, $325,000 Grosser Preis von Baden.
There are 18 horses entered in the Group 1 Sprint Cup on Saturday at Haydock in England, and there are questions to ask about race’s two perceived major players, Sole Power and Gordon Lord Byron.
Sole Power has the stronger recent form, entering Saturday’s race after three straight wins, the last two at the Group 1 level. But Sole Power probably prefers a distance at least slightly shorter than the Sprint Cup’s six furlongs, while Gordon Lord Byron won this race last summer and probably is at his best at distances between six and seven furlongs.
The Wow Signal beat Hootenanny by a half-length Sunday in the Group 1 Prix Morny at Deauville, denying American trainer Wesley Ward his second straight victory in the prestigious French race for 2-year-olds.
The Wow Signal, scoring a first Group 1 win for English trainer John Quinn and ridden by Frankie Dettori, ran his career mark to 3 for 3. A length behind Hootenanny came the French filly Ervedya, who lost for the first time in four starts.
