Zinziberine established herself as the best 2-year-old sprinter in France with a one-length victory over Fiepes Shuffle in the six-furlong Group 2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte on Monday. For Zinziberine it was her second successive pattern race over colts.
* At the Capannelle in Rome on Sunday, French invaders Marotta and Choc Ice finished one-two in the Group 2 Premio Lydia Tesio. Marotta caught Choc Ice 150 yards from the line and drew off for a handy 3 1/2-length victory.
Northerly solidified his status as Australia's leading horse when he scored a length victory over Defier in the Group 1 W.S. Cox Plate at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
A winner of the Group 1 Caulfield Cup last week, Northerly raced near the lead throughout the 1 1/4-mile-and-40-yard race and took the lead from the mare Sunline with a furlong remaining.
Grandera, a Godolphin horse who shipped from England, finished third, a neck behind Defier. Sunline, a two-time Cox Plate winner, finished fourth in the final race of her career.
Sunday's highlight in France is the Group 1 Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp, the French equivalent of the English St Leger, over 1 15/16 miles. The race has attracted a field of seven.
Morozov, a full brother to Breeders' Cup Turf winner In the Wings, is the likely favorite following his win in a Group 2 over the course and distance at the Arc de Triomphe meeting. Trained by Andre Fabre, he is a deserving favorite but will find the heavy going much more demanding than it was in early October.
With Hold That Tiger having bowed out in favor of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, the one-mile Group 1 Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster on Saturday has been left without a standout.
Bahamian Dancer, second last time in the one-mile Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes, is a deserving favorite, but there are some lightly raced juveniles in the field who will be dangerous.
The W.S. Cox Plate, a 1 1/4-mile and 40-yard Group 1 contest worth $1,657,500 to be run at Moonee Valley in Australia on Saturday, has drawn a field of nine that is perhaps the equal of any of the Breeders' Cup races the same day.
In fact, the Cox Plate has drawn Frankie Dettori away from the Breeders' Cup, as he will ride Grandera, who narrowly defeated Breeders' Cup Classic hopeful Hawk Wing in the Irish Champion Stakes on Sept. 7.
The W.S. Cox Plate, a 1 1/4-mile, 40-yard Group 1 contest worth $1,657,500 to be run at Moonee Valley in Australia on Saturday, has drawn a field of nine that is the equal of any of the Breeders' Cup races, which will be run the same day.
In fact, the Cox Plate has drawn Frankie Dettori away from Arlington Park, as Godolphin will employ him aboard Grandera, the Grand Lodge 4-year-old who narrowly defeated Breeders' Cup Classic hopeful Hawk Wing in the Irish Champion Stakes on Sept. 7.
Luvah Girl, winner of the Group 2 Rockfel Stakes at Newmarket last Saturday, will soon be joining trainer Jenine Sahadi for Team Valor.
Team Valor purchased Luvah Girl, a British-bred 2-year-old Alzao filly, following her narrow loss in the listed Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot for trainer Roger Charlton. She rewarded her new owners' faith with a sharp second-place finish to leading British juvenile filly Russian Rhythm in the Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes on July 27 before beating Casual Look in the seven-furlong Rockfel off a 12-week layoff.
Tout Seul showed that it is still possible for the less well-known owners, trainers, and jockeys to win Europe's top races, as he proved too strong for one of Aidan O'Brien's Breeders' Cup Juvenile pre-entries, Tomahawk, during a Saturday at Newmarket that was full of surprises.
Tout Seul, a 25-1 chance who cost less than $10,000 as a foal - compared to the $2.5 million that Tomahawk cost as a yearling - stayed on strongly up the inside rail to beat Tomahawk by 1 1/4 lengths in the Group 1 Darley Dewhurst Stakes, with the favorite, Trade Fair, 1 1/4 lengths back in third.
German invaders Well Made and Guadalupe hold the key to the $235,000 Group 1 Gran Premio del Jockey Club & Coppa d'Oro at San Siro in Milan on Sunday.
Well Made is coming off a victory over Salve Regina in the Group 1 Preis von Europa at the Jockey Club distance of 1 1/2 miles. He will appreciate the very soft ground at San Siro, the same type of footing over which he was a six-length winner of the Group 2 Gerling-Preis in May.