Early Delivery

Very few winners of the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. have trialed for the G1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in the course-and-distance G2 Qatar Prix Foy, but Luca Cumani is willing to take Postponed (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) down a peg as he charts his path towards the main Longchamp showpiece in three weeks’ time. Sunday’s race is no soft touch, with His Highness The Aga Khan’s Mar. 28 G1 Dubai Sheema Classic heroine Dolniya (Fr) (Azamour {Ire}) lining up against him, but in employing a pacemaker in the smart handicapper Roseburg (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}), Cumani has clearly signaled his intent. Coming of age when besting Eagle Top (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) in the Ascot feature July 25, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum’s 4-year-old proved on that occasion that he is able to handle soft ground now that he is fully mature. “I’m delighted with him–he had a mini-break after the King George and we gradually picked him up and his work has been excellent,” the Bedford House trainer said. “It was easy at Ascot and as long as it’s not a bog we are not worried. There is, disappointingly, no suitable Arc trial to run him in over here on the turf, so we had to look abroad and take the unusual step of declaring a pacemaker given that races in France, as a rule, tend to be slowly run affairs left to the French jockeys. Hopefully all our forward planning will pay off. We think he is a good horse and we won’t be afraid of being in the Arc, even though its going to be one of the best renewals of the last few years and a hell of a tough renewal. He’s one of the most beautiful horses you could set your eyes on and he has the ability to match.”

Dolniya was second in the June 6 G1 Coronation Cup at Epsom and third in the June 28 G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and returns after a freshener, while another filly with claims is Ecurie I M Fares’ Aug. 14 G2 Prix de Pomone winner Baino Hope (Fr) (Jeremy). Impressive in that 12 1/2-furlong contest at Deauville, the Jean-Claude Rouget trainee needs soft ground to be at her best, and it is noteworthy that her conditioner is bringing her back quicker than he originally intended.