Aiming For Deauville

With Royal Ascot looming, Thursday's G3 sportingbet.com Huxley S. at Chester offers the opportunity for the G1 Prince of Wales's S. hopefuls to step up and last year's GI Belmont Derby winner Deauville (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) will be a tough nut to crack. Showing he retained all his ability when a length second to Ulysses (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G3 Gordon Richards S. over this trip at Sandown on Apr. 28, he has an ideal draw and the drying ground he favours. Ulysses's trainer Sir Michael Stoute has won this a record six times and puts forward Poet's Word (Ire) (Poet's Voice {GB}), who earned a tilt at this level when winning a 10-furlong handicap at Chelmsford on Apr. 13. The owner's racing manager Bruce Raymond said, “He's working nicely and we feel he will improve for his run at Chelmsford, where he won quite tidily. Everyone has been very happy with him since then and I think he's a typical Sir Michael Stoute improving 4-year-old. It does look a tough race, so he'll have to be useful if he's going to win it.”

Godolphin's G1 Jebel Hatta and G3 Earl of Sefton S. runner-up Folkswood (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) is another who would not need to progress markedly to be in the mix and his trainer believes this ever-turning circuit could bring out the best in him. “I think the track will suit him,” Charlie Appleby said. “He showed in Meydan he can be very effective on the turn when he gets on the rail and although it's only a small field, it's nice he's got a good draw in stall two. It's a trappy little race, but he's in good order and hopefully he'll run very well.”