A high-class edition of the Boyle Sports Lockinge Stakes is in prospect at Newbury on Saturday, with Damysus (Frankel), Opera Ballo (Ghaiyyath) and Zeus Olympios (Night Of Thunder) headlining a 13-strong list of contenders for the Group 1 showpiece.
Damysus kicked off his four-year-old campaign with an impressive victory in last month's G3 Earl Of Sefton Stakes at Newmarket, while Opera Ballo had Zeus Olympios back in third when winning the G2 bet365 Mile at Sandown.
Trainer Karl Burke expects Zeus Olympios to strip fitter with that outing under his belt as the son of Night Of Thunder bids to regain the winning thread after forfeiting his unbeaten record at Sandown.
“He's in great form and will definitely come on fitness-wise for his run at Sandown,” said Burke.
“It's an open-looking Lockinge and I've not lost any confidence in him for getting beat. Obviously, it was disappointing to lose his unbeaten tag, but in the long-term that is irrelevant.”
Charlie Appleby, the trainer of Opera Ballo, could also be represented by last year's GI Breeders' Cup Mile hero Notable Speech (Dubawi), while Aidan O'Brien's main contenders, The Lion In Winter (Sea The Stars) and Expanded (Wootton Bassett), will be joined by Mississippi River (Lope De Vega), who was supplemented on Monday at a cost of £20,000.
O'Brien said, “The Lion In Winter goes to Newbury. We supplemented a horse [Mississippi River] this morning to make the running for him and Expanded is there as well.
“We haven't seen the best of The Lion In Winter yet. If we get the right set up for him, we might see it. We'll go to the Lockinge and see what will happen. I think he's come forward from Leopardstown. He needs to, but I think he has.”
Runner-up to Lead Artist 12 months ago, Dancing Gemini (Camelot) will attempt to go one place better for Roger Teal, while international interest is provided by the Francis Graffard-trained Sahlan (Wootton Bassett), the winner of last year's G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp.
Last year's Queen Elizabeth II Stakes hero Cicero's Gift (Muhaarar) is the other previous Group 1 winner in the mix, with Gladius (Night Of Thunder), Jonquil (Lope De Vega) and More Thunder (Night Of Thunder) completing the potential line-up.
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