No Middle Ground

Where the season’s leading 2-year-old Shalaa (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) is concerned, the method is simple and the trailblazer looks to take Newmarket by storm in Saturday’s G1 Juddmonte Middle Park S. Getting away with rain-softened ground when besting the G2 Prix Robert Papin and G2 Flying Childers S. scorer Gutaifan (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in Deauville’s G1 Darley Prix Morny last time Aug. 23, Al Shaqab’s peerless juvenile will at least have livelier conditions here without getting the summer fast going he relished when taking the July 9 G2 July S. and G2 Richmond S. at Goodwood three weeks later. “According to John [Gosden], he’s in fantastic form and physically doing very well,” the owners’ racing manager Harry Herbert commented. “This has always been the target since the Morny and we’re hopeful that he’ll put up another exciting display. He’s got as good a form as any 2-year-old in Europe. He’s a real speed horse and he acts on the track having broken his maiden at Newmarket. These Group 1 races are never easy, but on all known form they have him to beat.” On a strict line through Gutaifan, Saleh Al Homaizi and Imad Al Sagar’s Ajaya (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) has something to find with Shalaa after he was beaten a head by the Morny runner-up in the Prix Robert Papin over 5 1/2 furlongs at Maisons-Laffitte July 26. Like Shalaa, Ajaya needs ground much quicker than he encountered that day and proved a totally different proposition when winning York’s G2 Gimcrack S. last time Aug. 22. The form of that six-furlong test was boosted on Saturday by the second Ribchester (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) in the G2 Mill Reef S., but trainer William Haggas is wary of the recent rain that has slowed the surface. “I am very happy with him, although I am a bit concerned about the recent rain as there is no doubt that he is a better horse on top of the ground,” he said. “Shalaa will be very hard to beat, as there can be little argument that he has been the best two-year-old of the year so far, but we are going to have a horse race and if you are not in you can’t win, that won’t stop us. Not so long ago, he weighed 405 kilos and now he’s up to 450 kilos. He has thrived physically.”

Godolphin throw four at this, with the G2 Coventry S. winner Buratino (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) boasting the best form. Third behind Ballydoyle’s Air Force Blue (War Front) in The Curragh’s G1 Phoenix S. last time Aug. 9, having beaten that outstanding-looking colt at Royal Ascot June 16, he is another who needs the ground quicker than this. “I hope the track dries out before Saturday and the weather stays fair, particularly for Buratino, as he needs fast ground,” trainer Mark Johnston commented. “We’ve only tentatively discussed the Breeders’ Cup. There are no hard and fast plans and it is something that still needs to be discussed with John Ferguson. The plan was to keep it simple and keep him well entered up and ready to go when the ground lets us.”

Other than the two pattern-race winning G3 Somerville Tattersall S. defectors Steady Pace (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Rouleau (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}), the boys in blue also field the unexposed Venturous (Ire) (Raven’s Pass). He beat the re-opposing Madrinho (Ire) (Frozen Power {Ire}) in a conditions race over this trip at Doncaster Sept. 9 and although he has a mountain to climb to shake up Shalaa, trainer Charlie Appleby is keen to try in a race he won with the 22-1 shot Charming Thought (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) 12 months ago. “Venturous has come out of his race at Doncaster well and has improved with each run to date,” his conditioner said. “We are now rolling the dice with him slightly, as he jumps up a good bit in caliber. He is a strong individual who looks great and is training well and we are looking forward to seeing him run on Saturday. We pulled [Rouleau] out of the Tattersalls Stakes as it was a step up to seven furlongs with a bit of juice in the ground and we thought that might be stretching him a bit. Similar to Venturous, we fully appreciate the top-rated Shalaa and the Gimcrack winner and Buratino as well, but we had a stab at this race last year with Charming Thought and it paid off.”