Constitution River

Staged a week earlier than its customary slot, Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club is threatening a serious case of oneupmanship over the Derby this year due to the presence of a true A-lister in the line-up. It is rare that the Chantilly Classic draws the very best from outside it's own country's frontier, but in enticing Constitution River away from Epsom it could end up with the trump card of Europe's "Derbys" in 2026. We've come a long way since the "sad, mad, bad" reaction of the press...

Saturday, Carlisle, post time: 15:10, THE BETWAY LESTER PIGGOTT FILLIES' STAKES-G3, £125,000, 4yo/up, f/m, 11f 39yT Field: Azaniya (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Coedana (Ire) (King Of Change {GB}), Crepe Suzette (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}), Estrange (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Naga (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}), Patagonia Girl (GB) (Australia {GB}), Sharpen (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), Waardah (Ire) (Postponed {Ire}). TDN Analysis: Moved from Haydock due to the well-documented ground concerns there, this represents a different test on a stiff track than it would have been at its traditional Merseyside home...

If horse racing is your thing and you value the Derby above all other races, then there can be no finer way to spend a Monday morning in May than at the place which has had more influence on the great race than any other. Ballydoyle can be held up alongside any of the great sporting arenas such as Lord's, Murrayfield, Old Trafford, Fenway Park, the MCG. True, it's not where the competition actually takes place, but what happens on its fabled acres has long been of worldwide significance to...

Timeform have revealed that the victory of Constitution River in Thursday's Listed Dee Stakes at Chester ranks as one of the very best performances in a classic trial for many a year, with the son of Wootton Bassett earning a rating of 124p. The withdrawal of second favourite Morshdi left Constitution River to go off at odds of 2/9, the sort of price that suggested we wouldn't learn much. However, such fears proved completely wide of the mark as the Ballydoyle runner dismissed his four rivals by seven lengths, with...

Derby favourite Benvenuto Cellini (Frankel) is set to follow the same path to Epsom as last year's Classic hero, Lambourn (Australia), by contesting next month's G3 Chester Vase on the Roodee. Aidan O'Brien had been eyeing the Blue Riband Trial at Epsom as a stepping stone to the Derby for Benvenuto Cellini, who is a general 6/1 shot for the premier Classic after winning two of his four starts as a two-year-old, notably landing the G2 Champions Juvenile Stakes at Leopardstown, before finishing third in the G1 Futurity Trophy at...