G3 Solario Stakes
Group 3 winner A Bit Of Spirit will be trained toward the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on October 5, according to trainer Clive Cox. The son of Palace Pier, who carries the Paul and Clare Rooney colours, won the G3 Solario Stakes last month and was also under consideration for the G2 Royal Lodge Stakes closer to home on September 27. "We're over the moon with the success at Sandown and with that under his belt we're drawn towards the Lagardere," said Cox. "With the ability to perform on any...
After a rare three-way head-bob at the culmination of Saturday's G3 Solario Stakes at Sandown, Paul and Clare Rooney were celebrating as the 2-1 favourite A Bit Of Spirit (Palace Pier) prevailed by the smallest of margins. Locked in a tussle to the line with Oceans Four (Zoustar) and Humidity (Ulysses), the son of Darley's red-hot first-crop sire who had been second in the Listed Pat Eddery Stakes and Listed Stonehenge Stakes was ultimately inches in front where it counts. Two nose margins told the tale, with Godolphin's Pacific Avenue...
Saturday, Deauville, France, post time: 17:52, LUCIEN BARRIERE GRAND PRIX DE DEAUVILLE-G2, €183,000, 3yo/up, 12 1/2fT Field: Sibayan (Fr) (Blame), Casapueblo (Ire) (Le Havre {Ire}), Marquisat (Ire) (Zarak {Fr}), Sunway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}), New Ground (GB) (New Bay {GB}), Uther (GB) (Camelot {GB}). TDN Verdict: Juddmonte's G1 Derby fourth and G1 Grand Prix de Paris third New Ground receives a significant weight allowance from his elders and bids for a pattern-race breakthrough in this ideal spot. Uther was adrift of New Ground in the latter contest and has since finished behind...
The G3 Solario Stakes betting market was thrown into disarray late on Friday evening when the news broke that the favoured Publish (Kingman), representing John and Thady Gosden and Juddmonte, had been withdrawn due to unsuitable ground. The Gosdens will still be keenly observing the result, however, even though none of the remaining trainers are within shouting distance of John Gosden's record seven wins. With Publish's defection and G1 2000 Guineas implications on the line, step forward Pacific Avenue (Dubawi) into poll position. Tagged a 'TDN Rising Star', the Godolphin...
Friday, La Teste, France, post time: 15:28, PRIX MILLKOM-Listed, €50,300, 3yo, 8fT Field: Kaadi (Ire) (Soldier's Call {GB}), Selenien (Fr) (Mehmas {Ire}), Alem (Fr) (Golden Horde {Ire}), Charengo (Ire) (Shalaa {Ire}), Grecian Destiny (Fr) (Masar {Ire}), Jenilat Bright (Fr) (Birchwood {Ire}), Skytree (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}), Madero (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Belong Together (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), Jokla (GB) (Zarak {Fr}). TDN Verdict: Improving for a step up to this mile, Kaadi registered a clear-cut win in the course-and-distance Listed Prix la Sorellina last time but carries a penalty for...
Emulating the feat of his sire Kingman (GB) in winning Sandown's G3 Solario Stakes on Saturday, Juddmonte's TDN Rising Star Field Of Gold (Ire) continued his upward trajectory for the Gosdens who have enjoyed some big moments in this seven-furlong juvenile staging post. Impressive when dealing with some smart contemporaries in a Newmarket novice at the July Festival, the grey son of the well-connected Princess De Lune (Ire) (Shamardal) was keen early for Kieran Shoemark tracking the pace set by chief market rival Royal Playwright (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire})....
One of the season's more exciting 2-year-old prospects, Juddmonte's TDN Rising Star Field Of Gold (Ire) bids to emulate his sire Kingman (GB) on Saturday as he looks for a first pattern-race success in the feature G3 Solario Stakes at Sandown. Kept back for this seven-furlong staging post by John and Thady Gosden since his impressive success in a Newmarket novice at the July Festival, the grey meets some other fascinating types in Jeff Smith's clear-cut Salisbury novice winner Royal Playwright (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), an Andrew Balding-trained son...