Solow took his winning sequence to nine when recording his fifth successive Group One victory in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.
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“We probably shouldn’t have run him but it is a big day and there were a lot of pros to running”.
The big imponderable is whether Aidan O’Brien’s dual Guineas victor Gleneagles will line-up following a summer of no-shows because of unsuitable ground. Parts of it are good and parts of it are on the soft side of good. “We will see how he is, but we could take him to America for the Mile”.
“We pinpointed this race for Clever Cookie more than a year ago, hence I didn’t even bother entering him for the Irish Leger, and conditions should be absolutely ideal for him on Saturday”, said Niven. You would hope it might tighten up a bit before his race tomorrow. A millimetre of rain though would be too much. After Ryan (Moore) has ridden on it tomorrow, he will know what it is like – he will know straight away. Ryan said that he’d have liked to have sat a bit closer than he was, and the horse ran from the three to the furlong-marker for him and then nothing after that. He is a fast-ground horse and a fast horse and that’s what we’ve always thought. “He was tactically very aware today, wherever I put him he picked up and just showed today how good a horse he is”.
“It’s a close call – if the ground starts shifting and breaking off the top, we are going to be in trouble”.
“Having a victor on Champions Day is wonderful, and we’ve waited five years”.
However, O’Brien will make his own assessment of the track before committing the son of Galileo to a run.
I’m happy to start with the “worst” race on a brilliant day’s racing at Ascot on Saturday, and suggest backing Professor and Fort Bastion at odds of [30.0] and [26.0] respectively in the Balmoral Handicap at 15:45.
“They went fast, there was a good ease in the ground and 10 furlongs is his right trip”.
In spite of the fact that I think that he is very well suited to 1m4f, I think Jack Hobbs is a justified favourite at around the 5-4 mark in the Champion Stakes at 15:05. His dad [Halling] got good at four and five and this one is no exception. His first G1 win of the season came with a romping win in the Dubai Turf March 28, followed by victories at Longchamp, Royal Ascot and Goodwood.
“He’s had a few problems in the past – swollen joints and things like this – but nothing serious and that’s why we gelded him”, said the Chantilly handler. And, following on from the success of past year, 2,500 students will be able to attend for free.
The Tin Man looks well worth the £40,000 supplementary fee for this £600k pot – he was actually taken out of this race before his ridiculously easy win off 91 over course and distance recently – and is a half-brother to Deacon Blues, who won this race in 2011.
He is sound, easy to train, always fit and just very easy.
“He’s a real champion – he has everything”.
As the richest raceday in the British calendar, this is racegoers chance to see the world’s finest horses and jockeys battle it out for their slice of history, with six races on the card. “I like this place”, he said.
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Andre Fabre’s Territories was second to Gleneagles at Newmarket and had Kodi Bear behind him when winning the Prix Jean Prat in July.
