TODAY’S GROUP ONE action comes at Sandown where Aidan O’Brien’s Antipodean superstar So You Think will be desperate to get back to winning ways in the Coral-Eclipse Stakes (15:10).
Sent off the 4/11 favourite for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot last month, the Coolmore five-year-old was pipped on the line by Ascot specialist Frankie Dettori aboard Godolphin’s challenger Rewilding.
Defeat that day – the horse’s first since his move from Australia – came as something of a surprise to O’Brien whose post-race comments made it clear that he expects his acquisition to show plenty of improvement, and this afternoon’s competitive trip over 1m2f will be very telling in that respect.
With Ryan Moore partnering last year’s Derby winner, Workforce, for Sir Michael Stoute, Seamie Heffernan will ride the favourite on a quickening surface which shouldn’t pose too many difficulties for the main contenders.
Workforce’s credentials as a classy horse are not a matter of dispute. His only seasonal run to date was a one-length victory over course and distance in the Group 3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes in May and, though the stable has not exactly been in glittering form of late, he is definitely capable of reproducing the magic of last season.
Having missed the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh last week, Ed Dunlop’s filly Snow Fairy makes her first appearance of the season tomorrow. A dual winner of Group One races for fillies’ last year, she should run into a place at least, but is likely to be outmatched by the two main contenders.
Elsewhere on the card at Sandown, the Coral Challenge handicap over a mile (14:35) appears to be anyone’s race. It might be worth noting, however, that Ryan Moore has been booked for the ride on William Haggas’ Sooraah. The trainer has been bullish about his horse’s chances all week and, despite finishing well down the order in the Hunt Cup, a draw right on the rails will suit him perfectly. Running off the same weight, Leviathan – second over course and distance already this season – also has solid claims while, at the bottom of the weights, Andrew Balding will expect a big run from Highland Knight.
Over in Haydock, the day’s most attractive prospect is the Group Two Lancashire Oaks where Henry Cecil and Tom Queally team up on the lightly-raced Vita Nova. A daughter of Galileo, she was pipped by a neck over course and distance in a listed race here in May. If looking for an outsider to improve into a challenge, consider Dorcas Lane who was third in the Ribblesdale at Royal Ascot last time out and has been backed in from 14/1 to 7/1 already this week.
Nap of the day
It has to be So You Think (4/5) in the Coral-Eclipse. Although he fell agonizingly short on his first real test in Britain and Ireland, the tactics and the running of the race weren’t exactly ideal and. With conditions ideal and a point to prove, he should have enough in hand to see off Workforce.
Each-way
At 7/1, Dorcas Lane could run a big race in the Lancashire Oaks. She was a distant third at Royal Ascot but, in this comparatively weaker field, moderate improvement on that performance should leave her in with a chance.
