Weekend Watch: What Not To Miss This Saturday

[Wandering Eyes]

Gone is the mud, the horses' coats are on the turn, and the blossom is abundant. What's more, there's good racing on the telly – and lots of it.

If you're reading this in a European time zone, here's hoping that your Saturday morning begins good and early in order to be conscious, if not out of bed, in time for Australia's G1 Tancred Stakes at 5.35 (or a more leisurely 6.35 for those on the continent).

You'll find lots of familiar names among the 14 runners, not least Dubai Honour (Ire) (Pride Of Dubai {Aus}), winner of two Group 1s in Australia this time two years ago, who has subsequently proved that the 1m4f of the Tancred is within his scope by winning last year's G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. The old boy is seven now but William Haggas and his travelling team headed by Issy Paul have long proved that they are capable of keeping these older horses sweet while clocking up the airmiles and plundering big pots. 

Dubai Honour faces fellow seven-year-old Vauban (Fr) (Galiway {Fr}), fresh from his last-time-out win in the G3 Sky High Stakes and looking to add a Flat G1 to his three over hurdles. In that latest win at Rosehill a fortnight ago, he had behind him Arapaho (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Circle Of Fire (GB) (Almanzor {Fr}), Kinesiology (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}) and Land Legend (Fr) (Galileo {Ire}), all of whom are declared to do battle once more on Saturday. 

In a not entirely new theme, you'll have noticed that all of these horses were bred and started their careers in Europe. In fact, of the 14 runners in the A$1.5m (€876,000) contest, not one was bred in Australia. Three hail from New Zealand, five from Ireland, three from France and three from Britain. This should be as worrying for the Australian industry as it is for those trying to stem the flow of decent middle-distance horses from this part of the world. 

Over at Flemington, in the G1 Australian Cup, which is set to go off 20 minutes before the Tancred, the story is a little cheerier for the locals. But the 1m2f test is not without its European starters, with four of the ten being either British- or Irish-bred. These include Middle Earth (GB), which means that the late Roaring Lion is represented by a Group 1 runner in both this and the Tancred, in which the former Ger Lyons-trained and Juddmonte-bred Waltham (GB) appears. 

It's an important weekend for Pride Of Dubai, who may have drifted from memories over here but is flying high in the general sires' table in Australia, just behind Zoustar (Aus). Not only does Dubai Honour represent a major chance for him to boost his progeny earnings further, but the stallion also has the mighty treble Group 1 winner Pride Of Jenni (Aus) running for him in the Australian Cup along with Deny Knowledge (Ire), who landed the G1 Might And Power Stakes back in October for Yulong. 

Hello Donny!

All this Antipodean action is merely an hors d'oeuvre for Saturday's main excitement, which is of course the return of turf racing in Britain.

Adam Houghton has provided an accompanying horse-by-horse guide to the Brocklesby, and good luck with finding the winner of the fiendishly difficult Lincoln. Thunder Run (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) heads the market and he, like his Karl Burke stable-mate and fellow challenger Native Warrior (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), is another to have been sold by Clipper Logistics in the last year. The favourite makes his first start in the colours of The JC Organization. 

This correspondent rather likes the look of the Gosdens' Orne (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) at double-figure odds under the useful 5lb claimer Luke Catton, but let's not give up the day job to start a tipping line. 

A Group Double for Bateel?

France is well ahead of the rest of us with its group races this season and Saint-Cloud opens its doors once more on Saturday. It will be interesting to see how Tajlina (GB) (Kingman {GB}) fares in the G3 Prix Penelope as her year-older half-brother Map Of Stars (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) has already got the turf season off to a great start for trainer Francis Graffard by winning the G3 Prix Exbury on his seasonal debut for Wathnan Racing. Their dam Bateel (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) was a star performer for breeder Al Asayl, with her eight wins including the G1 Prix Vermeille.

Also of interest in the Penelope is Cortella (Fr), one of only two winners from a handful of runners to date for second-season sire Telecaster (GB). Remember him? The thrilling winner of the G2 Dante Stakes six years ago, beating Too Darn Hot (GB), went on to win two further group races in France and earned himself a spot at the Devins' Haras du Mesnil.

Typically, the Devin family support their home stallions with gusto and, just as they have made such a success of the career of Doctor Dino (Fr) in recent years, it would be no surprise to see Telecaster supply some decent dual-purpose horses in the years to come. The grey Cortella, bred and part-owned by Antonia Devin and trained by her son Henri-Francois, is out of a mare by another notable former Mesnil resident, Kaldounevees (Fr), and has won two of her three starts in the provinces to date. 

Sofa Surfing

You might need an extra strong cuppa, or perhaps even an early G&T, by the time the runners go to post for the Lester Piggott Gladness Stakes at the Curragh at 4pm. Aidan O'Brien pitches in two smartly-bred three-year-olds (does he have any other type of three-year-olds?) against their elders with the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner Camille Pissarro (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) making an unorthodox seasonal debut. 

If you've been up in time for the Australian Cup you'll need a few tactical naps on the sofa through the day in order still to be awake until just before midnight for the Florida Derby and Arkansas Derby, both regularly informative lead-ins to the Kentucky Derby. We won't even try to extend our unofficial tipping line to predict the outcome of American races except to say that, in the current political climate, Disruptor (Gun Runner) may be the omen bet in the big one at Gulfstream Park.

 

 

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