Friends Turned Foes in Sizzling Solario

[Wandering Eyes]

John Gosden and Sheikh Mohammed were in the same camp when the trainer first etched his name onto the Solario Stakes roll of honour back in 2002, with Foss Way carrying the old maroon and white silks to a hard-fought victory in the hands of Jimmy Fortune.

For good measure, Gosden and Sheikh Mohammed then repeated the dose two years later when Windsor Knot made virtually all to win under Frankie Dettori.

Whilst plenty has changed in the 21 years since, the partnership between Gosden and the Godolphin founder still endures. At Royal Ascot this year they notched a notable double with Prince Of Wales's Stakes hero Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) and Gold Cup winner Trawlerman (Golden Horn), before both horses followed up last week at York's Ebor Festival, winning the Juddmonte International and Lonsdale Cup, respectively.

With those wins came the promise of many more big days to come for this formidable alliance, but on Saturday the gloves will be off when Gosden and Godolphin go head-to-head in the latest edition of the Solario. Juddmonte's Publish will be in the Clarehaven corner, bidding to follow up his recent course-and-distance success in what has the makings of a match with Charlie Appleby's 'TDN Rising Star' Pacific Avenue (Dubawi).

Appleby himself is a three-time winner of the Solario, most notably with the subsequent Derby hero Masar in 2017, but it's Gosden who is the most successful trainer in the near-80-year history of the race with seven wins.

Since the days of Foss Way and Windsor Knot, Gosden has won this Group 3 contest with some of the very best horses to have passed through his hands, including the now-Darley stallions Raven's Pass (2007) and Too Darn Hot (2018). The latter is the sire of another exciting debut winner in Saturday's field of seven, namely Jaber Abdullah's six-length Beverley scorer He's Waliim.

As for Publish, he is a son of Gosden's outstanding miler Kingman, who made his Group-race breakthrough in the 2013 Solario and has already produced one winner of this race in his second career. Step forward Field Of Gold, last year's victor who gives this colt some big shoes to fill following victories in the Irish 2,000 Guineas and St James's Palace Stakes in 2025.

So far Publish has only won a Sandown maiden, but the race in question is invariably one to follow, with 2,000 Guineas winners Kameko and Ruling Court featuring on the recent roll of honour. He got the job done in good style, too, beating a useful yardstick from the Appleby stable by over a length.

The Godolphin team will have a rough idea of where it stands with Publish through that line of form, though the feeling remains that we've only scratched the surface of his potential. Either way, the clash with Newmarket debut scorer Pacific Avenue is one to savour, with the winner sure to be among the market leaders for next year's 2,000 Guineas.

Fillies to Follow on Sandown Undercard

The Solario head-to-head between the powerhouses of Godolphin and Juddmonte could be a sign of things to come as we head into the autumn, both on the racecourse and in the sales ring.

True, the Juddmonte team perhaps wouldn't be as well known for its big-money buys as the likes of Godolphin, but it's always worth taking note when that operation does opt to dip its toe into the transfer market. The Classic winners Chaldean and Field Of Gold headline their foal purchases in recent years, while the GII Mrs Revere Stakes heroine Nay Lady Nay (No Nay Never), dam of the aforementioned Publish, was acquired for $1.7 million at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

Another Juddmonte filly who is starting to look well bought is the Andrew Balding-trained Blue Bolt, a leading fancy for the other Group 3 contest on Saturday's card at Sandown, the Atalanta Stakes. A €400,000 purchase at the Arqana August Yearling Sale, she completed a hat-trick last month when stepping up in grade to win the Listed Coral Distaff over Saturday's course and distance.

The improving daughter of Blue Point holds Group 1 entries in the Matron Stakes and the Sun Chariot Stakes later this year, but first the Atalanta will pose a stiff test of her top-level credentials. The William Haggas-trained Alobayyah (Ghaiyyath) could emerge as the biggest threat, making her first start since impressing on her debut at Yarmouth last October, while fellow three-year-olds Cathedral (Too Darn Hot) and Flight have already performed with credit at the top table in 2025.

It was on this card last year that 1,000 Guineas runner-up Flight opened her account with a four-length win in the seven-furlong fillies' maiden. This year it's another daughter of Siyouni who promises to be the centre of attention, namely Act Of Kindness, who cost Godolphin 3.7 million gns when they flexed their muscles at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

The third foal out of the Shamardal mare Shambolic, Act Of Kindness is most notably a half-sister to the G1 Fillies' Mile winner Ylang Ylang (Frankel). She doesn't hold any fancy entries at this stage, but there's time to rectify that if she can make the perfect start to her career at Sandown.

From the Curragh to Kentucky Downs

Away from that Esher track, Juddmonte will also be represented in Group races at the Curragh and Deauville on Saturday, with Frankel filly Red Letter likely to be a warm order for the G3 Snow Fairy Fillies Stakes at the first-named venue.

Heading the opposition is Sand Gazelle as the Gosdens try to outmanoeuvre another old ally, though even that British raider has roots which can be traced back to the Juddmonte breeding empire. As well as being another daughter of Frankel, she is out of the Juddmonte homebred Desirous (Kingman), a half-sister to the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Bluestocking (Camelot) and this year's surprise Sussex Stakes winner Qirat (Showcasing).

Over in France, Juddmonte's Derby fourth New Ground (New Bay) should take plenty of beating in the G2 Grand Prix de Deauville if his headstrong tendencies can be curbed, while My Cloud (Blue Point) will be a significant runner for a new venture when he lines up in the G3 Prix Quincey. Last seen winning the Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot, he will be sporting new silks on Saturday after KHK Racing merged with Victorious Racing to form Victorious Forever.

My Cloud's half-brother, Palace Pier, enjoyed two of his best days at Deauville when winning back-to-back editions of the Prix Jacques le Marois in 2020 and 2021. All told, the son of Kingman was a five-time Group 1 winner for the Gosdens, with Frankie Dettori doing the steering in all but one of his 11 starts.

The days of Dettori riding for the Gosdens in Europe might now be a thing of the past, but he could bag a headline or two of his own on Saturday when he partners a trio of European raiders at the extremely valuable Kentucky Downs fixture.

Dettori first teams up with the Charlie Hills-trained Khaadem (Dark Angel) in the $2m GII Kentucky Turf Sprint Stakes, while Hugo Palmer has also booked him to ride Cheshire Dancer (Phoenix Of Spain) in the $2m GIII Ladies Turf Stakes.

Meanwhile, in the $3.5m GIII Nashville Derby Invitational Stakes – America's richest race for three-year-olds after the $5m GI Kentucky Derby – Dettori will ride Wimbledon Hawkeye (Kameko) for James Owen and the Gredleys. Last year's G2 Royal Lodge Stakes hero is yet to win in six starts this season, but he's been nothing if not consistent and few would begrudge him this bumper payday.

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