‘It’s A Lot Of Pressure’: Reynier Hoping Lazzat Can Clinch The Title

[Wandering Eyes]

It's September and the time of reckonings across Europe's racing programme, with the first two weekends witnessing some crucial deciders ahead of year-end honours. It is fair to say that the sprint scene has been murky for a while and so Saturday's G1 Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock takes on extra gravity.

Success for Lazzat (Territories) will help clear the picture and if it is a clear-cut one it could even seal his title as champion sprinter, so it is only normal that trainer Jerome Reynier is feeling the heat. “It's a very different feeling when you bring a horse over for a Group 1 and he is the favourite, we are all hoping he doesn't fail,” he said of Wathnan Racing's Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee winner who was second in the Prix Maurice de Gheest last month.

“It's a lot of pressure, because if he wins another Group 1 sprint in Europe, he could be the champion of the year and that's very important to all the team,” he added. “He was beaten the other day so he needs to fire back and prove he is the best.”

Wathnan also have last year's runner-up Kind Of Blue (Blue Point), who is on the way back after a deflating spring and early summer campaign, and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee third Flora Of Bermuda (Dark Angel) as able deputies. The latter is one of a strong group of fillies assembled for the six-furlong feature alongside the July Cup heroine No Half Measures (Cable Bay), the Commonwealth Cup winner Time For Sandals (Sands Of Mali) and the G3 Ballyogan Stakes winner Sky Majesty (Blue Point).

Sky Majesty has been brought to the boil by William Haggas with this in mind and the supplementary entry would be adding to co-owner Tony Bloom's recent spell of good fortune. His racing manager Sean Graham said, “She just hadn't come to herself when she ran first time out at Chelmsford and although she improved significantly for that run, she probably still wasn't where William would have wanted her at Royal Ascot. The ground was very quick that day and maybe she just didn't let herself down on it either and she has won twice at Naas since and looks a million dollars, so we're looking forward to taking our chance.”

Arc Clues In Abundance This Weekend

Also on Saturday is the G3 September Stakes, where Juddmonte's Kalpana (Study Of Man) takes on the Hong Kong Vase-bound Giavellotto (Mastercraftsman) as they prepare for different autumn and winter targets. Juddmonte's European racing manager Barry Mahon said of the filly, “It's a stepping-stone towards the Arc and she had a hard race in the King George. She's in good form and we're hopeful that she'll run a good race, but we have an eye on October and that's the big day.”

ParisLongchamp's trio of Arc trials take place on Sunday and we will all know a lot more after the G1 Qatar Prix Vermeille, G2 Qatar Prix Foy and G2 Qatar Prix Niel. The former is a pinnacle event in its own right and leading ladies don't come much bigger than last year's Arc runner-up Aventure (Sea The Stars), the Nassau and Pretty Polly winner Whirl (Wootton Bassett) and the Prix de Diane heroine Gezora (Almanzor).

In a big day for Christophe Soumillon deputising for Ryan Moore, Whirl is one of four high-profile rides alongside Los Angeles (Camelot) in the Foy, the long-absent Swagman (Wootton Bassett) in the Niel and Henri Matisse (Wootton Bassett) in the G1 Qatar Prix du Moulin de Longchamp. The latter is the outlier on the card, having no bearing on the October showcase, but is a fascinating affair featuring Juddmonte's Lockinge winner Lead Artist (Dubawi) and Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's Rosallion (Blue Point) who looks to belatedly get off the mark in 2025.

As far as the Arc is concerned, some of the key domestic players are Gerard Augustin-Normand and Antonio Caro's Grand Prix de Paris hero Leffard (Le Havre), who looks to seal his bid in the Niel, and the Wertheimers' multiple Group 1 winner Sosie (Sea The Stars) who takes aim at the Foy. The latter can be a middling affair, but this year's renewal looks strong with Ahmed Al Maktoum's promising Almaqam (Lope De Vega) and Kazumi Yoshida's Tenno Sho Spring runner-up Byzantine Dream (Epiphaneia) engaged.

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