A Logical Favourite In The Leger

[Wandering Eyes]

While Saturday’s G1 William Hill St Leger is far from being cut and dried, there is a short-priced favourite in Logician (GB) (Frankel {GB}) who is even threatening to tilt to odds-on for the oldest Classic at Doncaster. Announcing his presence on the scene with a decisive success in York’s G2 Great Voltigeur S., which has always been seen as this race’s main trial Aug. 21, he bids to become the first to double up here since the fellow John Gosden-trained Lucarno (Dynaformer) in 2007. That 1 3/4-length defeat of Constantinople (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was the Juddmonte homebred’s first step outside of maiden, novice and handicap company and the fact that he put 13 lengths between himself and the Aug. 1 G3 Gordon S. winner Nayef Road (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is the reason he trades at such prohibitive odds. That he was unraced at two is also no hindrance, with Harbour Law (GB) (Lawman {Fr}) and Simple Verse (Ire) (Duke of Marmalade {Ire}) also having made their debuts in their 3-year-old season.

It is unknown at present what the potential chinks in Logician’s armour could be, but trainer John Gosden is more inclined to believe that the extended 14-furlong trip presents more of an issue than the quick going. “I think he’s like most in the race in that he would like some juice in the ground, but we’ve got this Indian summer and it’s dry,” he said. “He’s fine on top of the ground, but is no doubt better on good or the easy side of good. That may also be the case for the others, however. The biggest question is will he get the trip? It’s not guaranteed–he’s by Frankel out of a Daylami mare. I think from our point of view, we are confident up to a mile and six but after that there is the no man’s land of that last 115 yards.

“He came to us pretty late and I think giving him that time has benefitted him,” Gosden added. “He is a nice horse to be around. He is a very relaxed character and has a lovely, long loping stride. I think the nice, long straight at Doncaster should suit him well. It will probably be an end-to-end gallop and that is not a bad thing as it thins the field out. You can get trouble in running and I remember a couple of horses that have been unlucky not to win there. I will leave all that to Frankie and the horse–they don’t need any instructions. When you see the horses that are still rolling between the two-furlong marker and the one, that will tell us what kind of quality Leger it is.”

Whether ‘TDN Rising Star’ Sir Dragonet (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) proves to be the thorn in Logician’s side depends on whether he is able to recapture the form of his emphatic win in the May 8 G3 Chester Vase. Staged on contrasting good-to-soft ground, that Derby trial also featured Norway who was eight lengths behind in second, the subsequent June 19 G2 Queen’s Vase winner Dashing Willoughby (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), who was a further 3/4 of a length away in third, and the Aug. 17 G3 Geoffrey Freer S. scorer Technician (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) who languished in fifth. Like fellow Ballydoyle winners Kew Gardens (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Capri (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and the 2014 Leger hero Kingston Hill (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), he comes here via the G1 Epsom Derby in which he was a leading player despite being fifth.

Padraig Beggy’s Classic record strikes fear into the opposition and it is fascinating that he is Aidan O’Brien’s choice to partner the Aug. 23 G2 Lonsdale Cup third Il Paradiso (Galileo {Ire}). Beaten only 1 1/4 lengths by Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in that two-mile York contest, he will be dangerous if given too much rope in the straight as a fast-improving guaranteed stayer with that particular rider on board.

“Il Paradiso stays very well and looks like a horse that will get a Gold Cup trip–he looks like he will get two and a half miles,” Aidan O’Brien said. “I think he will be happy enough. He doesn’t mind being ridden forward. You would be riding him like you are sure that he will stay and the other you will be taking your time with a little, I’d imagine. Sir Dragonet is a horse that has plenty of class. We started him at a mile and a half and we think there is a good chance he will get the trip.”

Forty minutes after the Leger, Leopardstown’s G1 QIPCO Irish Champion S. sees a solid older brigade taken on by the exciting ‘TDN Rising Star’ Headman (GB) (Kingman {GB}). Khalid Abdullah’s imposing relative of Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) has enjoyed a stress-free build-up to his first major test with a brace of wins against lesser opposition in France serving the purpose of boosting his ego. Jason Watson, who steered him in his impressive displays in the G2 Prix Eugene Adam at Saint-Cloud June 30 and G2 Prix Guillaume d’Ornano at Deauville on Aug. 15, retains the ride in what amounts to a huge compliment from connections.

Trainer Roger Charlton commented, “It is a big jump up in class, but I’ve been pleased with the horse. It is really the only race to run in, because there are no more 3-year-old-only races and having won two Group 2s, there is no point giving weight away in another. I don’t think either of the French races suited him. I think the course and the style of the race will suit him better and I think a quicker surface is what he wants. I assume there will also be a better pace and they won’t go like they did in France last time out. He is a long-striding horse and you don’t want to be breaking that stride. I think this horse is one for the future and I’m sure he will keep improving. I think he will be better next year.”

The Irish Champion is a race of many posers and one is whether the June 1 G1 Epsom Derby hero Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) can be springboarded back to those heights after reversals of differing degrees of severity in the June 29 G1 Irish Derby and July 27 G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. He renews rivalry with the Epsom runner-up Madhmoon (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}), who is three-from-four at this track, but who has yet to convince he can make it to the level of the likes of Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). “Kevin [Prendergast] is very happy with Madhmoon and this is the obvious race for him,” Shadwell’s racing manager Angus Gold said. “I personally think a mile and a quarter will end up being his best trip, but I know Chris Hayes feels he could even end up back at a mile.”

‘TDN Rising Star’ Elarqam (GB) (Frankel {GB}) looks to have been building towards a Group 1 win all season and he was arguably unlucky not to have finished closer than 1 1/4-lengths third to Japan (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 Juddmonte International at York Aug. 21. Now that connections know that he is a strong stayer at this trip, he is likely to be sent forward from his high draw and now that the famous Mark Johnston mentality has been worked into him he will make sure that his rivals are stretched to pass him late on.

Angus Gold is in the dark as to how the representatives measure up. “We obviously already had one legitimate contender for the race in Madhmoon, but Sheikh Hamdan and Mark [Johnston] both felt it would be a long time between races if we waited for the English Champion with Elarqam and who knows what could happen between now and then?” he said. “I was very impressed with Elarqam at York and if we’d ridden him a bit handier I don’t think he would have been far away. The front two quickened away–he was a bit further back than ideal and didn’t get a clear run. I’m not saying he would have won but for that, but he could have gone pretty close if things had been different. I think Madhmoon might have more speed than Elarqam and is possibly the quicker horse, but whether he’s a better horse or not, it’s hard to say.”

In the G1 Coolmore Fastnet Rock Matron S. that Elarqam’s dam Attraction (GB) (Efisio {GB}) captured in 2005, there is a similarly experience-hewn filly from the North of England standing in the way of others in Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). John Dance’s 4-year-old has won a G1 Prix de Diane over 10 1/2 furlongs, but it is now clear that she is a miler supreme and the manner of her sixth top-level success in the G1 Prix Rothschild at Deauville July 28 marked her as strong as ever. Her latest nose defeat attempting to give the classy 3-year-old Shine So Bright (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) seven pounds in the G2 City of York S. over seven furlongs Aug. 24 only enhances her reputation and if Aidan O’Brien has been unable to bring Hermosa (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) back to the form of her G1 English and Irish 1000 Guineas victories back-to-back wins for Laurens could be less hard-won than in 2018.

Laurens’s trainer Karl Burke said, “She’s in great form and if she produces her A-game she’s the one they all have to beat. She had a little breeze on Thursday morning before she left to catch the ferry to Ireland and I couldn’t have been happier with her. Last year she went there having run over a mile and a half in the Yorkshire Oaks. We thought she was quick enough for the mile and she proved it on the day. This year we know we’re quick enough. It will be interesting to see how Aidan O’Brien’s four horses are ridden, but we’ll just do our own thing and concentrate on ourselves, rather than worry about what anyone else is doing.”

Also in the Matron is Anthony and Sonia Rogers’s G1 Moyglare Stud S. winner Skitter Scatter (Scat Daddy), who bids to put a disappointing season behind her on the back of a warm-up second in the G3 Fairy Bridge S. at Tipperary Aug. 29. “We were aiming for the Matron all along, but she needed a prep race and we had very little time to get her ready for the Fairy Bridge,” trainer John Oxx explained. “We were happy to get her there. She had a good run for the six weeks before that and was fit enough for a race, but she wasn’t obviously at peak fitness.”

Whatever the fates of Magical and Hermosa, Ryan Moore should get some joy out of Irish Champions Day with an enviable book of rides including ‘TDN Rising Star’ Mogul (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G2 KPMG Champions Juvenile S. He beat the subsequent winner Shekhem (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) by 3 1/4 lengths in a Curragh maiden Aug. 30 and his main threat here could lie with another of His Highness The Aga Khan’s homebreds in Sinawann (Ire) (Kingman {GB}). Fifth behind this card’s opening Listed Ingabelle S. protagonist Lady Jane Wilde (Ire) (Dragon Pulse {Ire}) over seven furlongs at The Curragh on debut Aug. 9, the Mick Halford-trained relative of Sinndar (Ire) beat Agitare (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) over this mile trip a fortnight later in the manner of a strong stayer.

Leopardstown’s card also sees the return of last year’s G2 Beresford S. runner-up Mount Everest (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G3 Paddy Power Betting Shops S., registered as the Kilternan, while the rapidly-improving fellow Ballydoyle representative Lancaster House (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) takes a three-from-three record into the G2 Clipper Logistics Boomerang S. or Solonaway. Doncaster’s supporting card features the seven-furlong G2 Park S. where the aforementioned Shine So Bright bids to defy a three-pound penalty for his City of York defeat of Laurens. His trainer Andrew Balding commented, “He handles fast ground well and a repeat of the York performance should see him go very close. My only concern is that he had a very hard race that day. As he’s showing no ill effects of that, I think he’s the one they’ve all got to beat.”

In the G2 Champagne S., ‘TDN Rising Star’ Threat (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) steps up to seven furlongs after his seconds in the June 18 G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot and Aug. 1 G2 Richmond S. at Goodwood and win in York’s G2 Gimcrack S. Aug. 23. Cheveley Park Stud’s chestnut faces Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum’s July 13 G2 Superlative S. runner-up Juan Elcano (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Godolphin’s exciting Aug. 23 Newmarket novice winner Royal Crusade (GB) (Shamardal).

Cheveley Park Stud’s managing director Chris Richardson said of Threat, “We were eyeing up this race before he ran in the Gimcrack as a possible place where we could step him up to seven furlongs. We’ve followed it through and I’m glad we have. He’s got to give away three pounds, but it looks a good place for him and hopefully it will tell us whether we should aim for the Middle Park or the Dewhurst or whatever else we decide to do at the end of the season. I’m told he’s in very good form, so we’ll see what happens.”

Charlie Appleby said of Royal Crusade, “He’s a horse we’ve always liked and we were very pleased with his first start at Newmarket. He came out of that well, we’ve been happy with him since and we think he’s ready to step up to this sort of level. His preparation has gone well and we’re looking forward to testing the water with him.”

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