The Sovereign Stakes: Elarqam set to put on a show

[Wandering Eyes]

The highlight of Salisbury Racecourse’s season takes place on August 16^th as the Group 3 Sovereign Stakes and features a six-runner field at 4.10pm. This year marks a new sponsorship deal as the feature race will be sponsored for the first time by the sales company, Tattersalls.

The inaugural running of the Sovereign Stakes took place in the year 2000 as a Listed contest and the £76,500 one mile race was then upgraded to a Group 3 in 2004 and is open to colts and geldings three years or older.

It seems fitting that last year’s winner of the Group 3, Ballet Concerto, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, was a graduate of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Other names to have taken the title in recent years include Zonderland (winner in 2016) steered by Oisin Murphy and Kodi Bear (2015) ridden by Géarld Mossé.

Mark Johnson-trained Elarqam will certainly be one to watch in the race. The three-year-old had a promising run to finish third in the York Stakes at the end of last month at York. The drop back in trip to one mile may just suit the son of superstar Frankel and allow him to do all the running.

Richard Hannon-trained Oh This Is Us is set to be steered by Ryan Moore in the Group 3, one-mile contest. Hannon will be all systems go to regain the Sovereign Stakes as he has previously won the race on three occasions with Umistim (2001), Priors Lodge (2002) and Ordnance (2008). The son of Acclamation is the Herridge trainer’s only runner of the six competitors and may just be one to watch in the betting ranks as an always consistent runner.

Another trainer who will be eager to regain the title is Andrew Balding and he runs South Seas in the one-mile contest who Oisin Murphy will be aboard. Balding has taken the trainers title in the Group 3 challenge on three occasions to include Passing Glance (2003), Side Glance (2011), Tullius (2012). The four-year-old and son of Lope De Vega may be one to struggle however as his recent form may suggest as he only finished down the line on his last two outings due to a step up in trip from seven furlongs to one mile.

The Andre Fabre-trained Plumatic will return to the track for only the ninth time and will be ridden by Maxime Guyon. The four-year-old colt won on his last outing at Chantilly, when landing the one mile Prix du Champ d’Alouettes at the end of last month. On form, he may be one to keep on side in an open-looking race.

Selection: Elarqam

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