Sunday Best

[Wandering Eyes]

Godolphin’s season of seasons could be due another highlight on Sunday, with the 146th renewal of the G1 Longines Grosser Preis Von Baden the showcase event across Europe. Saeed bin Suroor looks to have solid claims of providing the operation with another top-level contest with Best Solution (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who has already annexed one in this country when delivered late in the G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin at Hoppegarten Aug. 12. Prior to that effort, the 4-year-old had mastered the subsequent G3 Glorious S. winner Mirage Dancer (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and the Ebor hero Muntahaa (Ire) (Dansili {GB}) in Newmarket’s G2 Princess of Wales’s S. also at this 12-furlong trip July 12.

“It will be an interesting race, as there are two nice horses from Germany in the contest, but Best Solution did a nice piece of work recently and he is ready for this,” his trainer said. “He is set to go into quarantine on Thursday, Sept. 13, for his trip to Australia [for the G1 Caulfield Cup].”

Best Solution was only fifth here last year behind Guignol (Ger) (Cape Cross {Ire}), with the runner-up Iquitos (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}) and fourth Windstoss (Ger) (Shirocco {Ger}) set to renew rivalry. Iquitos, who had previously beaten Best Solution in the G1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis at Munich last July, won this in 2016 and has a love of this particular circuit. Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum’s Defoe (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}) enjoyed a fruitful spring when annexing Newbury’s G3 John Porter S. Apr. 21 and the May 5 G2 Jockey Club S. at Newmarket before finding 10 1/2 furlongs too sharp when third in the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at The Curragh May 27.

ParisLongchamp stages the G3 Prix la Rochette, the prep for the upcoming G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, with Khalid Abdullah’s Delaware (GB) (Frankel {GB}) the chosen one from Andre Fabre’s legion. Successful in a six-furlong maiden at Deauville at the end of July, the bay meets the impressive July 27 Chantilly conditions scorer Ecolo (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), who represents the Wertheimer-Carlos Laffon-Parias connection and Ecurie Normandy Spirit’s Aug. 4 Listed Prix des Jouvenceaux et des Jouvencelles-winning filly Lily’s Candle (Fr) (Style Vendome {Fr}). In the Listed Prix de Liancourt, His Highness Shahnaza (Fr) (Azamour {Ire}) reappears for the first time after finishing seventh but beaten only around two lengths as the favourite for the G1 Prix de Diane at Chantilly June 17. At Baden-Baden, the G3 Wackenhut Mercedes-Benz-Preis Zukunftsrennen features Stall Dipoli’s unbeaten Man On the Moon (Ger) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) and Stall Turffighter’s fellow Cologne winner Peace of Paris (Ger) (Helmet {Aus}) both from the Markus Klug stable.

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