Friendly Soul has been retired to the paddocks, while Nicky Henderson is still hoping to take Constitution Hill to Milan this weekend. Cheltenham racegoers will find every grandstand bar refurbished when the track returns this week, and Aidan O’Brien holds a formidable hand in Saturday’s Futurity Trophy as he closes in on another trainers’ title.
Here is the racing news today, rounded up for Tuesday.
Friendly Soul retired to stud
Dual Group 1 winner Friendly Soul will not run in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Keeneland, having been retired to stud. John and Thady Gosden‘s five-year-old won six of her 11 starts and earned over £1 million in prize-money for owner-breeder George Strawbridge, who kept her in training this year.
The daughter of Kingman won the Prix de l’Opera at three, and she added a second Group 1 when stepping up to a mile and a half to land the Prix Vermeille at ParisLongchamp in September. She then ran a fine race to finish fourth, beaten a length and three-quarters, behind Daryz in the Arc. “She has been an absolute pleasure to train,” said John Gosden after the Arc.
Constitution Hill’s Milan plan still on
Nicky Henderson still hopes to send Constitution Hill to San Siro for Sunday’s Group 2 Gran Premio del Jockey Club, a €500,000 contest over a mile and a half. “We desperately want to go to Milan, and we hope that we’ll be able to,” said the trainer, although reports suggest the ground is riding quicker than the official description of good.
If conditions are too fast, the former Champion Hurdler could instead stay closer to home for Newbury’s St Simon Stakes on Saturday. The nine-year-old won his first two starts on the Flat, at Southwell and Kempton, before finishing fourth in the September Stakes, which ended hopes of a Melbourne Cup tilt but still pushed his official rating up to 108.
Cheltenham refurbishes every grandstand bar for racegoers
Racegoers heading to Cheltenham for Friday and Saturday’s Showcase meeting will notice a difference before the first race, as every bar in the grandstand has now been refurbished. “Every bar in the grandstand has been refurbished,” confirmed chief executive Guy Lavender, who stressed the work goes beyond a lick of paint, with the aim of adding bar capacity and more sheltered seating for customers.
It is the latest step in a wider push to improve the experience at Prestbury Park, with Lavender also outlining plans for the next five years, including upgrades to the public address system, the Hall Of Fame and a possible development above the weighing room. For our picks of the yards to follow at the meeting, read our Cheltenham October trainers guide.
Aidan O’Brien holds 11 Futurity Trophy confirmations
Aidan O’Brien holds 11 of the 17 confirmations for Saturday’s Futurity Trophy at Doncaster, the final Group 1 of the British Flat season. Albany County, Capability Brown, Choctaw Nation, Drumbeat, Giant Sequoia, Haffner, Man’s Best Friend, Noble Exhibit, Sergei Diaghilev, Shakespeare and Wall Street all stood their ground at the latest stage.
Beresford Stakes winner Noble Exhibit sets the standard on an official rating of 112, and he bids to follow Saxon Warrior, Luxembourg, Hotazhell and last year’s winner Hawk Mountain in completing the Beresford-Futurity double. O’Brien has already won the race a record 12 times, and with Andrew Balding‘s Gran Dia among the opposition, the Town Moor showpiece could well settle a trainers’ title race that has gone right down to the wire.
Racing today
Yarmouth — first race: 13:20 · last race: 17:08
Curragh — first race: 13:25 · last race: 16:45
Hexham — first race: 14:01 · last race: 16:50
Newcastle — first race: 16:22 · last race: 20:30
[View today’s racecards] · [Latest non-runners] · [Today’s results]