There is no shortage of big-race action on the horizon. Newmarket and Chepstow both stage notable two-day fixtures on Friday and Saturday, confirmations are in for the big races at both, and the world’s best horse has had a timely blow-out on the other side of the globe. Ka Ying Rising was beaten in his barrier trial at Randwick ahead of his Everest defence, but his connections are far from worried.
Here is the racing news today rounded up for Tuesday 6 October, including a look back at a memorable Sunday at Longchamp.
Newmarket’s Future Champions Festival takes shape
HQ hosts the season’s two most important juvenile races this weekend, and both fields are now confirmed. Friday’s £500,000 bet365 Fillies’ Mile (2.57pm) has attracted 12, headed by Charlie Appleby’s unbeaten May Hill winner Musical Times, who is a warm odds-on favourite. Aidan O’Brien, the most successful trainer in the race’s history with seven wins, accounts for half the field, while Andrew Balding saddles unbeaten Listed winner Forbidden Fire.
Saturday’s £500,000 Darley Dewhurst Stakes (3pm) has cut up to just seven. Appleby’s Champagne Stakes winner Desert Castle heads the betting, with Ballydoyle’s Golden Fleece hero Darkness Falls and Coventry winner Great Barrier Reef his chief rivals. Balding, who won the race with Gewan 12 months ago, runs Gentle Hurricane, and every pound matters with the trainers’ title so tight.
Later on the card, 42 remain in the Club Godolphin Cesarewitch (3.40pm) for a maximum of 32 runners. Ian Williams’ course-and-distance winner Beylerbeyi heads the market. For the full picture, read our Fillies’ Mile, Dewhurst and Cesarewitch confirmations.
Chepstow’s jumps feast confirmed
Over the jumps, Chepstow stages its first big meeting of the National Hunt campaign, and all three feature races are oversubscribed. Friday’s Grade 2 Persian War Novices’ Hurdle (3.43pm) has 18 confirmations for a maximum of 16, with Faye Bramley’s Lord Byron, who was just touched off in a Grade 1 at Punchestown in May, and Dan Skelton’s North Shore sharing favouritism.
Earlier on Friday, 24 remain for the Welsh Champion Hurdle (3.12pm), where Morebattle winner Captain Hugo and Skelton’s Le Beau Madrik head the betting. On Saturday, 28 are left in the Grade 3 Silver Trophy (4.02pm), with the Twiston-Davies-trained Masked Man the market leader.
One name crops up in all three. Jonjo and AJ O’Neill’s Pioneer Pete has won three of his last four and holds entries across the meeting, so where he ends up is anyone’s guess. Read more in our Chepstow confirmations piece.
Ka Ying Rising beaten in Everest barrier trial
The world’s highest-rated horse does not lose very often, so Ka Ying Rising’s defeat in a 1,000m barrier trial at Randwick on Tuesday raised a few eyebrows. David Hayes’ superstar, who carries a 21-race winning streak in Hong Kong, stepped out quickly under Zac Purton and led into the straight, but was edged out by a neck by the Michael Freedman-trained Ninja in the closing stages.
There was little alarm from his connections, though. The ground was soft and the grass longer than ideal, and this was simply about getting him reacquainted with Randwick ahead of a defence of the A$20 million TAB Everest over 1,200m on Saturday 17 October. Hayes said, as quoted in the NZ Herald: “Better than last year, but I have seen him trial better. The way the track was, the longer grass and the soft ground wasn’t in his favour.” Purton added: “The softer ground, the time between runs. It gets him back into the routine, gets him familiar with what’s going on here.”
Ka Ying Rising became the first overseas-trained winner of the Everest 12 months ago. Victory next weekend would make him only the second dual winner of the race after Redzel, stretch his winning run to 22 and take him to ten Group 1 wins, matching Golden Sixty’s Hong Kong record.
Last weekend look: Group 1 glory at ParisLongchamp
Daryz rightly stole the headlines on Arc day with his second successive Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but the supporting cast at ParisLongchamp served up plenty of drama of their own.
Miss Yechance lands the Abbaye for Karl Burke
Miss Yechance provided Karl Burke with a remarkable turnaround in fortunes when winning the Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp. Only a day earlier, the Yorkshire trainer’s stable star Fallen Angel suffered a fatal injury in the Prix Daniel Wildenstein. Burke had supplemented Miss Yechance for the 1,000m sprint, and the gamble paid off handsomely.
Jack Nicholls had the three-year-old filly away like a rocket. She tracked the pacemaker before taking over past halfway, and then repelled every challenge to hold off the Francis-Henri Graffard-trained Shiri by a neck, with Aidan O’Brien’s Mission Central another neck back in third. The daughter of Cotai Glory had won the Group 3 World Trophy at Newbury last month, but this was a big step forward.
It was the biggest win of Nicholls’ career, and an emotional one. He said to the Racing Post: “We had a bad day yesterday losing Fallen Angel, and she might have been looking down on us and helped us out in those last 50 yards. I’ve never had a feeling like that.” The Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint is now under consideration.
True Love gives O’Brien a first Forêt
It seems scarcely believable, but the Prix de la Forêt was one of the few major prizes missing from Aidan O’Brien’s CV until Sunday. True Love put that right under Ryan Moore as she wore down the long-time leader Nighttime on the rail to win by a head over 1,400m, with stablemate Puerto Rico a further head back in third under William Buick.
The 1,000 Guineas winner has had her ups and downs since May, but Moore rode her more positively here and she responded in style. O’Brien felt the more aggressive ride suited her. The Breeders’ Cup Mile at Keeneland is a possible target for both True Love and Puerto Rico. She also holds entries in the Champion Sprint and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on British Champions Day, which could prove significant in O’Brien’s battle with Andrew Balding for the trainers’ title.
Racing today
The first and last race times below are from the live racecards when this draft was built. Check for late changes before publication.
Leicester — first race: 13:31 · last race: 17:01
Brighton — first race: 13:38 · last race: 17:08
Galway — first race: 13:45 · last race: 17:15
Huntingdon — first race: 13:56 · last race: 16:48
Southwell — first race: 16:55 · last race: 20:30
[View today’s racecards] · [Latest non-runners] · [Today’s results]