A rain-afflicted 2016 Royal Meeting opens up on Tuesday with a typically strong renewal of the G1 Queen Anne S., which has so far proven impervious to the international brigade, but which features another dogged threat in the US raider Tepin (Bernstein). While no winner of the race has been trained as far afield, there is a precedent for foreign influence succeeding in the 2008 hero Haradasun (Aus) (Fusaichi Pegasus), a horse who albeit was saddled by Aidan O'Brien here, and had established his reputation in Australia. Whether Tepin can maintain her class edge over the Euros so evident in her destruction of the GI Breeders' Cup Mile challengers on Halloween remains to be seen, as she faces an entirely different method of racing over this demanding straight mile. “All the indicators are the horse has acclimatised, she's eating well and seems happy so no complaints,” Norman Casse, son and assistant to trainer Mark Casse, said. “She used to be a bit flighty and nervous, but now she's laid-back as she's got older and it's made her a more effective racehorse. The reason she is here is because of the racehorse she has become. She's more professional and I don't think anything will rattle her. This is the biggest stage she'll ever be on, but I think she's ready and will handle it. Everybody is worried about the weather, but if you look at her race before the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland, it rained for three days before it and they nearly switched it to dirt and that may be the best race she ever ran. Her last race was something of a gimme and it was to get her 100% for here, so far it has all worked out.”
This is certainly a “Euro-style” edition, with ground on the easy side particularly likely to play into the hands of the French entourage headed by the impressive G1 Prix Jacques le Marois heroine of last August, Esoterique (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}). While she was only seventh in Tepin's wake at Keeneland, the race conditions of that feature were in complete contrast to what she faces here and with a much more demanding pace to finish off, the Rothschild homebred will be in her element. Just a length behind Solow (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}) when runner-up at 16-1 in this 12 months ago, the 6-year-old has subsequently met trainer Andre Fabre's lofty expectations of her with easy triumphs in the Jacques le Marois and G1 Sun Chariot S. at Newmarket in October. She put up a fine comeback effort when failing on ridiculous weight-for-age terms to contend with the race-hardened 3-year-old Attendu (Fr) (Acclamation {GB}) in the G3 Prix du Palais-Royal over seven furlongs of Deauville's straight course 10 days ago and the only concern is that this may come too soon.
Trainer Roger Varian is one trainer who would have welcomed the excess precipitation ahead of this contest, with Godolphin and Prince Faisal's Belardo (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) clearly more at home with cut in the ground than most of his opponents. His prowess over a straight course is also marked, as he showed in his career-defining wins in the 2014 G1 Dewhurst S. at Newmarket in October 2014 and in Newbury's G1 Lockinge S. on his last outing May 14. On the latter occasion, he had a perfect pace scenario supplied by useful stablemate Barchan (War Front) and last year's Queen Anne fourth Toormore (Ire) (Arakan) and with that duo engaged again he should have no excuses. “He is in terrific form and I have been very happy with him since his Lockinge win,” Varian said. “We know he handles the ground well and seems a stronger colt this year.”
Like Esoterique, His Highness The Aga Khan's Ervedya (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) has enjoyed a smooth re-introduction and her second to Vadamos (Fr) (Monsun {Ger}) under hold-up tactics in the G1 Prix du Muguet on Saint-Cloud's May Day card should have put her straight for this test. She was successful in this meeting's G1 Coronation S. in 2015, which followed on from her win in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches at Longchamp in May and preceded her annexing of a very weak renewal of that venue's G1 Prix du Moulin in September. She did come unstuck against Amazing Maria (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) in the G1 Prix Rothschild at Deauville in August, with that Sir Robert Ogden homebred also taking the G2 Duke of Cambridge S. over this straight mile at the last Royal meeting prior to adding the G1 Falmouth S. to her resume at Newmarket's July meeting. Third on her return behind Fabre's highly-regarded Usherette (Ire) (Shamardal) in the nine-furlong G2 Dahlia S. on Newmarket's Rowley Mile at the start of last month, she commands respect alongside her stablemate, the Breeders' Cup Mile runner-up and GI Woodbine Mile hero Mondialiste (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).
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