John Gosden's Clarehaven Stables have assembled a trophy haul from seven of this year's British Group 1 races, with another Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe also added to the coffers, but all that may just be the preamble to a Qipco British Champions Day gala performance from four of the yard's five dominant members on Saturday. All of them, Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Roaring Lion (Kitten's Joy), Lah Ti Dar (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) present a formidable array of equine aptitude and will start at short odds to create the ultimate four-timer on a day which was designed to crown the best of their division.
Perhaps the most enigmatic of them is Anthony Oppenheimer's Cracksman, who returns to what appears on paper to be the least competitive of the four Group 1s on the card, the Qipco Champion S. If the homebred had done nothing other than win this by seven lengths 12 months ago, his reputation would be assured, but after a scrambling victory in the June 1 G1 Coronation Cup and second to Poet's Word (Ire) (Poet's Voice {GB}) in the G1 Prince of Wales's S., some gloss has inevitably rubbed off. Nevertheless, his latest run–which was at this track four months ago to the day when runner-up to Poet's Word (Ire) (Poet's Voice {GB}) at the Royal meeting–was soon seen in a favourable light once the initial deflation was over.
Few things could have gone better in the lead-up to his finale, which in a short spell has become something of a Frankel celebration after the Juddmonte anomaly and his brother prevailed and this first-crop leader stormed to an emphatic triumph in the latest edition. Common sense seemed to call for some headgear due to his sluggish comportment at Epsom and lack of focus here, and after careful consideration some blinkers are applied to ensure no opportunity is left behind. Frankie Dettori will be on guard to nip any potential problem behaviour in the bud.
“If the same Cracksman turns up from last year, he will be very hard to beat,” he said. “There's no Roaring Lion, which makes life easier for me. He's been off for a long time, but we have been very pleased with his demeanour.”
By the time Cracksman lines up for the feature, the Gosden faithful will already know their fate regarding the other trio which are more than a supporting cast in their own right. Qatar Racing's G1 Eclipse S., G1 Juddmonte International S. and G1 Irish Champion S. hero Roaring Lion is almost the star turn on the day, but he has to encounter a surface far softer than ideal over a trip that is shy of that over which he has blossomed so far this year. Added to his dilemma is the fact that the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. hosts a clutch of worthy protagonists in their own backyard distance-wise, one of them being the operation's own G1 Sussex S. hero Lightning Spear (GB) (Pivotal {GB}).
“He has improved so dramatically this year,” Gosden said of Roaring Lion. “It was a cold, miserable winter and we had no spring. He just wasn't with us. He was a complete playboy and during the winter he spent a lot of time on his hind legs. He was a real lad and was the type if you went into town, you would have to make sure he didn't start a fight. He was full of it. He came good with racing. He has got discipline with racing and that is impressive.”
'TDN Rising Star' Lah Ti Dar faces another stiff task in the G1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares S., in which she encounters fellow Clarehaven stalwart Coronet (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), but she will still wield the power of favouritism after her gallant second in the Sept. 15 G1 St Leger at Doncaster. Her appearance comes after that of the stable's millionaire Stradivarius in the G2 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup, which opens the fixture. Rested since adding York's G2 Lonsdale Cup to his G1 Ascot Gold Cup, G1 Goodwood Cup and G2 Yorkshire Cup successes, the A-list stayer has similar ground to contend with as he did when third in this 12 months ago, but he had Order of St George (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Torcedor (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) to contend with then. “He's a little guy, but all heart,” Gosden said of Stradivarius. “Winning those four staying races has not happened before and might not happen again. His achievements have been fantastic. We have a nice team.”
Outside of the Gosden four, there is the expected abundant quality on display and one of the major threats to a golden send-off for Cracksman in the Champion is 'TDN Rising Star' Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). While his sole piece of form at this trip this year came when battling to a workmanlike return success in the G3 Gordon Richards S. at Sandown Apr. 27, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild's homebred upped that level considerably over an extra two furlongs when second to Poet's Word in the July 28 G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. Slow ground is not ideal, but it may help bring into play the stamina which saw him narrowly denied glory by Capri (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the 2017 G1 St Leger over an extended 14 furlongs. Ballydoyle's grey is a surprise entry here, with all his strongest form over at least a mile and a half and he has missed the majority of this campaign, but he will relish the testing conditions and showed up well for a long way when fifth in the Arc 13 days ago. While at first glance he seems a way short of a Champion S. winner, he did beat Cracksman in last year's G1 Irish Derby and if this turns into a slog the door could be opened to him.
In the QEII, Qatar Racing's venerable Lightning Spear has over two lengths to make up on Recoletos (Fr) (Whipper) on his latest outing when he was fifth behind that rival in the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp Sept. 9. Lightning Spear was third in 2016 and sixth last year, so it is hard to know what to expect especially as the ground is contrasting to that which he encountered when denying Lord Glitters (Fr) (Whipper) and Beat the Bank (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}) in what was probably a below-par renewal of the Sussex at Goodwood at the start of August. Lord Glitters's form here reads a win and three seconds from four outings and that success came over the course-and-distance Balmoral H. which closed this card last year. Of the 3-year-old fillies, Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) and Happily (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) resume rivalry after a tight finish in the G1 Sun Chariot S. at Newmarket Oct. 6 and both boast superior form to last year's winner Persuasive (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). Laurens's jockey Danny Tudhope stated after her latest win that she would prefer a turn, so she is vulnerable taking on straight-track specialists here as old pilot P J McDonald takes back the reins. Happily was returning to the level she had shown when winning the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere from a couple of future Classic winners last October and is open to further progression on ground that seems to suit her well.
While Ballydoyle supply no favourites on the day, last year's Fillies & Mares heroine Hydrangea (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) should be a tough nut to crack defending her title as long as she can regain the sort of form that saw her upstage Bateel (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Coronet 12 months ago. The stable's leading runner could prove to be the Long Distance Cup protagonist Flag of Honour (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who gets eight pounds from Stradivarius due to weight-for-age. He showed in The Curragh's G1 Irish St Leger Sept. 16 that he is a relentless galloper and it could be that this two-mile trip brings out further improvement.
Godolphin are unusually quiet on the card in numbers, with no Charlie Appleby representatives, but in the Sept. 16 G1 Prix Vermeille heroine Kitesurf (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) they have a genuine contender for the Fillies & Mares. Trainer Andre Fabre commented, “She has been in great form since her win in the Vermeille. For a brief moment we were tempted to go the Arc route, but the interval between the Vermeille and Ascot works well. I think she'll handle the conditions but this will probably be heavier than she has previously encountered, so it's not a certainty either.” The operation's biggest chance surely rests with Harry Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in the G1 Qipco British Champions Sprint, but after a fifth fruitless visit to this track when blowing his chance at the start in the June 23 G1 Diamond Jubilee S. and a lacklustre fifth in the Sept. 8 G1 Haydock Sprint Cup, he has a major question mark hanging over him. “Harry Angel is currently in as good a place as I've had him,” trainer Clive Cox said. “He has trained better at home all year. He has been very consistent. He was beaten in the Haydock Sprint last time because he was a bit fresh and went too hard in front on heavy ground. I know he won the same race on heavy the previous year, but this time around it became more of a test because of his freshness. I hope we get ground that is better than last year at this meeting because I'm very pleased with him. I think he can produce his best run and win.”
Harry Angel's flop at Haydock proved the gain of The Tin Man (GB) (Equiano {Fr}), who denied Brando (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) on similar ground to that which he encounters here. Successful in this in 2016, the 6-year-old was only fifth last year behind Librisa Breeze (GB) (Mount Nelson {GB}) but he has generally run to a high standard here.
Over at Leopardstown, the Oct. 5 Listed Star Appeal S. one-two No Needs Never (Ire) (No Nay Never) and Old Glory (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) re-oppose in the G3 Killavullan S. which has played host to some past stars.
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