previews

It's a case of be ready for anything over the next three days, with Friday seeing the beginning of Newmarket's three-day Guineas meeting, Ascot's card of Royal meeting pointers, the traditional May Day fixture at Saint-Cloud and the first part of an intriguing two-day meeting at Goodwood. Saturday's 2,000 Guineas and Sunday's 1,000 Guineas are at the centre of a storm of activity which will require further analysis when calm is briefly restored next week. Once the draw had been made for Saturday's G1 Betfred 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on...

Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France, post time: 17:00, PRIX D'HARCOURT-G2, €119,000, 4yo/up, 10fT Field: Bay City Roller (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), Cualificar (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), First Look (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Azimpour (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Leffard (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}), Best Secret (Fr) (Persian King {Ire}), Bright Picture (Fr) (Intello {Ger}), Oracle (Fr) (Too Darn Hot {GB}). TDN Analysis: Andre Fabre has a record 10 editions of this contest already in the books and saddles a squad of four in this year's renewal. Last term's G1 Prix du Jockey Club...

Currently the reigning Hong Kong Horse of the Year, Ka Ying Rising sits on the cusp of history. Tied with Hong Kong wunderkind Silent Witness on 17 consecutive wins by a Hong Kong-trained horse, the son of Shamexpress could set his own record in the 1400-metre G1 Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup at Sha Tin on Sunday. A last out winner of the G1 Centenary Sprint Cup in January, he faces nine rivals. Trainer David Hayes said, "I'm very excited about the opportunity to try and break Silent Witness's record. His...

Friday, Meydan, Dubai, post time: 20:25, ZABEEL MILE SPONSORED BY PHI ADVERTISING-G2, AED850,000, 4yo/up & SH 3yo, 1600mT Field: Quddwah (GB) (Kingman {GB}), Holloway Boy (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}), Aomori City (Fr) (Oasis Dream {GB}), Keffaaf (GB) (Adlerflug {Ger}), Audience (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}), Chicago Critic (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Asad Zabeel (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), Vafortino (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), Andrease Vesalius (Ire) (Caravaggio), Western Writer (Ire) (Shamardal). TDN Analysis: If Aomori City prevails in the Zabeel Mile, he would be the seventh winner for trainer Charlie Appleby. The gelding faces...

Billed as Japan's richest race, the ¥960,040,000 (€5.2m) G1 Arima Kinen sees a slew of Group 1 winners vying for its ¥500,000,000 (€2.7m) first-place prize. Leading the way in the advance markets and by total votes delivered by the voting public is four-year-old mare Regaleira. The three-time Group 1 winner by Suave Richard will carry the silks of Sunday Racing. Christophe Lemaire will ride the daughter of Roca (Harbinger), who claimed the 2023 Hopeful Stakes--won today by Lovcen--the 2024 Arima Kinen, and last month's Queen Elizabeth II Cup. Assistant trainer...

Sprinters young and old hold sway this weekend, with the juveniles centre stage on Saturday in the G1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes before the hardened category specialists take over in the G1 ARC Prix Maurice de Gheest 24 hours later. In the former contest, Aidan O'Brien looks set to add an 18th renewal with either the Coventry winner Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) or the Queen Mary winner True Love (No Nay Never) having missed out in six of the last seven. Gstaad and True Love's powerhouse performances at Royal Ascot set them apart...

Sunday, Chantilly, France, post time: 16:05, PRIX DE DIANE LONGINES-G1, €1,000,000, 3yo, f, 10 1/2fT Field: Cankoura (Fr) (Persian King {Ire}), Mandanaba (Fr) (Ghaiyyath {Ire}), D'Ores Et Deja (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}), Shes Perfect (Ire) (Sioux Nation), Bedtime Story (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Merrily (No Nay Never), Rosa Salvaje (Ire) (Maximum Security), Better Together (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), American Gal (GB) (Kameko), Zia Agnese (Fr) (Romanised {Ire}), Sand Gazelle (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Gezora (Fr) (Almanzor {Fr}). TDN Verdict: After two tussles with Zarigana that read like a soap opera, Shes Perfect looks to...

Friday, Cork, post time: 19:44, DARLEY MUNSTER OAKS STAKES-G3, €36,000, 3yo/up, f/m, 12fT Field: Ameerat Jumaira (GB) (Australia {GB}), Bubble Gum (Fr) (Cloth Of Stars {Ire}), Elizabeth Jane (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Enfranchise (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), Lemsairbat (Fr) (Bated Breath {GB}), Magical Hope (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Satin (GB) (Australia {GB}), Sea The Boss (GB) (Sea The Moon {Ger}), Soft Winds (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Uluru (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), Butterfly Wings (Justify), Gotomylovely (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), Medici Venus (Tiz The Law). TDN Verdict: Elizabeth Jane signed off in 2024 with...

Now that the line-ups have been confirmed for the Derby and Oaks, the wait has become one of merely hours for connections and fans of the protagonists alike. An intense period of final planning and preparation, of intermittent reverie. With the current century a quarter of the way though its course, there is little sign that the Epsom Classics have lost any of their draw for the big operations and the lists assembled for Friday and Saturday's Betfred-sponsored tests are testament to that. Since 2000, overseas interests--mainly Irish--have held sway...

Thursday, Saint-Cloud, France, post time: 16:25, PRIX DU MUGUET-G2, €130,000, 4yo/up, 8fT Field: Ozat (Fr) (Kingman {GB}), Tribalist (GB) (Farhh {GB}), Vertbois (Fr) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Aigle Vaillant (Fr) (Wings Of Eagles {Fr}), Tumbler (Fr) (Kingman {GB}), No Lunch (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Zoom (Fr) (No Nay Never). TDN Verdict: Tribalist goes for three consecutive editions of this May Day special, having memorably put Charyn (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in his place in the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp in September. The only question mark is whether his comprehensive defeat...

Previews by Alan Carasso, Brian Sheerin, Adam Houghton & Heather Anderson DUBAI, UAE -- After Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) overcame a torrid trip to take out the G2 UAE Derby some 373 days ago, big-spending Japanese owner Susumu Fujita boldly commented: "Looking forward, I would like to underline that I would like to win the Dubai World Cup." If ante-post markets are to be believed, those dreams are likely to become reality under the Saturday evening lights at Meydan Racecourse, as Forever Young is expected to jump a...

Now that Indestructible (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) has boosted the 2000 Guineas credentials of Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) when winning Newmarket's G3 Craven S., it is up to the star of Andrew Balding's Kingsclere base to strengthen them further in a fascinating G3 Watership Down Stud Too Darn Hot Greenham S. at Newbury. Relentless during a 2-year-old campaign that took in York's G3 Acomb S., Doncaster's G2 Champagne S. and the all-important G1 Dewhurst S. at Newmarket, the chestnut offers perhaps the sternest competition to Ballydoyle's pair of loaded guns in...