Major autumn races are about to hit us in Britain, Ireland, France and the USA. We’re taking a look at how the markets are shaping up and who the major contenders are.
Future Champions Festival, Newmarket, October 11-12
This is a brilliant meeting, especially considering the juvenile races have major implications for next year’s Classics and even for Royal Ascot.
The Fillies’ Mile, a Group 1 for the two-year-olds, has Godolphin’s Desert Flower as the best-priced 3/1 favourite after her smooth win in the May Hill at Doncaster. She’s three from three now and is a real class act.
She’s the one to beat ahead of a battalion of Aidan O’Brien horses including Lake Victoria (9/2), Bedtime Story (8/1) and Dreamy (10/1).
The Dewhurst Stakes will likely crown the champion juvenile for this year. The Lion In Winter is the 6/4 favourite having beaten highly regarded Ruling Court. Scorthy Champ is 6/1 but look out for John & Thady Gosden’s Solario winner Field Of Gold also at 6/1.
Ancient Truth (Charlie Appleby) is still 10/1, but he was expected to run in the National Stakes but didn’t appear, meaning he may be a little behind target.
The Cesarewitch Handicap is also run during this meeting, with Belloccio and Jacovec Cavern sharing favouritism at 10/1.
Champions Day, Ascot, October 19
Sandwiched between the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe meeting and the Breeders’ Cup, Champions Day isn’t always as strong as it should be. That said, the five Group races on the card which are part of the British Champions Series still look potentially very classy.
Kyprios is understandably the 4/5 favourite for the Long Distance Cup after dominating the stayers’ division this year. Actually, dominate may be a strong word given that Trawlerman has beaten him here before and the 4/1 about him is tempting.
Sweet William is close up in behind at 5/1 and they are the three to concentrate on given all known evidence, however one or more of these contenders may head to France and may not make this meeting.
In the Sprint Stakes, Kinross is the 5/1 market leader, but he may have to miss this if heading to the Breeders’ Cup. Montassib (6/1) was always set to come here and has managed to get his Group 1 win early after surprising in the Sprint Cup at Haydock.
Three-year-olds Inisherin (16/1) and Elite Status (20/1) have been pushed out after one bad run which seems strange, so keep an eye on their each-way value if conditions suit.
The market for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over the mile is expected to be dominated by Charyn after a brilliant year. He is 15/8 now and will be shorter on the day most likely, but it’s been a tough and tiring season. It’s wide open in behind but there should be plenty of value against him.
The Champion Stakes market is headed by Economics (5/4) and Calandagan (5/2). Many can’t see past these two, but if conditions are soft enough a host of outsiders could have a big say.
Breeders’ Cup, Del Mar, November 1-2
There will be so much action at the Breeders’ Cup and much will change between now and nomination time. There is still a chance for horses to qualify for the juvenile races on Friday, and the main events on Saturday.
Look out for Godolphin’s Immersive in the Juvenile on Friday, currently available at 7/1, while in the Juvenile Turf Charlie Appleby’s runners are always worth keeping an eye on. Currently, he has Aomori City (6/1) and Al Qudra (8/1) in the market, but others will pop up.
All eyes are on the Breeders’ Cup Classic on the Saturday. City Of Troy leads the way at 11/4, but this will be tough. Fierceness (9/2) is a big shout and look out for 12/1 poke Highland Falls who is improving nicely.
Notable Speech is probably too big at 7/2 for the Mile as he’s a class act, while American turf sprinter Cogburn will be hard to beat at 9/4. Rebel’s Romance leads the Turf market at 5/1 and that may prove to be reasonably generous.
For most locals, the lock of the meet will be Thorpedo Anna (6/5) in the Distaff but look out for Idiomatic at 6/1 who simply knows how to win.