- Illinois is one of three to watch for the St Leger as Los Angeles prepares to host the Irish Champion Stakes while the Ballydoyle team makes a change of race.
- Value is hard to find at Doncaster, but two horses are of long-term interest for the Ayr Gold Cup a week after the final Classic of the season is held.
If early markets are to be believed, then Los Angeles looks certain to head for the Irish Champion Stakes over the St Leger at Doncaster in a fortnight.
Not that Aidan O’Brien’s hand has been significantly weakened by the Irish Derby and Great Voltigeur winner’s foreseeable detour. Ryan Moore always insisted that Los Angeles was “too posh” for the Leger and while the mile and a quarter Irish Champion Stakes may be a little tough, it is a much more suitable race to watch before the Arc at Longchamp in October. Many French horses, such as Waldgeist, for example, have used the Irish Champion as a good platform for that race.
With City Of Troy set to finish the season on dirt, Los Angeles is the number one three-year-old colt at Ballydoyle to take the big prizes in Europe. He is elegant, brave and not dependent on the ground. O’Brien still has the top three in the market for the final British Classic of the season. The horse Los Angeles narrowly beat at York was the clear favourite. Illinois was well behind Los Angeles in the Voltigeur and has won the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot. Between those efforts, he was second in the Grand Prix de Paris.
Rated 113 and a proven long-distance runner open to progress, he will be hard to slow down. Grosvenor Square is similarly rated and won the Irish Leger by 20 lengths in devastating fashion, while Jan Breughel is unbeaten in his three starts and won a weak-looking Gordon Stakes by a narrow margin on a steep track that was probably not suited to him. He completes the O’Brien trio and is the least exposed, although he has some work to do in the form book.
O’Brien looks likely to get an eighth Leger, but there are a couple of alternative options. Sunway was a good second in the Irish Derby and could be a help to trainer David Menuisier. Ancient Wisdom is another contender for Godolphin, with Charlie Appleby’s colt making a big step forward last time out when winning the Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket. A fine fourth place in the Deira Mile in the Derby could also put him in contention for Owen Burrows.
So it’s not a penalty on O’Brien at all, but again, he holds all the aces.
Los Angeles (far right) looks set to dodge the St. Leger, but Illinois (center) will go
Trainer Aidan O’Brien has won the St Leger, the world’s oldest classic race, seven times.
Ryan Moore is likely to stay in Los Angeles for the Irish Championship and not be in Doncaster.
Two darts worthy of early support for Ayr Gold Cup allocation
There isn’t much value in the Leger market, so why not wait a week for odds of 25-1 and 33-1 on a pair of three-year-olds for the Ayr Gold Cup on September 21?
The six-furlong handicap sprint is Scotland’s richest flat race and one that has been well looked after by trainer Kevin Ryan in the past. SERGEANT WILKO He was given a £5 penalty for his recent win at Goodwood, taking him to a mark of 96 which should allow him to contest the race.
He has won each of his last three starts and could still be ahead of the handicapper. His outstanding racing style is very reminiscent of the 2021 race winner Bielsa, who was also owned by King Power Racing and trained by Ryan. He would fancy some rain and there is plenty of it in the long-range weather forecast. Worth taking advantage of the 25-1 general with betfair and Paddy Power.
The next dart requires a greater leap of faith. BALLYMOUNT BOY He hasn’t achieved much of late, but this promising youngster was just a length behind Vandeek last season. He hasn’t shown much this year, but as a result he’s dropped to a 97 mark and could finally show some spark.
He was gelded before his last start at York and lost another 3lb for that normal effort. Hopefully he can improve significantly for that start and can handle any ground. Adrian Keatley is another trainer targeting the big northern handicaps with success and is perhaps worth a try at long odds (33-1, William Hill) to regain some of his standard Group One two-year-old form after a poor race mark.
Performance of the week…
John and Thady Gosden have not enjoyed the best of seasons, but FGOLD FIELD He looked a good choice when he won the Solario Stakes at Sandown. The stable and owners won this Group Three juvenile with Field Of Gold’s sire Kingman and there was much to like about his physical constitution. He should be a top-class three-year-old colt, accelerating well to win by three-quarters of a length. The Lagardere on Arc weekend looks an ideal race for him.
