-
Luxembourg faces top rivals in Gold Cup
-
Meditate in good shape for 1000 Guineas
-
Drumroll may be the one to beat
She is a well-related No No Never filly who has shown up well enough at home, but you obviously don't know what you are up against here.
He was clearly a little below par on his return but the Mooresbridge was a steadily-run race and that would have brought him on a good deal, too. We know what a good horse he is on his day, as he showed when beating Onesto and Vadeni in the Irish Champion Stakes, so hopefully he can return to that level and be highly competitive here. It's obviously a proper Group 1, though, with Bay Bridge and Vadeni in opposition.
Bay Bridge wasn't quite at his best for me in the Ganay on his return but he obviously didn't run badly there and there were excuses for the defeat, including the fact that he was a bit too fresh. He is a serious horse at his best and I think it is also fair to say the Arc runner-up Vadeni, 1½ lengths behind him last time, was ridden with an eye to the future that day. It's a top race, but it promises to be tactical.
She cost 1,250,000gns at the sales in November as she has a very attractive pedigree. She was also a good filly with the Charltons last year, winning a Group 3 on her final start for them, and hopefully she can improve further this season. This is a competitive race but it looks a good starting point for her.
Obviously, we all have Tahiyra to beat, but I like to think I will get a lot closer to her than I did at Newmarket. Things just didn't fall right for me there, and I was drawn away from the main action in the middle, which didn't help, and her Breeders' Cup win tells you she is a much better filly than she showed last time.
The better ground will definitely suit her and I may be the one to give the favourite most to do. Jackie Oh will be suited by the return to a mile after her defeat over 1m2f last time and I expect her to progress as the season develops. She is a good filly, well worth her place in this grade.
Drumroll progressed well from his debut win to chase home Paddington last time. The step up in trip will suit this Deep Impact colt, and he looks to hold a good chance in what looks a winnable Gallinule.
Our two in here need to improve to win this but both can be expected to progress with experience. High Chieftess, a daughter of Galileo and Tiggy Wiggy, ran okay over 7f last time and hopefully the blinkers and the step up to 1m2f will suit, even if there is obviously a fair bit of speed in her pedigree.
I ride All Time Great who ran down the field in Savethelastdance's maiden at the start of last month. That was obviously a hot race and hopefully the experience and better ground will see this Justify filly come on a good deal.