In his final column of 2022 Betfair Ambassador Ryan Moore provides an exclusive preview of his rides at the Breeders' Cup meeting at Keeneland this Friday and Saturday...
- Ryan's exclusive insight for Keeneland
- Three rides on Friday should relish quick ground
- Saturday four sees Tuesday and Stone Age in mix
At her best she has a fair shot
Friday, 19:00 - Dramatised
She didn't run up to her best over 6f in the Lowther last time but she steps back down in trip here and she clearly has a fair shot at this if coming back to the form of her Queen Mary win. Okay, that form could have worked out better but she did it very easily and I can see this speed challenge on quick ground suiting her from her low draw.
Fast filly will handle the ground
Friday, 20:20 - Meditate
She is a tough and professional filly, who is very straightforward with more than a touch of class. Obviously, she has been beaten in her last two starts in Group 1 company. But she clearly met a good one in the Moyglare and she was beaten only ¾ length by another very smart filly in Lezoo in the Cheveley Park last time.
She steps up to 1m for the first time here but the emphasis will be on speed more than stamina here, and she handles quick ground very well. She is a fast filly, who travels well in her races, though her draw in 10 could have been better.
Looks lively and has speed in his pedigree
Friday, 21:40 - Victoria Road
Without a win in his first four starts, he has really come alive recently and netted his third straight win with a Group 3 success over 1m1f at Chantilly. This Saxon Warrior colt clearly stays very well but there is plenty of speed in his pedigree and he has won over 7f around Gowran, so hopefully the demands of this 1m race will suit him.
I imagine he will be coming home strongly, though. This will be the quickest ground he has raced on, so that is an unknown, but the sire and dam handled fast ground very well and were both probably best on it. His stall in one presents its challenge, just as a wide draw would, but you just get on with it, though I'd always take a low draw over a mile at Keeneland.
Running well but faces tough opponents
Saturday ,16:29 - Emaraaty Ana
He ran well when fourth to Golden Pal in this race at Del Mar last season, and he has been running well in Group 1s recently, with placed efforts in the Nunthorpe and the Haydock Sprint Cup. You can see him running well here but it may be a stretch to see him getting the better of Golden Pal and Highfield Princess, to be honest.
Tuesday is the form horse in the race
Saturday, 17:50 - Tuesday
I think we have two fair shots at this with Tuesday and Toy. Clearly, Tuesday has the better form as it stands as an Oaks winner and a filly who finished a length second to the Arc winner Alpinista in the Yorkshire Oaks, and I ride her. Indeed, those two performances make her the form horse in this race.
Her recent starts have not come up to that level, but she clearly hasn't run badly, and the other potential negative is the step down in trip given her best form has come over 1m4f. But we are talking about a filly who was placed in the English and Irish Guineas earlier in the season - the Newmarket run coming on quick ground - so I think she will handle it okay. But we will see. I'm happy with her draw in five.
Irish Oaks runner-up Toy is another filly who has shown her best form over 1m4f, but she did it well over 1m at Naas last time off a break, having come back sore from her run in Germany in early August. The ground is an unknown for her and she needs to improve to get into winning contention here, but it wouldn't surprise me if she stepped up and got into the mix. Of the opposition, Nashwa is the obvious one but I also think Above The Curve has as good a chance as any in this.
Start strong and it's game on
Saturday, 19:10 - Order Of Australia
This is a horse who probably doesn't get the recognition he deserves. I appreciate he has often found one too good, but they are usually top-class horses like Baaeed, and we are dealing with a former winner of this race here and one who is very consistent at this level. A mile on quick ground suits him well and if can get into a prominent racing position early on, then it could be game on.
If it all goes his way, then he has the talent to win this, of that I have no doubt. But of course he faces a tough task here, and he has it all to do with the likes of Dreamloper on their Prix de Moulin form, for example, and his draw in 10 is not ideal. Dreamloper and Modern Games are the two I like in this outside of my horse.
Don't rule out a career best performance
Saturday, 20:40 - Stone Age
As with the Filly & Mare Turf, we have two credible challengers in this. They have it to prove but I have seen stronger renewals of this race. Broome is a Group 1 horse on his day, as he showed in the Hardwicke and when a close second to Yibir in this race last season. He hasn't run up to that level of form recently, but he hasn't had his preferred ground on his last two starts, and he gets that here.
I can see Broome going well, and that is certainly the case with Stone Age, too. I think he has run two cracking races in the Irish Champion Stakes and the Champion Stakes over 1m2f, and I can very much see the combination of 1m4f on quick ground here suiting him. He will need a career-best to do this, but that is not out of the question, with both of horses drawn nicely, too. Of the others, War Like Goddess and Nations Pride are obvious dangers.
Racing... Only Bettor - Watch below...