Rose to bloom at Haydock
After the storm of Goodwood and Galway comes tranquility.
Following a rewarding, but exhausting, week in Ballybrit and Sussex, many will be glad of this week’s rather dormant outlook.
Respite is only fleeting, after all, as the wraps will soon be shed from the four-day Ebor meeting at York.
It might be one of the quietest weeks in the Flat calendar but those prepared to put in the groundwork will be rewarded by the bucketload.
Saturday’s fare is especially informative, with bragging rights heading towards Merseyside and Suffolk.
Haydock, who also race on Thursday and Friday, unveil a really competitive card showcasing a clutch of high-class handicaps and a Group Three over 10 furlongs.
The toteswinger Rose of Lancaster Stakes is always keenly contested and last year witnessed a fine tussle between Formal Decree and subsequent winner Halicarnassus.
Newmarket refuse to be overshadowed, however, and throw open their doors for the Group Three skybet.com Sweet Solera Stakes.
This historic affair over seven furlongs of the Bunbury mile was a rather interesting contest 12 months previously, with seven runners having already posted victories.
With relatively little pace from the outset, the race developed into a sprint to the line – at which Clive Brittain’s Albabilia had seized the day by half a length from Don’t Forget Faith.
Ascot are also in action on Saturday with their Shergar Cup meeting.
Plenty has in the past been written about the yearly international jockeys’ competition, most of which none too flattering.
But with calls from many quarters for riders to show more sparkle out of the saddle, this year’s Shergar Cup represents a good PR exercise, especially for those money-men keen to promote the Sovereign Series.
American racing is something of a dark art to most rank-and-file racegoers this side of the Atlantic – but the mystery can be solved on Saturday evening.
The Arlington Million over 10 furlongs gives a heavy-handed clue as to the prize-money on offer and was won by Sulamani in 2003 and, more recently, Aidan O’Brien’s Powerscourt three years ago.
O’Brien sets out his stall again, this time with Coral-Eclipse hero Mount Nelson.
There is plenty more pulse-chasing fare to be had outside of Blighty this week, with Monday’s Group Three Give Thanks Stakes at Cork neatly setting the tone.
The Curragh serve up Group-race action on Sunday with the Ballygallon Stud Debutante Stakes for two-year-old fillies and the Phoenix Sprint Stakes over six furlongs.
Deauville in France also have another big day in the summer sunshine with the reintroduction of the 250,000 Prix Maurice de Gheest, for which July Cup hero Marchand D’Or is likely to bid for back-to-back victories in the Group One affair.
