Charlie Appleby will try to continue the great roll he’s on with his three-year-olds.
Hurricane Lane, the impressive victor from Lone Eagle at the Curragh in the Irish Derby looks to prove he’s possibly the best of them on this trip to France. His only blemish thus far, defeat at Epsom, where he ran third to stable companion Adayar, in the process, losing his two front shoes, before the Derby he’d won the Dante at York.
Aidan O’Brien’s Wordsworth has 7¾L to find on the Curragh run, previously second to Kemari (another Charlie Appleby trained three-year-old) in the Queen’s Vase over a 1m6f at Royal Ascot, he’s a lot to find to trouble Hurricane Run.
Ballydoyle are also represented by Sir Lamoark, another who ran second at Royal Ascot, in the King George V Stakes, over this trip of a 1m4f, he is the more fancied of the O’Brien trio with The Meditterrian also starting.
Alenquer for Willie Haggas will go off the second favourite. He’d taken the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot on heavy ground with The Meditterrian 4¾L back in fourth. His previous run has worked out very well, in the Sandown Classic Trial he’d beaten the Derby winner Adayar and Yibir, last’s week’s winner of the Bahrain Trophy Stakes at Newmarket, with Lone Eagle back in fourth.
The French will try to keep it at home with the fourth and fifth in the Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly leading their defence.
Both unbeaten before that run, Saiydabad, ran fourth at Chantilly, prior to that he’d taken the Listed Prix de Suresnes over 1m2f at the same venue, Chesire Academy fifth at Chantilly, had won the G2 Prix Noailles over the same trip here at Longchamp, there both trained by Jean Claude Rouget. Pascal Bary’s, Baby Rider, who was back in fourteenth at Chantilly will also need to turn it around, he’d previously won the G2 Prix Greffulhe at Saint Cloud with Cash Equity back in fifth. These were the premier trials for the French Derby.
There is also a German raider, Northern Ruler, from the Andreas Wohler yard, he was a G3 winner of the Prix du Lys Longines over 1m4f last time out from Bubble Gift who also lines out for Michael Delzangles.
The French will find it hard to keep this at home, there best couldn’t cope with St Mark’s Basilica in the French Derby, he’s since stamped his class winning the Eclipse at Sandown.
It boils down to the visitors, the Irish and German challenges don’t look strong enough, the English looks best, Alenquer bypassed Epsom instead showing his class at Ascot. His Sandown win looks sweet now and on a line through Adayar and Lone Eagle he should have the measure of Hurricane Run, based on his beating of Lone Eagle at the Curragh.
There is a fly in the ointment, the loss of those front shoes for Hurricane Run at Epsom, had they stayed on he might have remained unbeaten, he’s the one to keep Charlie Appleby’s great roll going with his three-year-olds.
Recommendation
Hurricane Run 6/4 win