- Illinois one of three to note for St Leger test as Los Angeles poised to take in the Irish Champion Stakes as Team Ballydoyle shuffle
- Value hard to find at Doncaster but two horses are of long-range interest for the Ayr Gold Cup a week after the final Classic of the season is staged
If the ante-post markets are to be believed then Los Angeles looks nailed-on to head to the Irish Champion Stakes over the St Leger at Doncaster in a fortnight’s time.
Not that Aidan O’Brien’s hand has been significantly weakened by the predictable re-routing of the Irish Derby and Great Voltigeur winner. Ryan Moore always insisted that Los Angeles was ‘too classy’ for the Leger and while the mile and a quarter in the Irish Champion Stakes could be on the sharp side, it’s a much more suitable race to take in before the Arc at Longchamp in October. Many French horses, such as Waldgeist for instance, have used the Irish Champion as a good platform for that race.
With City Of Troy set to see out the season on dirt, Los Angeles is the No 1 three-year-old at Ballydoyle to take in the big prizes in Europe. He’s classy, gutsy and not ground dependent. 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 being the obvious favourite. Illinois boxed on well behind Los Angeles in the Voltigeur and has won the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot. In between those efforts, he was second in the Grand Prix de Paris.
Rated 113 and a proven stayer open to progress, he’ll take a fair bit of stopping. Grosvenor Square has a similar rating and won the Irish Leger trial by 20 lengths in devastating front-running fashion, while Jan Breughel is unbeaten in his three starts and won a weak-looking Gordon Stakes by a narrow margin on a sharp track that was probably unsuitable for him. He completes the O’Brien trio and is the one that is the least exposed, although has a bit of work to do on the form book.
An eighth Leger for O’Brien certainly looks likely but there are a couple of alternative options. Sunway was a good second in the Irish Derby and could play a hand for trainer David Menuisier. Ancient Wisdom is another contender for Godolphin, with Charlie Appleby’s colt taking a big step forward last time out when winning the Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket. Deira Mile’s good fourth in the Derby could also put him in the mix for Owen Burrows.
So it’s by no means a penalty kick for O’Brien but, once again, he holds all the aces.
Los Angeles (far right) looks set to swerve the St Leger but Illinois (middle) will go
Trainer Aidan O’Brien has won the St Leger seven times, the oldest Classic race in the world
Ryan Moore is likely to stay with Los Angeles for the Irish Champion and not be at Doncaster
Two darts worthy of early support for Ayr Gold Cup assignment
There’s not much value in the Leger market, so why not hold fire for a week on 25-1 and 33-1 shots on a pair of three-year-olds for the Ayr Gold Cup on September 21.
The six-furlong sprint handicap is the richest Flat race in Scotland and one that’s been well targeted by trainer Kevin Ryan in the past. SEARGENT WILKO received a 5lb penalty for his recent win at Goodwood lifts him to a mark of 96 which should get him into the race.
He’s won each of his last three starts and still might be ahead of the handicapper. His prominent racing style is very reminiscent of 2021 winner of the race Bielsa, who was also owned by King Power Racing and trained by Ryan. He’d like a bit of rain and there is plenty of it around in the long-range weather forecast. The general 25-1 with betfair and Paddy Power is worth snapping up.
The next dart requires more of a leap of faith as BALLYMOUNT BOY has not achieved a great deal recently but this promising juvenile was just a length behind Vandeek last season. He’s not shown a lot this year but has slipped down to a mark of 97 as a result and might be able to finally show some spark.
He was gelded before his last start at York and was dropped another 3lb for that ordinary effort. Hopefully, he can improve for that outing significantly and he can handle any ground. Adrian Keatley is another trainer who targets big northern handicaps successfully and he’s perhaps worth a small go at big odds (33-1, William Hill) to rediscover some of his Group One standard two-year-old form off a career-low mark.
Performance of the week…
John and Thady Gosden have not enjoyed the best of seasons but FIELD OF GOLD looked a good prospect when winning the Solario Stakes at Sandown. The yard and ownership won this Group Three juvenile with Field Of Gold’s father Kingman and there was lots to like about his physical make-up. He should make a top-class three-year-old, quickening nicely to win by three quarters of a length. The Lagardere on Arc weekend looks an ideal race for him.
