SL: Steven, which of the home team will be the biggest threat to Sixties Icon in the Marathon?
SC: I suspect that Zappa, a horse who has some Grade 1 and Grade 2 form over here is probably our best representative and I make the race between him and Sixties Icon. But this is a new event without much established form and I think to tread lightly is the best advice.
SL: Some people think that Fleeting Spirit might be vulnerable over the extended six furlongs in the Turf Sprint - who has she got most to fear from in your view?
SC: That's the same fear that surrounds our primary candidates for this race. Mr Nightlinger the morning line favourite is really at his best going five furlongs and this race is run over a very strange course. It's a downhill track where thay have to jump over a strip of dirt at some point and I think this could be the race where you are going to see a $100,000 superfecta payout. A very chaotic event!
SL: Goldikova's last win in the Prix du Moulin came against a clutch of previous Group 1 winners and she's a banker for many over here. Is she as solid from an American viewpoint?
SC: I think if she runs her A-race she will win. For me, this is a two-horse race between her and Kip Deville who is obviously our best miler. He's the defending champion and I'd be very surprised if anyone other than those two ended up in the winners circle.
SL: We have a strong hand in the Juvenile Turf with Westphalia and Donavitum making the trip. Who are the best American juveniles to look out for in the race?
SC: We don't know who the best American juveniles are in this division as we run very little grass racing for two-year-olds, we run nothing above the level of a Grade 3. Frankly I'm expecting Westphalia and Donativum to dominate this race. I think our best hope is Bittel Road who just won a stakes race at Keeneland and has done nothing wrong, he's three from three in his career, but your grass two-year-olds as a rule are just better than ours.
SL: Conduit, Soldier Of Fortune and Eagle Mountain head the betting for the Turf here in England, do they have the same market dominance in America?
SC: Yes I think they do. A couple of our horses are going to get support, and when I say our horses they are still bred in Europe - Grand Couturier and Red Rocks are probably our best hopes. But year after year you dominate this race and there is no great mystery to that.
SL: How vulnerable is Curlin in the Classic?
SC: Curlin is trying a synthetic surface for the first time and that introduces a huge question mark. If this race was on dirt I would say he is an absolute certainty. To my mind there is no question he is the best horse in the race, he's obviously the best dirt horse in the world right now. But because it's not being run on real dirt there is just an element of doubt. I still think he's the best horse and the most likely winner, but frankly if he doesn't win you can throw them up in the air and pick any one of them. Duke Of Marmalade, Henrythenavigator and Raven's Pass, to me, offer the same threat in equal strength. There's a lot of guesswork and desperation to your sending of these horses over for this race. To my mind it's far more of a breeding decision than a racing decision, because if someone jumps up and wins or runs a good second like Giants Causeway did a few years ago, that immediately makes the horse a more valuable stallion prospect and the prospect to stand in the United States as a stallion. I think that's really what they are hoping and looking for by running them here. It's a roll of the dice rather than a strong opinion that any of those horses will run well.
SL: Finally, what's the best bet of the whole meeting?
SC: The most likely winner over the two days is Zenyatta. I like to play multiplays myself and I'll be singling her out in all the pick threes, fours and sixes in the Ladies Classic.
Steven Crist is a regular columnist for the Daily Racing Form.
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