Matt Brocklebank and Ben Linfoot discuss six horses they are looking forward to seeing in September as the Flat season begins to come to a climax.
Fortitudine (Haydock novice, Sept 4/Royal Lodge, Sept 27)
It’s a great time of year and the backend juveniles who are yet to see a racecourse often throw up a star of the future.
There’ll be plenty of bred in the blue newcomers out in the next couple of weeks and FORTITUDINE could be one of those for Godolphin and Charlie Appleby. He’s entered in a 1m novice at Haydock on Thursday, a race Appleby has won in each of the last four years, and he’s also in the Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket so we might see him a couple of times in September.
By Dubawi out of Minidress, he’s a full-brother to stablemate Rebel’s Romance and a half to Measured Time, both, of course, multiple Group 1 winners - and they both won on debut as well. (Ben Linfoot)
Whirl (Irish Champion Stakes, Sept 13)
I was quick enough to pour cold water on the clamour for WHIRL in the Arc de Triomphe betting following her runaway success in what was a pretty farcical edition of the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood but the dust has settled, we know that Minnie Hauk is being geared towards America (possibly via the Arc), and Whirl’s name popped up again in post-race discussions following the Juddmonte International at York.
The Irish Champion Stakes was seemingly being mooted as her likely stepping-stone towards the autumn and it will be fascinating to see how she gets on if given the green light to take on Ombudsman and stable companion Delacroix in the Leopardstown Group 1.
Found twice filled the runner-up spot in the Irish Champion when prepping for the Arc, including before memorably leading home an O’Brien one-two-three at Chantilly in 2016, and for all that Whirl still has a bit of ground to make up in pure form terms on the likes of the impressive York winner Ombudsman, connections are at pains to stress how rapidly she is progressing with racing this year.
She is a general 8/1 chance for the Arc but can still be backed at 10/1 across the board for the Irish Champion which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me given her apparent preference for 10 furlongs at this stage. (Matt Brocklebank)
Rahiebb (St Leger, Sept 13)
Money for Lambourn in the Betfred St Leger betting in the week and it got me thinking – is this just each-way thievery from punters taking advantage of three places antepost on a likely runner, in a race that could cut up to a small field, or is something else afoot? Could Scandinavia miss the race, for example, in favour of the Irish St Leger?
I’m just theorising, but I wouldn’t be too shocked if the St Leger shapes up to be a very different race to how the market has it right now and the fancy prices (50s, 66/1) about Roger Varian’s RAHIEBB could soon be a thing of the past.
Varian has a super record at Doncaster and he's won the Leger twice with Kingston Hill and Eldar Eldarov, so it was interesting to see this son of Frankel keep his place in the race at the latest forfeit stage.
With Merchant trying to force his way into the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe reckoning, Rahiebb represents that line of form and he wasn’t suited by the downpour/heavy ground during the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood. He ran well, all things considered, and he looked a likely Leger type when an unlucky third in the Queen’s Vase before that, beaten a length by St Leger 6/1 chance Carmers. (Ben Linfoot)
Al Riffa (Irish St Leger, Sept 14)
AL RIFFA has quite a well-worn passport, having already been to America, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia and the UK, but it's looking like a trip Down Under for the Melbourne Cup at the end of the year might become a reality this time around.
He was being prepared for the Arc this time last year and while things didn't quite go to plan for the horse under veteran rider Yutake Take in Paris (very soft ground), he's steadily found his form in 2025 and looked right back at the peak of his powers when landing the Group 2 Curragh Cup when last seen on July 19.
'Straight to the Irish Leger' was the post-race plan that day and Joseph O'Brien is seemingly sticking to his word, the Group 1 back over the same course and distance at the Curragh his next port of call.
The staying division in Ireland looks quite open but Al Riffa brings a real touch of class and the step up to a mile and three-quarters clearly did no harm last time out.
He looks an ideal European candidate for Flemington in my view and it could be worth getting him on side around 16/1 for that big November target before he returns to action in mid-September (Matt Brocklebank).
Real Gain (Cambridgeshire, Sept 24)
When a horse wins doing handsprings over nine furlongs of the Rowley Mile at Newmarket you almost immediately think of the Cambridgeshire as a potential future target. Richard Hughes has had to play the long game with REAL GAIN following his ridiculously easy victory over the rather niche trip at HQ two Septembers ago, but it might all be slotting into place for the five-year-old.
He now sports the colours of Wathnan, who can’t have been too enamoured with their new summer signing after he only beat one home on debut for the owners at Royal Ascot last June, but he fared a good deal better when beaten just over five lengths at Goodwood the following month and his sole start this time around saw him return to the same venue where he posted a highly encouraging two-length third behind Rhoscolyn, a regular on the Downs.
Real Gain has evidently been cut enough slack by the handicapper to be competitive again and hopefully the recent Goodwood spin will have teed him up for the remainder of the season.
The Cambridgeshire looks a very natural fit to me and he’s currently on offer at 25/1 with the sponsors which could prove to be big, especially given how some of these Wathnan horses have been behaving in the market for some of the biggest handicaps so far this year. (Matt Brocklebank)
Royal Fixation (Cheveley Park, Sept 27)
Plenty has been commented about the York juvenile races suffering at the Ebor Festival but I thought ROYAL FIXATION was a really impressive winner of the Sky Bet Lowther Stakes in a field that held up well, with 11 fillies taking in the race.
The way she came from the rear to take control of the contest in smooth fashion under William Buick marked her out as a top-quality juvenile who has the gears to be really competitive at the very top level.
Indeed, she looks tailor-made for the Cheveley Park and while she may have to try and reverse the Duchess of Cambridge form with another exciting filly in Venetian Sun, there was only a neck between them on the July Course and round two could be just as exciting. (Ben Linfoot)
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