Three horses to follow for the autumn

Aldaary

Baaeed won't be defending his Queen Elizabeth II Stakes crown on Champions Day as he has been upped in trip after cleaning out the mile division. However, William Haggas and Shadwell could still have a leading contender for the QEII with Aldaary.

Aldaary finished last season on the up, posting two very smart performances at Ascot to land the Challenge Cup over seven furlongs and the Balmoral over a mile on Champions Day.

He was particularly impressive in the Balmoral, travelling with notable ease before responding immediately when asked to quicken, and in running to a Timeform rating of 124 he put up a performance which in theory would have been good enough to secure third behind Baaeed and Palace Pier in the QEII.

Hopes were clearly high for Aldaary after he progressed so rapidly towards the back-end of last season and he didn't dent his reputation when winning a Listed race at Haydock on his return in May in the style of a horse with Group One potential.

He's not been seen since - connections have seemingly been waiting for rain - but he holds an entry in the Group Two Park Stakes at Doncaster next month which could be used as a springboard to the QEII.

Migration

Migration also has Champions Day on his agenda - in his case the Balmoral Handicap.

Migration progressed well as a three-year-old in 2019 and, despite missing a season, he picked up where he left off last year, winning valuable handicaps at Glorious Goodwood and at the Ebor Festival.

Those victories were achieved over a mile and a quarter, but Migration proved at least as good as ever when runner-up in a strong mile handicap on his reappearance at Newbury in April, going down by just a neck to Modern News who has since won at Listed level.

Migration shaped well at Newbury, finishing powerfully after having to wait for a gap two furlongs out, and the way he went through that race suggests Ascot's stiff mile will play to his strengths. Even if he finds his lofty BHA mark of 109 beyond him in the Balmoral he has run to a level which suggests he can pick up a Listed or Group Three prize.

Twilight Calls

Twilight Calls was forced to miss the King George and Nunthorpe after an issue with a joint resulted in him being placed on the easy list, but he holds an entry in the Flying Five at the Curragh next month, while the Prix de l'Abbaye would also look like a suitable target for a sprinter who shapes like he may still have a bigger effort in his locker.

Twilight Calls was gelded prior to returning in a Newmarket handicap in April and he raised his game to deliver an authoritative success, impressing with the turn of foot he produced to quicken a length clear.

That earned Twilight Calls a shot at the Group Three Palace House Stakes, but he was disadvantaged by racing away from the main action and was beaten little more than a length in fifth. He again didn't get the rub of the green in the Temple Stakes as he was short of room just as the winner, King's Lynn, was making his move, and despite running on strongly he was beaten by a head.

There were no excuses at Royal Ascot, where he was put in his place by Aussie raider Nature Strip, but he fared best of the rest after typically travelling smoothly, confirming his status as one of the leading domestic sprinters.

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