Timeform provide an overview of the key things to note on Sunday.
Improving Loughrea can complete four-timer
Charles O’Brien’s ten-time course winner Big Gossey heads the line-up in the listed Concorde Stakes at the Curragh (14:30) and having already won the Gladness Stakes and another listed race earlier in the year, he ran well again at his favourite track just last week when second to Soul Love in the Renaissance Stakes over six furlongs. He can go well again, but like last Sunday might have to settle for the runner-up spot behind an improving younger rival.
Lightly-raced four-year-old gelding Loughrea is proving just that for Andy Slattery this year and he too has the 'Horses For Courses' flag. He got off the mark in a maiden at the Curragh in June before following up on his handicap debut at Leopardstown the following month. Evidently progressing in leaps and bounds, he then impressed in completing his hat-trick in the Irish Cambridgeshire back at the Curragh last time, winning readily by three lengths having been produced to lead two furlongs out, earning the ‘Horse In Focus’ flag. Back in third was Pierre Royal, last week’s winner of the Cambridgeshire at Newmarket, while Big Gossey was only ninth but is better at short of a mile.
Loughrea is dropping back from a mile himself here, but far from being a negative, his strong-travelling style of racing suggests seven furlongs will suit. He’s open to further improvement and heads the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings.
Aventure to see off younger fillies in Opera
Three-year-old fillies have an excellent record in Longchamp’s Prix de l’Opera (15:50 UK time) and the classic generation make up the majority of the field for this year’s renewal. Irish 1000 Guineas and Coronation Stakes winner Precise has the best credentials from that age group and makes an overdue step up from a mile, but she turned in a rare below-par effort in the Matron Stakes last time and Miss Scott, winner of the Snow Fairy Fillies Stakes at the Curragh last time for John & Thady Gosden who have the ‘Hot Trainer’ flag, has a more progressive profile and could prove best of the three-year-olds.
But the one who makes most appeal is Christophe Ferland’s five-year-old mare Aventure who can prove too strong for her younger rivals. On this day two years ago, she chased home Bluestocking in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but she finished down the field in the same race twelve months ago, the only time in her life that she has finished out of the frame.
Whilst effective at a mile and a half, Aventure is just as good at around a mile and a quarter as she has shown this season, winning the Prix Corrida at Longchamp in May and looking back to something like her best in the Prix Jean et Louis Romanet at Deauville last time. Diamond Necklace was all the rage to keep her unbeaten record at Deauville, but Aventure had her two lengths back in second with Timeforshowcasing (one of three Charlie Johnston runs here) a close-up third. This will take much less winning than the Arc, with Aventure the one to beat at the head of the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings.
Samangan looks best in the Foret
There’s a smaller than usual field of eight for the Prix de la Foret (16:25 UK time), so the draw shouldn’t be too much of a factor. All of them are three-year-olds, bar Andrew Balding’s challenger Marvelman, and four of them met in the Prix Jean Prat at Deauville in July when less a length covered Thesecretadversary, True Love, Nighttime and Samangan.
The Jersey Stakes winner Thesecretadversary was stretched by the step up to a mile for the Prix Jacques le Marois (won by the Jean Prat fifth Rayif) back at Deauville last time, but Fozzy Stack’s colt should make another bold bid to make all back at a more suitable trip here. However, Samangan won’t have to find much to turn the Jean Prat form around, and in any case, he has taken another step forward since by winning the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville later in the summer.
Fitted with cheekpieces again, as in the Jean Prat, Samangan turned the tables on Division who had finished ahead of him in the Commonwealth Cup and beat that rival by a short neck with 1000 Guineas True Love only fifth this time. The return to a bit further will suit Samangan and underfoot conditions are in his favour too, and he can provide his excellent trainer Henri-Francis Graffard with another Group 1 success.
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org
