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By
Sarah Whitelaw |
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Bandari,
son of champion Alhaarth, was well fancied for the Epsom Derby but ran
below best there. He bounced back and has won his last two starts. His
win in the Gordon Stakes was very impressive and the form has been
franked with two of the horses who ran behind him (Supremacy and First
Charter) winning listed events. Bandari then won the traditional St
Leger trial, the Great Voltigeur, at York. He had to fight to hold off
Highest to whom he was conceding weight, and the proximity of the
exposed Bollin Eric makes the race seem less strong than usual.
Bandari, whose pedigree is not one to inspire in his stamina, is said
to be working well and looks likely to be the horse to beat, providing
he stays the trip. There
has been a lot of support for Balakheri. His trainer, Sir Michael
Stoute, is looking for his win in St Leger, sends out three and
Balakheri looks to be the pick. The first son of Theatrical was very
impressive when winning a weak King Edward VII at Ascot. He ran below
best when fifth to High Chaparral in the Irish Derby and has not run
since. >From the family of French Derby winner Bering, Balakheri
looks to have the class to win a race like this and shouldn’t be
overlooked. Stoute
is also represented by Highest, runner up to Bandari on his last
start. The son of Selkirk is improving but needs to find a bit more to
beat the favourite. His pedigree doesn’t bode well for his staying
the trip, although he is out of a Silver Hawk mare, Silver Hawk siring
the 1999 St Leger winner, Mutafaweq. Stoute’s
last runner is the well bred but exposed First Charter. Although the
son of Polish Precedent seems to be improving he has a lot of ground
to find on Bandari. The
all conquering Aiden O’Brien has two runners in the race, Black Sam
Bellamy and Sholokhov. The latter is appears to be the pick on class.
O’Brien, victorious with Milan last year, depends on the two
Sadler’s Wells colts here. Sholokhov, was a Group 1 winner last
year, has run well this year, most notably second to High Chaparral in
the Irish Derby and followed that up with a second to the much touted
Hawk Wing in the Eclipse Stakes. If his run in last week’s Irish
Champion Stakes has not taken too much out of him, his class should
ensure him fighting out the finish. Black
Sam Bellamy, the full brother to Galileo, has been disappointing and
needs drastic improvement to feature here. Godolphin,
three times successful here, have the Queen’s Vase winner Mamool.
The son of In the Wings needs to recapture his Royal Ascot form here.
The colt who ran second to him, Mr Dinos, seems a bigger threat to the
principals. The son of promising sire Desert King, was very impressive
when he won a Group 3 race in France by over ten lengths. Trained by
Paul Cole, the colt looks be on the up grade and should be respected. Richard
Hannon has the lightly raced Sadler’s Wells colt, Nysaean, in the
race. Fourth in the Irish Derby, the colt won a listed race in France
impressively. Nysaean has been well supported and is another with a
chance. SELECTION: 1.
Bandari 2.
Balakheri 3.
Sholokhov |