Daryz enters the history books with back-to-back Arc glory & Blue Bolt makes it six in a row

What’s Happened

Australia

Both Sydney and Melbourne faced wet tracks for their signature meetings as rain tumbled down in the days before.

At Flemington, Cosmic Crusader gave trainer Andrea Leek her first G1 victory as he firmly put stamina queries aside. The Perth galloper emerged as a major Cox Plate contender with his G1 Turnbull Stakes success, easily racing past fellow G1 winners Light Infantry Man, Aeliana, Sir Delius and Half Yours.

Randwick saw English import God’s Window give apprentice jockey Siena Grima her maiden G1 win at her first attempt, surging from last to take the G1 Epsom Handicap. The Epsom, one of Sydney’s two historic mile handicaps alongside the autumn’s Doncaster Mile, proved a traditional battle of weight vs class as Chris Waller-trained God’s Window got the better of highly rated Ceolwulf and Tom Kitten.

The G1 Flight Stakes on the same card went the way of Global Goal, having just her fourth start. John Sargent’s filly, whose sole win previously came at the country track of Wagga Wagga, stayed on best over the mile.

Flemington and Randwick also featured a slew of stakes races on their respective undercards, including two important lead-ups for next month’s G1 Melbourne Cup.

Ciaron Maher enhanced his hand for the “race that stops a nation” across both states.

Mr Monaco earned a golden ticket by winning the G3 Bart Cummings at Flemington, while Juja Kibo sprinted clear of favourite Aethelwulf to take the recently downgraded G2 The Metropolitan.

Maher’s Tempted also cemented her position as Australia’s best chance of keeping the G1 The Everest title on home soil with a facile victory in the G2 Premiere Stakes, while his boom three-year-old The Next Episode demonstrated he would be hard to beat in next month’s G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes after returning with a flourish in the G2 Danehill Stakes.

Mitchell Freedman-prepared Skybird took the spoils in the G2 Gilgai Stakes in an odd finish where both Ben Melham and Austin Galati, riding runner-up Smooth Chino, dropped their hands before the line.

Other feature winners included G2 Rose of Kingston Stakes heroine Stylish and G2 Edward Manifold Stakes heroine Saintly Dancer.

Canada

Charlie Appleby claimed his third G1 Canadian International in four years when the progressive Arabian Crown took the feature at Woodbine on Saturday. The gelding was given a positive ride by Jamie Spencer, winning by three and a quarter lengths from Purview, somewhat unlucky in defeat.

Mark Casse enjoyed a good weekend both sides of the border, his aptly-named Victory Achieved taking the G2 Nearctic Stakes under jockey Rafael Manuel Hernandez.

Hong Kong

Colourful King took the G3 National Day Cup on Thursday at Sha Tin, giving trainer David Eustace big plans for the five-year-old. Eustace may consider travelling the gelding overseas after first targeting the G2 Premier Bowl in three weeks’ time.

France

Daryz notched a spot in the history books by becoming the first male in 48 years to win back-to-back runnings of the G1 Prix de l’Arc De Triomphe. It was smooth sailing by Francis Graffard’s colt, who beat Bay City Roller by a length and a quarter in Europe’s biggest race.

The all-conquering Graffard also won the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, his filly Amusingly beating the colts in the hands of Juddmonte’s retained jockey Colin Keane.

It was otherwise a good day for the overseas raiders, Joseph O’Brien striking in the G1 Prix Jean Luc-Lagardere with Green Empress, while the Karl Burke-trained Miss Yechance landed the G1 Prix de l’Abbaye, giving apprentice Jack Nicholls his first top level winner.

Not to be outdone, John and Thady Gosden took the G1 Prix de l’Opera with Miss Scott, while the G1 Prix de la Foret went to 1000 Guineas winner True Love, in a photo, for Ryan Moore and Aidan O’Brien.

Saturday’s action was headlined by the G1 Prix du Cadran which was won for the second time in a row by Caballo De Mar. George Scott’s staying star edged out multiple G1 winner and hot favourite Scandinavia in the hands of Oisin Murphy.

The day’s other G1, the Prix de Royallieu for fillies, also went to a British outfit, Simon and Ed Crisford scoring with Fairy Glen, who arrived late under Mickael Barzalona.

It was a great day for Scott who also won the G2 Prix Dollar with Wimbledon Hawkeye, while the G2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein went to the Ralph Beckett-trained Qirat, a former G1 Sussex Stakes winner at Goodwood.

Earlier, British expat Amy Murphy won the biggest race of her career so far on the flat, Jabracadabra lifting the Prix Chaudenay under Ebbe Verhestraeten.

Japan

In many jurisdictions, the G2 Mainichi Okan would be a G1 race. The 1800m contest serves as a lead-up to next month’s G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn), while winners also often travel to December’s Hong Kong International Races as well.

Sha Tin does not beckon for Sunday’s winner Seiun Hades but the Tenno Sho does. The seven-year-old will have his final start in the Tenno Sho after defeating Ho O Biscuits by a nose to land the Mainichi Okan.

Outsider Ecoro Dinos took the G2 Kyoto Daishoten, a race won previously by the likes of T. M. Opera O, Rose Kingdom, Kitasan Black, Glory Vase and Vela Azul. He is likely to take his chance at the G1 Japan Cup next month.

UK

Blue Bolt made it six wins on the spin and four G1s with a smooth victory in the Sun Chariot at Newmarket on Saturday. Ridden by Colin Keane, Andrew Balding’s filly beat Evolutionist by two and a quarter lengths.

USA

Thursday saw Belmont host last Saturday’s postponed Stakes, and Minaret Station landed a messy running of the G1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic. Will Walden’s charge sailed past the scrimmaging between El Cordobes and Far Bridge, winning by half a length.

Kathynmarissa is a consistent mare and she gained her Breeders’ Cup place with a win in the G2 Flower Bowl for Chad Brown, while Bill Mott has a lively BC Sprint contender, his T Kraft taking the G3 Vosburgh in good style.

Keeneland’s fall meet is a happy place for Brendan Walsh and it proved so again, his Emphatic keeping her record perfect with a win in the G1 Darley Alcibiades on Friday. Ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, the Nyquist filly beat favourite Summer Starlet by a length and a half.

Evergreen seven-year-old Nakatomi booked his Breeders’ Cup spot with a back-to-back win in the G2 Ogden Phoenix Stakes, for Wesley Ward and Irad Ortiz, while Serenas Ghost is Juvenile Fillies’ Turf bound after her win in the G2 Jessamine.

Belmont Park’s G1 Champagne Stakes on Saturday produced one of the best winners of the weekend when U. S. S. Valor romped home by six and a half lengths for Shug McGaughey and Manny Franco. The win earned a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, but managing owner Barry Irwin suggested that the colt will likely bypass that engagement.

The most heart-warming story of the weekend came in the G1 Frizette, won by Dotsy. She is trained by ex-jockey John Grabowski, who has just nine horses at his Finger Lakes base, and now has a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Also Keeneland-bound at the end of the month are Domestic Agenda, winner of the G2 Miss Grillo, and Let Em Know, winner of the G2 Pilgrim.

At Keeneland, Walden’s great weekend continued when Rhetorical landed his second successive G1 Turf Mile, beating UK raider Lake Forest by two and a half lengths. On the same card, Todd Pletcher celebrated G1 Claibourne Futurity success with American History, who stepped up to the top level on just his second start, winning by a length under John Velazquez.

It was a good day for Velazquez, who helped Classic Q make it two G1 wins for her CV, narrowly beating favourite Lush Lips in the First Lady Stakes, for trainer Mark Casse.

There were a couple of upsets in the day’s G2s, Evanescence taking the TCA Stakes for trainer Eddie Kenneally, and Joe Shiesty winning the G2 Woodford Stakes for Eric Foster.

In California, Hughes outlined his G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile credentials with an imperious, six-length win in the G1 American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday. Bob Baffert’s colt is now three from three and is yet to win by fewer than four lengths.

Thought Process will also ship to the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland, earning a spot in the Filly & Mare Turf for her win in the G2 Rodeo Drive Stakes, for trainer Phil D’Amato.

What’s Happening

Argentina

The G1 Gran Premio Seleccion, for three-year-old fillies, takes centre stage on the dirt at Palermo on Sunday.

Australia

There are three G1s on a huge day at Caulfield on Saturday, the Caulfield Guineas, Might And Power Stakes and the Toorak Handicap.

Brazil

Cidade Jardim in Sau Paulo hosts the G1 Grande Premio Jockey Club de Sao Paulo.

Japan

The G2 Ireland Trophy, a prep race for the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup, takes place at Tokyo on Sunday.

Mauritius

The G1 Princess Margaret Cup takes place at Champ De Mars - the oldest racetrack in the Southern Hemisphere - on Saturday. The 1400metre event is named after Princess Margaret, who visited the island and the racecourse in 1956.

UK

Two G1s take place at Newmarket this weekend, the G1 Fillies’ Mile on Friday and the G1 Dewhurst for juvenile colts on Saturday. Charlie Appleby’s unbeaten Desert Castle heads the field for the latter at this stage.

USA



Keenland wraps up its G1 action – until the Breeders’ Cup – with the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup for fillies. The G2 Sycamore Stakes takes place on Friday.