Ratings Update: Harry Angel a champion sprinter on soft ground too

It was Irish Champions Weekend at Leopardstown and the Curragh and the Arc Trials at Chantilly, but the performance of the weekend came in the Sprint Cup at Haydock. Having broken the track record on firm ground there earlier in the year, July Cup winner Harry Angel (133 from 129), whose participation was in some doubt because of the ground, was given the chance to show that he’s at least as effective in the mud (Timeform called the ground ‘soft’ rather than the official ‘heavy’) and produced his best effort yet. Always to the fore and drawing clear over a furlong out, Harry Angel won by four lengths, with neither of the placed pair, Tasleet and The Tin Man, running close to their high-class best. It’s been a vintage year for sprinters, and, over six furlongs at least, Harry Angel is without doubt the best around, something he should get to prove again at Ascot next month – whatever the going.

Over at Leopardstown, the first two Group 1 contests on Irish Champions Weekend had surprise winners, with the Aidan O’Brien pair Winter and Churchill turned over at short prices in the Matron Stakes and Irish Champion Stakes respectively. Winter (remains on 122p) went down by a head to stable-companion Hydrangea (116 from 113), just as she had in the 1000 Guineas Trial there in the spring, though all their subsequent meetings had gone very much Winter’s way. The favourite was bidding for her fifth Group 1 win on the bounce and went like the best horse for most of the way but a recent setback (had missed some work due to a stone bruise) almost certainly made the difference in the end.

There were excuses, too, for Churchill who met trouble in running when only seventh in rather a muddling Irish Champion Stakes which resulted in a clean sweep for the three British-trained runners. However, none of the first three - Decorated Knight (125), Poet’s Word (124+) and Eminent (121) – had to quite run up to their existing ratings. While Decorated Knight had already won in Group 1 company in Ireland this year (Tattersalls Gold Cup), the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Poet’s Word was having his first run at the top level and the best may still be to come from this improved four-year-old.

Poet’s Word’s connections have a similar type in Ballet Concerto (120 from 117), he too successfully graduating from handicap to group company this year, and he completed a hat-trick when landing the Group 3 Superior Mile at Haydock from some smart rivals under a penalty for his recent success in a similar event at Salisbury.

The abundance of group races elsewhere shouldn’t mean that the weekend’s best performance in a handicap gets overlooked. That came in the Cunard Handicap over seven furlongs at Ascot where the John Gosden-trained Remarkable (119 from 114) defied a career-high mark and looks ready for a return to minor pattern company again now.

Highlight of day two of Irish Champions Weekend was Order of St George’s (128 from 124) runaway win against no better than smart opponents in the Irish St Leger. His nine-length success didn’t quite match his winning margin in the race two years earlier, but it made up for his shock defeat twelve months ago and represented an improvement on his earlier efforts this season and could put him in the Arc picture again (third last year).

Otherwise, it was two-year-olds who took centre stage at the Curragh on Sunday, though the Aidan O’Brien pair Clemmie and Gustav Klimt, who would have started favourite for the Moyglare Stud Stakes and National Stakes respectively, were both late withdrawals. That still left O’Brien with four fillies in the Moyglare and two of them fought out a close finish, with Happily (115p from 108p) swapping places with Magical (115p from 112p) from their last meeting to prevail by a short head. There’s clearly little between the two, though it may be significant that Ryan Moore (who switched to the runner-up) had preferred Clemmie to the pair of them before she was taken out.

Gustav Klimt’s absence from the National Stakes resulted in Railway Stakes winner Beckford (remains on 113) starting favourite, but he proved no match this time for Verbal Dexterity (122p from 109p) whom he’d beaten on that occasion. The extra furlong and softer ground (he’d won by a wide margin on his debut under similar conditions) suited the Jim Bolger colt much the better, and he’ll bid to follow up in the Dewhurst Stakes, something which Bolger’s three other National Stakes winners, Teofilo, New Approach and Dawn Approach, all managed to do.

Aidan O’Brien had the first three in Ireland’s other group contest for two-year-olds the previous evening at Leopardstown, with Nelson (109 from 94p) showing plenty of improvement to win the Group 3 Champions Juvenile Stakes over a mile by three lengths after making all the running.

Caravaggio (remains on 126) had been disappointing since beating Harry Angel in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot, but he was another Ballydoyle winner on Sunday (without having to run up to best) in the Flying Five at the Curragh, taking it in determined fashion and perhaps setting up a rematch with Harry Angel in the Champions Sprint.

Moving on to Chantilly, the Arc trials failed to shed that much light on the big race in three weeks’ time. Unusually, it was the Prix Foy for older horses which was the best-quality contest, though it saw defeat for Japan’s leading Arc hope Satono Diamond (129) who was only fourth to the German-trained four-year-old Dschingis Secret (126 from 124), a Group 1 winner at Hoppegarten last month. Andre Fabre saddled both placed horses, with Prix Ganay winner Cloth of Stars (remains on 125) getting the better of Talismanic (123 from 120), though all of those would likely struggle against a top-form Enable.

Cracksman (remains on 127p) took the Prix Niel in convincing fashion, which was no more than he was entitled to do against four lesser rivals, though whether he’ll join his stable-companion Enable in the Arc line-up remains unclear and is likely to remain so until much nearer the time.

The Prix Vermeille was dominated by older mares and, rather than an Arc trial this year, could have more of a bearing on next month’s Fillies’ & Mares’ Stakes at Ascot. Bateel (122 from 114) finished last behind Journey (remains on 121) in that race last year when trained in Britain, but turned the tables under much more favourable (softer) conditions at Chantilly and is an improved performer for Francis-Henri Graffard this year.

The Prix du Moulin was the other highlight on the Chantilly card in which Ribchester (remains on 131) got back to winning ways to land his third Group 1 of the year. While he didn’t need to improve to do so (and survived a stewards’ inquiry), runner-up Taareef (125 from 122), the winner of a couple of lesser group races in the summer for Jean-Claude Rouget, ran his best race yet to go down by three quarters of a length and finish clear of the rest. The pair could re-oppose in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes which Ribchester won last year.  

Later in the afternoon, top French stayer Vazirabad (remains on 125) won the Prix Gladiateur for the second year running to add to his prolific record (winner of twelve of his last fifteen starts) and will presumably bid to go one better than last year in the Prix du Cadran at the Arc meeting.