Soft ground at Ascot a boost to Facteur Cheval QEII claims
Soft ground is expected to aid Facteur Cheval as Jerome Reynier’s star miler attempts to go one better than last year in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.
The five-year-old chased home Big Rock in the Qipco British Champions Day event in 2023 and Facteur Cheval then confirmed himself as a top-level player when landing the Dubai Turf earlier this year.
The Ribchester gelding was a visitor to the UK for both the Queen Anne Stakes and Sussex Stakes earlier this season and having decided against a tilt at the Breeders’ Cup Classic, connections are full of hope.
“We’re looking forward to it and hopefully the expected rain will materialise because I think we’re better suited to it than the favourite (Charyn),” said Barry Irwin, CEO of Team Valor International, who own the horse in partnership with Gary Barber.
“We believe the rain will allow Facteur Cheval to run his best race and I have spoken to the clerk of the course to say I was tempted to come over if the track was heavy on Saturday and he said there would be every chance it could be – so I’m coming over for the race.”
He went on: “The win in Dubai was phenomenal, but his other form has shown us that going a mile on good to firm ground is not his thing, he just doesn’t have that turn of foot. What he needs is cut in the ground or a little bit further.”
Although the Breeders’ Cup ambitions have been placed on hold, testing Facteur Cheval’s credentials on dirt remains high up on his team’s agenda for 2025, with valuable races in the Middle East entering the equation for the early part of the new year.
“Next year, what we’re looking at is to try him on dirt,” added Irwin.
“We were looking to do that at the Breeders’ Cup but it just didn’t come up right this year, so over the winter we will try him on the dirt at least once, either in Saudi Arabia, Dubai or both.”
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