Vandeek has closed to within a pound of Henry Longfellow at the top of the Timeform two-year-old-ratings for 2023.
Trained by Simon and Ed Crisford, the son of Havana Grey was winning a second Group One from four career starts with a scintillating display in Saturday’s Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes, showing a sparkling turn of foot to draw two-and-a-quarter lengths clear of Task Force and River Tiber.
His new master rating is 119p, the same as City Of Troy and one pound below the runaway National Stakes winner.
Henry Longfellow is finished for the season but City Of Troy is on target for the Darley Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday week where he could face a mouthwatering clash with Vandeek, who connections are considering supplementing for the seven furlong showpiece.
In France on Sunday, Rosallion got firmly back on track when swooping late to win the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at ParisLongchamp.
Richard Hannon’s charge won one of the strongest juvenile races of the season at Ascot in July, beating Al Musmak, Ancient Wisdom and Alyanaabi in the style of a colt going places.
However, he met with a first career defeat next time in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster, proving too keen on ground soft than he’d encountered before.
Returned to a lively surface in France, he posted a career best performance to sweep past Unquestionable and score by a length. He’s now rated 116p and is being targeted at the QIPCO 2000 Guineas by Richard Hannon.
40 minutes later Opera Singer made all to run out a five-length winner of the Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac and she’s now the highest-rated two-year-old filly with Timeform on 114p.
Clearly this was a career-best performance from the daughter of Justify who could run again this year with the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf under consideration.
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