Whose form was enhanced at York? Ebor Festival analysis and horses to follow
By Matt Brocklebank
09:43 · TUE August 27, 2024
Matt Brocklebank looks back on the Ebor Festival with a view to which horses didn't appear on course but received a boost to their form nonetheless.
Al Riffa – Coral-Eclipse form boosted twice
A couple of horses appeared to have their Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe credentials enhanced during the Ebor meeting, none more so than Al Riffa, who split Juddmonte International first and third, City Of Troy and Ghostwriter, in the Coral-Eclipse earlier this summer.
The form was rather crabbed in certain quarters at the time but See The Fire was also back in fourth at Sandown and she subsequently almost won the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood and went one better in Saturday’s Group 3 Strensall Stakes.
Al Riffa upheld the Eclipse form himself too, don’t forget, when running out a ready winner of the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Berlin at Hoppegarten earlier this month, and he remains a relatively lightly-raced four-year-old with plenty more room for improvement after just one start over the Arc trip.
Going even further back to last August, Al Riffa was runner-up to the brilliant Ace Impact – winner of the Arc on his very next start – in the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano at Deauville, so Al Riffa's progress now injury-free shouldn’t come as much of a shock.
Sticking with See The Fire briefly, her York triumph will have also come as encouraging news for connections of the game Nassau winner Opera Singer, who has yet to race beyond a mile and a quarter in her life but is likely to be seen next in the Prix Vermeille ahead of a potential tilt at the big one back at Longchamp on Sunday October 6.
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Sosie – Illinois puts gloss on Longchamp triumph
The Grand Prix de Paris is generally considered one of the weaker Group 1s for three-year-olds and a few eyebrows were raised when Sosie was slashed in the Arc market on the back of his two-length victory in the middle of July.
Andre Fabre’s colt clearly relished the move up in trip, having been third to Look De Vega in the (10-furlong) Prix du Jockey Club the previous month, and is proven on soft ground so it was encouraging for his backers to see the Longchamp form franked (to some degree) by Illinois in the Sky Bet Great Voltigeur.
Granted, the Queen’s Vase hero Illinois was in receipt of 2lb from Irish Derby-winning stablemate Los Angeles at York, but he was only beaten a neck after battling all the way to the line and the winner is being considered for the Irish Champion Stakes.
Sosie put St Leger-bound Illinois away with relative disdain and does look a proper Group 1 colt on that basis.
Purple Lily – Irish Oaks a race packed with quality
Purple Lily is a filly I was particularly positive about coming out of the Irish Oaks at the Curragh as she travelled like a demon and just didn’t get the breaks when Billy Lee needed them in the home straight.
In the end, she very nearly got her nose to the front but didn’t see out the mile and a half trip quite as well as You Got To Me or Content, who was also forced to wait for running-room passing the two-furlong marker.
Content got her revenge on You Got To Me in Thursday’s Yorkshire Oaks, the pair of them seeing off the classy older mare Emily Upjohn with a length to spare, and trainer Paddy Twomey must be itching to get Purple Lily back on course for a crack at something decent in the coming weeks.
She looks made for the Group 2 Blandford Stakes (10 furlongs) at the Curragh on day two of the Irish Champions Festival, and I’d love to see her aimed at the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf if all goes according to plan.
Shareholder – Norfolk effort no fluke
One horse who looks worth another chance to show his true colours again before the year’s out, in light of what unfolded at York, is Shareholder.
Shareholder won the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot after making a winning debut at Beverley earlier on in June, but the Karl Burke-trained colt was last of nine when upped to Group 1 level in the Prix Morny at Deauville, where he was eventually brought home in his own time after over-racing through the early stages.
Whether he’s given another outing at six furlongs as a juvenile remains to be seen (entered in the Mill Reef and Middle Park) but the Norfolk second, Tropical Storm, winning last week’s Roses Stakes and the third, Arizona Blaze, almost winning the big sales race - having been third to Babouche at the Curragh in between - gave Shareholder’s main body of work another boost, and he’s obviously in the right hands when it comes to potentially bouncing back.
Ancient Truth – Superlative juvenile for Appleby
Ancient Truth, rated 110p, is the seventh-highest rated juvenile this year according to Timeform and his stylish Superlative Stakes win looks all the more rosy after Newmarket third Wimbledon Hawkeye bustled up The Lion In Winter (beaten a length and three-quarters) on the Knavesmire.
A prominent early sit may have aided his cause in last week’s Acomb Stakes but there appeared to be no fluke about Wimbledon Hawkeye’s performance and he obviously split two exciting two-year-olds, with the hugely expensive Godolphin horse Ruling Court running on for third.
James Owen’s Kameko colt was beaten three and a half lengths into third when Ancient Truth extended his unbeaten sequence to three in the Superlative and it will be fascinating to see if he can bolster trainer Charlie Appleby’s fine record in the National Stakes at the Curragh in a few weeks’ time.
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