RACING:THOSE PRESUMING the Prince Of Wales's Stakes will be just a stroll for the Aussie superstar So You Think might do well to remember it is the French who have the magic formula to success in today's Group One feature.
France has supplied three of the last four winners of the day two Royal Ascot feature and Planteur arrives here in the form of his life, and on the back of a Group One victory in the Prix Ganay that sees his jockey, Christophe Soumillon, with a two-for-two record on the Wildenstein-owned runner.
Ordinarily that would prove a noteworthy profile in a race where Twice Over attempts to secure some better luck than when runner-up in 2010 and Godolphin’s Rewilding gives every indication of needing further to be seen at his best.
But the hype surrounding So You Think has removed any trace of ordinariness from this Prince Of Wales’s Stakes. The horse purchased for a reported close on €40 million by Coolmore has had Aidan O’Brien reaching for superlatives after both his European starts to date in Ireland.
In form terms, even the second of those, the Tattersalls Gold Cup, was not particularly remarkable but the style of it was impressive, although whether it was impressive enough to justify a widely held presumption that today’s event is a mere stop-off en route to a possible Eclipse clash with Workforce is much more debatable.
It’s hardly surprising many Australian racing experts are of the opinion that even Workforce and the rest of the best of Europe are mere stop-offs en route to an end-of-season coronation for So You Think as the best horse in the world.
Doubt is an alien concept in most Aussie sports and So You Think is likely to keep the hype-machine chugging along nicely today.
But it would be unwise to underestimate Planteur’s ability to put it up to him.
The French runner may be a couple of pounds short of the absolute very best but that hardly makes him a mug. And Soumillon has proven his ability to thrive on the big occasion when an innate hubris can often be an advantage.
Oracle is another Ballydoyle hope in the Jersey Stakes after putting in a career-best performance when third to Roderic O’Connor in the Irish Guineas.
Codemaster looked a fast-improving type in a Newmarket Listed event but while winning a Haydock handicap by a nose is hardly obvious Jersey-winning form, Johnny Murtagh’s mount Western Aristocrat has always been highly regarded.
Lolly For Dolly is the Irish hope in the Windsor Forest but this looks a perfect stage for Seta to confirm all the potential she has exhibited since a juvenile.
There are two Irish hopes, an American hope, and a French runner in the Queen Mary Stakes but Shumoos made a big impression on her Haydock debut when beating Frederick Engels and could be hard to beat.
Dermot Weld has Stunning View and Co Tyrone-based Andrew Oliver has Super Say in the Royal Hunt Cup but both look to have difficult tasks in one of the most prestigious, and tightly contested handicaps of the year.
Point North will be dangerous now that he drops back to a mile.
Willie Haggas knows how to win the Hunt Cup and Green Destiny’s potential is far from tapped after just a four-race career to date. Jockey Michael Hills may also go close in the Sandringham Handicap aboard the Goodwood winner Rougette.
