Highland can prove Reel deal
HIGHLAND REEL is primed for back-to-back victories in the Breeders’ Cup Turf (11.37) at Del Mar tonight.
Aidan O’brien’s (below) son of Galileo, who made all the running at Santa Anita 12 months ago, has collected twice at the top level in 2017, winning the Coronation Cup at Epsom and the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.
The rain-softened ground at Chantilly (Prix de l’arc de Triomphe) and Ascot (Champion Stakes) worked against Ryan Moore’s mount, who should relish the quicker conditions in California to score at the expense of fellow Europeans and
Arrogate bids for a repeat triumph in the $6million Breeders’ Cup Classic (12.35), but preference is for Although second to
in the Dubai World Cup last March, the Steve Asmussen-trained four-year-old is unbeaten in three outings since.
Florent Geroux’s mount has won three Grade 1s, including the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga in September last time, by an aggregate of nearly 23 lengths, and if in similar form will be difficult to beat.
rates the value over favourite Moonshine Memories. After a secondtime-out score on turf at Kentucky Downs, Mark Casse’s youngster took a Grade 1 at Keeneland by five and a half lengths on dirt, and Julien Leparoux’s mount has the potential to keep improving.
who lost out by a nose to Marsha in the Nunthorpe at York in August, is set for revenge. Wesley Ward’s dual Royal Ascot heroine is fancied to go from the front under Johnny Velazquez and, with the Del Mar layout favouring speed, will be very difficult to peg back.
is taken to bounce back after a below-par run at Saratoga 10 weeks ago. Before her fifth to By The Moon, Chad Brown’s mare had racked up a hat-trick, including two victories at the highest level, and a repeat of either of those performances would put her in the mix.
is strongly fancied to turn the tables on last year’s conqueror Queen’s Trust. The 2016 winner needed every yard of the 10 furlongs to get up on the line for a nose margin at Santa Anita, but they race over nine furlongs this time which is very much to the Chad Brown mare’s advantage.
has strong claims of repeating last year’s success. Having beaten Mind Your Biscuits at Santa Anita, Bob Baffert’s colt put behind him a return-to-action unseat here at Del Mar with a four-length stroll at Saratoga in August and has the right berth to attack from the front.