There was cloud cover and even the occasional drop of rain at Del Mar on Tuesday as the European runners at this weekend’s Breeders’ Cup meeting started to emerge from quarantine, and much the same is forecast for the rest of the week. The climate, then, is unlikely to be the challenge for the visitors that it might have been last week, when the temperature reached 34 degrees.
The turf track, on the other hand, may take some of them by surprise, as few will have cornered at speed on a track as tight as this one. In races over a mile or more, they will also need to do it twice, and the wide-drawn runners in particular could end up covering much more ground than their opponents. At Santa Anita, the one-mile start is towards the top of the straight. Here, it is much closer to the first bend. Here’s wishing the very best of British to Ribchester (in the Mile) and Rajasinghe (Juvenile Turf), to name but two, and the luck of the Irish to Roly Poly when she runs from 12 in the Mile.
This is Del Mar’s debut as a Breeders’ Cup venue, despite its reputation as one of the most picturesque tracks in the country. The Pacific Ocean is less than a mile away – hence the track’s nickname as “the place where the surf meets the turf” – and I recall Kieren Fallon telling me at Haydock Park a couple of years ago that one of the main reasons he moved to the States for a few months in 2015 was that he had never ridden at Del Mar and wanted to chalk it off his list.
It may be a coincidence, but the first (and possibly last) chance to have a Breeders’ Cup runner here has drawn a record number of challengers from Europe: 35, against the previous record of 30. In the betting on the number that will return home as winners, the favourite is three and no winners at all is a 100-1 chance, mainly because the lists for both the Juvenile Turf and the Turf are dominated by European challengers. Aidan O’Brien’s big team is due to be out on the track for the first time later today, while Frankie Dettori, who has never ridden here before but has an excellent book of rides including Ulysses in the Turf, will make his Del Mar debut in the last race on the card.
On the British cards, it is hard to see past Hajaam in the 12-furlong handicap at Kempton Park this evening. Charlie Fellowes’s three-year-old is going for a five-timer here and despite shooting up in the weights – he is now 26lb higher than for the first win in his sequence – he has shown improvement with every run and was value for more than the two-and-a-quarter length winning margin last time out.
Lacan (5.55) has not been placed in nine starts since winning a claimer at Wolverhampton in March, but he was beaten less than a length in a blanket finish last time out after struggling to get a run at a vital stage. He runs off the same mark of 69 today having won off 93 a couple of seasons ago and looks a decent bet at around 4-1 to return to winning form.
At Taunton, Rasasee (1.50) could make his experience count against the promising Challico, while both Ebitda (2.30) and Hitchcock (3.30) have plenty in their favour on the flat card at Nottingham.
Wednesday’s tips
Nottingham 12.30 Tamkeen 1.00 Rich Identity 1.30 Monaadhil 2.00 Rydan 2.30 Ebitda 3.00 Riponian 3.30 Hitchcock 4.00 England Expects
Taunton 1.20 Tunnel Creek 1.50 Rasasee 2.20 Dentley De Mee 2.50 Copperface Jack 3.20 Barman 3.50 Royal Chief 4.20 St Andrews
Fakenham 1.10 Royal Ruby 1.40 Alexander The Grey 2.10 Really Super 2.40 Mercian King 3.10 Miss Mayfair 3.40 Wade Harper 4.10 Myplaceatmidnight
Kempton Park 4.25 Cove Beach 4.55 Exec Chef 5.25 Te Koop 5.55 Lacan (nb) 6.25 Damocles 6.55 Captain Navarre 7.25 Hajaam (nap) 7.55 Champagne Rules
