One of the racing calendar’s most talked about weekends. The Breeders’ Cup returned with its usual thrills with top Grade 1 horses showcasing their abilities in what was the 38th edition of the event. The action in America was not all of what was on offer over the weekend as Down Royal played host to Envoi Allen who showed his quality.
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ITV excel with mammoth broadcasts
ITV Racing get plenty of stick across social media sometimes warranted other times unfairly. No one however after this weekend can question their commitment to racing with such huge time slots given to both race at home and both days of the Breeders’ Cup. Us racing fans can prove hard to please but one thing that we are very fortunate to have is unparalleled levels of free to air coverage of the sport we love. Racing as a sport must not take this privilege for granted and would be much poorer without the chance to reach millions at home on a regular basis.
Europeans Show the Home Team How It’s Done
The Breeders’ Cup had several take aways but one of the strongest themes of the entire meeting was the impressive efforts of the Europeans. Both Charlie Appleby and Aidan O’Brien had some great winners over the two days with three a piece on the turf. The highlight for me was the run from Meditate who is now a 6/1 shot for the 1000 Guineas next Spring.
REPLAY: Meditate wins the $1 Million #BreedersCup Juvenile Fillies Turf on #FutureStarsFriday at @keenelandracing! Cheers to all of the connections! pic.twitter.com/8irf7OQ8pp
— Breeders' Cup (@BreedersCup) November 4, 2022
Flightline goes out with one hell of a performance
Unbeaten and going out with arguably one of the greatest ever wins the sport has seen was certainly the perfect end to Flightline’s career on Saturday night. John Sadler’s horse was truly stunning in a brilliant win. Horses don’t tend to win races in that style let alone a Breeders’ Cup Classic. Whilst it is sad to see him retired it can’t come as a surprise to anyone that with such a lucrative career at stud his time on the racecourse is over. He was sent off the 2/5 favourite and came home like a 1/10 on shot on the bridle. I think it will be a long time before we see a winner of that style in a top-level race.
FLIGHTLINE CAN FLY! 🏇🏼✈️ #BC22 pic.twitter.com/Y0gniZcAkU
— Breeders' Cup (@BreedersCup) November 5, 2022
Envoi Allen Returns To Action With A Grade One Win
Down Royal has been a happy hunting ground for Envoi Allen in the past and Saturday he made his seasonal reappearance and looked to confirm he was back in rude health. A patient ride from Rachael Blackmore was rewarded when he got the better of Kemboy after the last fence. A possible tilt at the King George on Boxing Day will be considered by connections which he is 8/1 for now, that raises the prospect of an exciting clash between him and the ante post favourite and fellow Cheveley Park Stud owned Allaho 5/4.
A breathless renewal of the Grade 1 @Ladbrokes Champion Chase goes to the popular Envoi Allen, with the eight-year-old bouncing back to his best to score under the guidance of @rachaelblackmor for @HenrydeBromhead and @CPStudOfficial 🏆 pic.twitter.com/CJMmrBQIR8
— Down Royal Racecourse (@Downroyal) November 5, 2022
Eye Catchers
Just a couple to add to your trackers and notebooks from me this week, Newbury on Thursday saw the well backed Villainess finish second in a bumper at Newbury, I think she will be more than up to winning one of them this season and looks the type to improve for the run. Rioga Choice ended up fourth in the Grade 3 Mares Novice Hurdle at Down Royal on Friday, she got a slight bump at a key moment two out, I’m not sure she would have beaten her stablemate that won the race Magical Zoe but Rioga Choice could pop up and take a nice race at some point this season.
