Friday, September 4, 2020

Racing galore

There's the UEFA Nations League for football fans, Italian Grand Prix for Formula 1 fans, US Open for tennis aficionados but this week-end is all about, at least for me, the racing; Enable is making her last British outing before a well-deserved retirement to the paddocks, the Kentucky Derby will finally run with an emerging superstar towering over all comers, and yet another race (this time in Paris) with serious aspirations of being the "best race of the year to date". 

So the September Stakes at Kempton will see queen Enable's last outing on British soil before her attempt to racing immortality in the Arc at ParisLongchamp. There is absolutely nothing to stop her in the field. No Group 1 challenger of any sort. Prince of Arran is a marvellous stayer but not a serious caliber at the mile and a half distance. Enable will win and only the manner of her win will matter; a gauge of whether she still has what it takes to be still reckoned as a potent force in a few weeks in Paris. She can be backed blind-folded bar any freak accident.

On the other side of the pond, Kentucky will hold its delayed Derby 4 months late due to the Covid-19. Tiz the Law is the only exciting name to pick from this rather dull 3-year old crop. He's won the shortened Belmont already and is very well on his way to the Triple Crown. Ok, naysayers are pointing to his 17th stall, from which no equine has ever won! That's fine, that makes his odds even more appealing. There's always a first to everything and post 17 is better than any of the inside posts. Tiz the Law is pretty much push-button and should be close to the pace before unleashing his kick in the straight. Unless he's on an off-day for some reason, he should be very hard to beat.

We've been talking about the race of the season so many times this season but the Prix du Moulin on Sunday clearly fits the bill. I mean, all 6 participants are legitimate contenders by all means. If only Kameko and Mohaather and Palace Pied had made it, it would have been the mile race of all seasons. I feel the winner will need an ounce of luck to prevail in this one and it could very well be a blanket finish. To pick one, I will go with Siskin; the best miler from Ireland and looks not to have peaked yet. This will be a treat of a race to watch.

Win: Enable, Tiz the Law, Siskin


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