Juddmonte International - In pursuit of Ghaiyyath

Barring the absence of `the Queen` Enable,  York's Juddmonte International has assembled a high-quality field that promises to be one of the races of the season. The front-running monster Ghaiyyath is the deserved favourite, having gotten the scalp of no other than Enable herself in the Coral Eclipse. If the son of Dubawi has maintained his great form to date, he will be almost impossible to be headed. His camp certainly sound positive, which is not good news for the rest of the field.

Magical, the wonderful mare from Coolmore is unbeaten this year but her victories haven't been as eloquent as Ghaiyyath. The daughter of Galileo rarely runs a bad race but there always seem to be someone better than her in the top races. She might aspire to a placing.

Kameko, the Guineas winner, was oh-so-unlucky in the Sussex Stakes. He might still not have beaten the impressive winner Mohaather, but second place was ripe for the picking if he did not encounter traffic problems. Ten furlongs will be right up his alley and his weight allowance as a three-year-old gives him a live chance to be at the finish.

Finally, Lord North, this year's Prince of Wales Stakes winner, cannot be underestimated as he's also running an undefeated campaign this year. His progression from the handicap ranks to Group 1 winner is all the more remarkable and he should not be out of his league in this company. The way he won going away at Ascot was visually impressive and being trained by John Gosden gives more impetus to his chances. 

This is going to be a fantastic race to watch. Will Ghaiyyath falter in the straight or will the others be able to keep up with the torrid pace he customarily sets? The Godolphin star can put an exclamation point to his Arc aspirations with another dominant performance. I think he will.  

Arc de Triomphe 2019 - Immortality beckons for Enable

All eyes will be on Enable at ParisLongchamp on Sunday as she attempts to be the first triple winner of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Winning the most prestigious prize in Europe twice is a feat in itself that only a few have achieved; landing it 3 times would crown the daughter of Nathaniel the greatest winner of the race and arguably the greatest filly that ever ran.

There are no more adjectives to qualify Enable. She is in Frankel-esque territory, having won 13 out of 14 outings, crushing the opposition in many of them. She even did better than Frankel by winning outside of Britain by conquering France and the US. She is peer-less and it would take circumstances or an exceptional run by another horse to beat her on Sunday. Circumstances like the predicted heavy going might dent her customary acceleration but it is only a slight worry as she should tackle that kind of ground better than most.

The biggest dangers are likely to come from the 3-year old colts Sottsass and Japan. The former is the best colt coming from France and the convincing winner of the Prix du Jockey Club and Prix Niel, both big references for the Arc. The son of Siyouni has an excellent burst of acceleration and coming out of stall 1 should have him well placed as long as he does not get stuck in throughout.

Japan is the best 3-year old middle-distance colt coming from Britain. He won the Grand Prix de Paris in style and trainer Aidan O'Brien will certainly have him in optimum form come race day. There seems to be an air of confidence from the Ballydoyle camp. Both him and Sottsass will enjoy a 3-pound alleviation against the older brigade and I expect both to be very close at the finish.

The rest of the field is mainly noise in my opinion. Waldgeist is a moderate Group 1 performer that has shown his limits. Ghaiyyath is the dark horse of the race in that he can run an explosive race as well as run a stinker. I don't think he will relish the heavy ground and coming out of outside stall 12 won't give him much of a chance to dictate matters up front.

Enable should take all the beating in her unprecedented quest. As long as she has a clear run and there are no shenanigans going on during the race, she looks top notch to land the greatest treble in horse racing.

Win: Enable
Place: Sottsass, Japan