A YEAR after fluffing his Royal Ascot lines, So You Think returns for another crack at the Prince of Wales’s Stakes but might have to concede centre stage again, this time to Planteur.
The reverberations of So You Think’s defeat to the ill-fated Rewilding in last season’s Prince of Wales’s were widespread with Frankie Dettori’s use of the whip contributing to controversy later in the season and Bart Cummings proclaiming that British racing wasn’t worth a couple of bob.
In purely So You Think terms though it was the first pointer to how the ex-Aussie star might not be the wonder horse we were widely led to believe when he first crossed hemispheres. Aidan O’Brien brings him back to Ascot on the back of another Tattersalls Gold Cup rout and his jockey Joseph O’Brien yesterday nominated the Queen’s runner Carlton House as his likely main danger.
Planteur was only fourth in this race in 2011 but emerged best over So You Think the last time they clashed in the Dubai World Cup in March. That was a first start for new trainer Marco Botti who has engaged old rider Christophe Soumillon for the horse.
“I think he is probably my best chance at Royal Ascot. We always thought he had a lot of class. He’s a proper horse – he knows he’s good,” said the Italian handler.
“In Dubai he got really warm before the race. In France it was totally different. He was chilled out and has improved again.”
Ireland’s best chances on Day Two could rest with the fillies. David Wachman knows what it takes to land the Queen Mary having scored with Damson almost a decade ago and if ground conditions don’t quicken up too much Mironica should go close today.
She impressed the way she beat her stable companion True Verdict at Naas a month ago and the runner-up has done well since.
Dermot Weld’s Emulous, like the Opera winner Nahrain, has to concede a Group One penalty in the Windsor Forest Stakes but her seasonal debut at the Curragh was impressive and the third, Alanza, has subsequently won. There may not be an end to the Juddmonte mare’s improvement yet.
Weld has Rock Critic in the Hunt Cup but this 30-runner cavalry charge could reward Arabian Star backers.
At Wexford tonight, the triple-bumper winner Clondaw Warrior can bounce back from a Ballinrobe defeat in the novice hurdle.
