Three classy French challengers feature in a cosmopolitan nine-runner renewal of the £283,750 Group 1 Kingdom of Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes.
The penultimate event in the Mile Division of the QIPCO British Champions Series – at Newmarket’s Rowley Mile Racecourse on Saturday.
The French have an exceptional recent record in this showpiece event with four wins in the last five years. But if any of the cross-Channel raiders do lift the trophy again they will have to get past the defending champion, Sir Michael Stoute’s Integral, who will be bidding to put a winless 2015 campaign behind her with a repeat victory.
The two highest profile French visitors are last year’s fourth, Esoterique, winner of the Group 1 Prix Jacques Le Marois on her latest start, and Bawina, a Group 2 scorer in the spring who has since finished fourth, third and second at the highest level as she bids to register an elusive first Group 1 triumph.
But the raiding party is completed by another highly talented and progressive filly in the shape of the Mikel Delzangles-trained Maimara. This daughter of Makfi followed up an easy Group 3 success at Deauville in August with a solid fourth against the colts in the Group 1 Prix du Moulin at Longchamp last month.
An Irish flavour is added to this international affair by the presence in the field of Group 1 Matron Stakes fourth, Raydara, trained by Michael Halford.
There is also a strong home team with Integral joined by the likes of the Martyn Meade-trained French 1000 Guineas runner-up, Irish Rookie, and Realtra, who easily disposed of a massive field to lift the Group 3 Sceptre Stakes at Doncaster last month.
“Maimara is in top form. She has recovered well from her run in the Prix du Moulin and I am very happy to have secured the services of Frankie Dettori to ride her – when we found out that Frankie was available it helped make up our minds to send her over.” Said Delzangles.
“The Moulin was just the kind of race that she does not like – they went a slow pace and then she got a bit outpaced when the tempo quickened – so I am hoping for a stronger pace on Saturday.”
“Her last two starts have been on very soft ground and I think that it will be considerably quicker at the Rowley Mile, but that is not really a factor for her as she goes on any ground.”
“She is a well-balanced filly so the undulations at Newmarket should not be a problem.”
“This will be her last race of the year but she stays in training as a four-year-old. I have always thought that she was a top class filly, but she grew a lot back in the spring hence, although running perfectly well, she wasn’t able to show her true ability when eighth in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas).”
