The ten-furlong showpiece for older horses has produced some absolute thrillers over the years and this season’s renewal looks an absolute mouthwatering clash.
It really does look tough to separate the four at the head of the market with Luxembourg, Bay Bridge, Adayar, and My Prospero all making plenty of appeal in some way or another.
Sir Michael Stoute won this in 2018 and 2019 with high-class horses and Bay Bridge looks a solid place to start. The five-year-old only found the enterprisingly ridden State Of Rest too good in this last season and once again looked to come unstuck by a front-running ride when second to the reopposing Luxembourg in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh in May.
He culminated his 2022 campaign with a top-class triumph over course and distance in the Champion Stakes and it's unlikely Richard Kingscote will be allowing his rivals as much rope this time around.
The Charlie Appleby team are really beginning to hit top stride in recent weeks (6-16, 38% for the last 14 days) following what can only be described as a sub-par start to their season. At a time when their horses really were struggling to fire on all cylinders, Adayar still managed to turn in an impressive reappearance victory when beating subsequent Group 1 winner Anmaat in the rearranged Group 3 Gordon Richard Stakes at Newmarket in May. The 2021 Epsom Derby hero finished runner-up to the aforementioned Bay Bridge in last year's Champion Stakes and will certainly appreciate any additional rain.
William Haggas' My Prospero shaped as though the return to 1m2f would be right up his street when a running on fourth in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury on his seasonal bow. The son of Iffraaj remains thoroughly unexposed over the ten-furlong trip and was keeping on nicely when third behind both Bay Bridge and Adayar in last season's Champion Stakes. An official mark of 121 only gives him 2lb to find with Luxembourg at the top of the ratings and it's easy to argue a case for him being overpriced with ground conditions unlikely to pose any issues.
Aidan O'Brien will be hoping he can equal Sir Henry Cecil's record by recording a fifth Prince Of Wales's Stakes' success. He relies on Luxembourg and it's easy to see why the son of Camelot currently tops the betting. He clearly needed the run when fifth on his return from a lengthy absence in the Mooresbridge Stakes at the Curragh in May. Aidan O'Brien's colt seemingly derived great benefit from the outfit when making all the running under a canny front-running ride to deny Bay Bridge by half a length in the Tattersalls Gold Cup (1m2 1/2f) at the same venue four weeks later. The unexposed four-year-old looked like a performer right out of the top drawer when landing the Irish Champion Stakes over this distance at three and it's certainly still possible we haven't seen the best of him yet.
With an official mark of 121, the Shadwell-owned Mostahdaf couldn't be completely discounted but he will likely need to step forward from his fourth-placed effort in the Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan in March. Classic Causeway was a Grade 1 winner at Belmont last year and adds a degree of international spice but he looks to have it all to do on the figures and will unlikely be featuring at the business end.
With just the six going to post, tactics will prove crucial. State Of Rest landed this under a fine front-running ride last season and I wouldn't be surprised if it paid to be handy once more. Luxembourg certainly dictated fractions out in front when getting the better of Bay Bridge at the Curragh twenty-
four days ago and with Ryan Moore likely to deploy similar tactics once more, that may just give him the edge in what looks like a tight-knit affair.
WIN: LUXEMBOURG (General 9/4)
