France
Moulin marred by Coroebus injury as Lope De Vega's Dreamloper wins
There was the kind of drama at Paris Longchamp on Sunday that nobody needs as Godolphin's G1 2000 Guineas and G1 St James's Palace S. hero Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) sustained a fatal injury in the early straight before Jason Fill's Dreamloper (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) ran out an impressive winner of the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp.
The Ed Walker-trained mare, who had also won the G1 Prix d'Ispahan here on May 29, was prominently placed throughout by Kieran Shoemark and was therefore ahead of the 21-10 favourite's fall passing two furlongs (400 metres) out.
Hitting the front with a furlong (200 metres) remaining, the 6-1 shot surged clear for an impressive 5.5l success from Order Of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB}), with The Revenant (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) 0.75l away in third.
“She's stepped up again, fair play to Kieran, we talked about the race for about four hours as it wasn't obvious what was going to happen tactically and then I just said, 'Do your job' and he absolutely nailed it,” Walker said.
“She's not a straightforward ride, but ever since the Sun Chariot he's got on incredibly well with her and we are reaping the rewards for that. She's an eight to nine-furlong horse and I'd love to have a go at the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf – two turns and nine-and-a-half furlongs (1900 metres) would be perfect for her.”
Germany
Mendocino edges out Arc hero in Grosser Preis von Baden
The excitement level reached near-fever pitch at Baden-Baden on Sunday as Frankie Dettori urged home German racing's current hero, Torquator Tasso (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}). At the post the pair went down by just a head to the winner Mendocino (Ger), another son of Adlerflug (Ger) ridden by the man who knows the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner better than anyone else, his regular jockey Rene Piechulek.
The latter will now presumably be obliged to retain his partnership with the Longchamp-bound Mendocino, and Torquator Tasso's trainer Marcel Weiss acted swiftly to book Dettori for the 5-year-old's defence of the Arc as soon as his debrief was concluded.
It was a dramatic denouement to the 152nd running of the Grosser Preis von Baden in a year when the racecourse had been planning to celebrate the great race's 150th anniversary until the realisation dawned that a miscount some 25 years ago meant that we have jumped straight from the 149th edition last year without a proper fanfare.
That won't bother Mendocino's trainer Sarah Steinberg, owner Stall Salzburg and breeder Gestut Brummerhof, who rightly enjoyed this major breakthrough success for the 4-year-old who had previously come closest to winning at Group level when finishing second to Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in last year's G1 Grosser Preis von Bayern.
Dettori received a 14-day ban for going one strike over the permitted whip-use limit on Torquator Tasso which, thankfully for him, ends just in time for the duo to renew their acquaintance in the Arc.
USA
Leave No Trace 'outworks' rivals in Spinaway
WellSpring Stables' Leave No Trace (USA) (Outwork {USA}), overlooked at 14-1 stepping up from restricted maiden company, proved best in Sunday's G1 Spinaway S. (1400 metres) at Saratoga to give trainer Phil Serpe his first top-level success since 1993.
Bought for just US$40,000 (AU$58,900) as a Fasig-Tipton Midlantic October yearling, the dark bay scored a professional 2.75l victory while wrapped up later against auction price-restricted foes here on July 20. That effort earned a co-field best 77 Beyer, but Irad Ortiz, Jr. departed to ride Aunt Shirley (USA) (Justify {USA}) in here and Leave No Trace drifted up to nearly double her 8-1 morning-line estimate by the time of the race.
Finding a good spot tracking the pace of G3 Adirondack S. heroine Naughty Gal (USA) (Into Mischief {USA}) from second through a 22.84s quarter-mile (400 metres) under Jose Lezcano, Leave No Trace was pushed on at the halfway stage. Drawing in on the pacesetter alongside of favoured Wonder Wheel (USA) (Into Mischief {USA}) as Kaling (USA) (Practical Joke {USA}) also threw her hat in the ring from the rail, Leave No Trace poked her head in front 300 metres from the finish, inched away from Kaling entering the 200 metres and was always doing enough to hold Wonder Wheel at bay.
Lieutenant Dan earns Breeders' Cup berth in Green Flash
Lieutenant Dan (USA) (Grazen {USA}), runner-up in last year's G1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, punched his ticket for the 2022 renewal in his first start since, successfully defending his title in the G3 Green Flash H. on Sunday at Del Mar.
A winner of two California-bred stakes in 2019, the gelding added a third in the Sensational Star S. in March of 2020, then headed for a rest of over 13 months following a runner-up effort in the Crystal Water S. Returning with a local allowance/optional claiming success last July, he repeated in the Green Flash and added a score in the G2 Eddie D S. at Santa Anita before running second to Golden Pal (USA) (Uncle Mo {USA}) over this course in the Breeders' Cup.
