Equinties - Euro’s Final Eve

Gm Equinauts

Let’s dive in.

HEADLINE ROUNDUP

HARDY FILLY OR EASY RACES

All of a sudden, as if people were unaware of this until yesterday afternoon, the general consensus is that PORTA FORTUNA is a very good filly.

Having been a high-class 2yo against both her own sex and the boys, she didn’t quite grab the limelight as much as other similarly qualified animals.

Maybe that’s why she was sent off 11/1 for the 1000 Guineas, a race that she finished a close second in, though after two Group 1 successes this year – the most recent being yesterday’s Falmouth Stakes – plenty in the industry think she is a bombproof three-year-old by CARAVAGGIO.

Even her trainer, Donnacha O’Brien, believed she was underrated by many until she won the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, so it’s fair to say that she has made her presence known in her division.

With that confidence behind her, O’Brien and her connections can start to dream of a prosperous second half of the season, one that will begin in the Group 1 Matron Stakes later this year.

However, before we give her too much praise, there is one thing to note.

What she did at Ascot was very good, so one would imagine that winning the Falmouth Stakes by three lengths is an improvement.

In fact, maybe yesterday was just a case of ‘job done’ for her as the quality of the opposition was lower than that of the Coronation Stakes and, due to her age, she got a weight allowance from some inferior rivals.

If she is to tackle the Breeders’ Cup Mile at the end of the year, she will need to continue her progression.

Having finished third in the 2023 Group 1 Royal-Oak, he returns to pattern company after an appearance in the Northumberland Plate. He’s likely to come on for that and races like this are probably more his bag rather than handicaps.

Become a paying subscriber of Premium to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.

Already a paying subscriber? Sign In.

A subscription gets you:

• • The weekender edition (Mon-Fri still free)
• • The weekends best bets
• • That warm fuzzy feeling inside knowing the intern gets fed
• • Only £1 a week!