Moore believes Capulet has solid Royal Lodge credentials

PA Sport Reporters
September 29, 2023 9:19 am

Irish raider pushed highly-rated stablemate Diego Velazquez hard at Leopardstown.

An informative renewal of the Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes looks in prospect at Newmarket on Saturday.

Any number of smart prospects take their chance, including Capulet who ran a tremendous race against well-touted stablemate Diego Velazquez at Leopardstown on Irish Champions Festival weekend.

Only half a length separated them in the Group Two KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes, with Capulet taking plenty of pulling up after the line.

Ryan Moore was on the winner that day but takes charge on the Justify colt for this latest Group Two assignment.

“He did it nicely on his debut at Dundalk last month and he obviously improved a good deal when running Diego Velazquez to half a length at Leopardstown last time,” Moore said in his Betfair blog.

“That form looked strong at the time and it looks even better now with the well-beaten fourth, Deepone, coming out and winning the Beresford next time. All of these have the potential to take a big step forward, most notably Ghostwriter maybe, but he deserves to be the favourite as it stands, as the Leopardstown form is the best on offer going into the race.”

Charlie Appleby has not had the headline year he has been accustomed to so far, but hopes are high that Aablan has Classic potential.

The Moulton Paddocks trainer told the Godolphin website: “We felt that Aablan did well to win the Solario Stakes, when seven furlongs looked sharp enough for him, and we are looking forward to seeing him over a mile. He has done well since Sandown and looks a live contender.

“We are hoping that this can propel him onto a bright three-year-old career.”

The aforementioned Ghostwriter is two from two for Clive Cox, and Defiance is another unbeaten contender, representing Roger Varian.

Varian has another strong string to his bow in Al Musmak, a winner in Listed company at Haydock last time out. He renews rivalry with Macduff, who was a length and a half runner-up but lost little in defeat.