Align The Stars may take in York trip en route to St Leger

Progressive three-year-old has rattled off a hat-trick of summer handicap wins.

Charlie Johnston’s Align The Stars has Lonsdale and Melrose options at York before the St Leger comes into focus.

The three-year-old son of Sea The Stars is out of proven dam Kitcara, making him a full-brother to William Haggas’ multiple Group winner Al Aasy.

After a quiet but promising juvenile season, he has followed a constant upwards trajectory this year, initially placing in a string of handicaps while working his way up to longer distances.

After winning a mile-and-a-half contest at Thirsk in June, he stepped up to a mile and six furlongs to win the bet365 Handicap at Haydock when clearly relishing the extended trip.

At Goodwood, he ran over the same distance again in the Coral Summer Handicap and despite having to make all of the running under Joe Fanning, Align The Stars put his head down at the business end of the race to win by a neck from Andrew Balding’s Fairbanks, who had been a heavily-backed winner at the July Meeting.

bet365 Old Newton Cup Day – Haydock Park Racecourse
Align The Stars after winning the bet365 Handicap at Haydock (Ian Hodgson/PA)

“He’s been absolutely great since Goodwood, he hasn’t done anything serious but he’s just been ticking over and he seems to have come out of the race very well,” said Johnston.

“It hadn’t been the plan to go out there and make the running, it was just how things panned out.

“It’s not something he’s done at all in his career, he was still quite green and immature in front and it was only when he had a bit of company inside the last two furlongs that he knuckled down.

“He looked to be in quite a bit of trouble at the two-furlong pole but he was always holding them in the final furlong.”

The colt could now head to the Ebor meeting, where he may have a handicap option in the Melrose or alternatively the opportunity to step up both in trip and grade in the Group Two Lonsdale Cup.

The St Leger is a key date in his diary too, as is the French answer to that race in the Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp in October.

“He won’t go to the Voltigeur, I can say that with clarity, he’ll be left in the Lonsdale at the confirmation stage and I wouldn’t rule out an entry in the Melrose,” Johnston said.

“If he goes to York, it will be for one of those two options, but always with an eye on the St Leger and the Prix Royal-Oak later in the season.

“Those are significant targets, but I don’t think the picture will become a whole lot clearer until we see the Lonsdale confirmations later in the week.”

Align The Stars is a big horse who looks set to improve with maturity and Johnston is looking forward to targeting him at the top staying events next season as a four-year-old.

“For all that you would like them to be top class at a mile and a half, we’ve always realised that it might be stamina that will take this horse to the top level,” he said.

“He’s certainly a horse we’re looking at as a potential Cup horse for next year and he’s bang on track for those kind of aspirations at this stage in his career.”

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