Gheest glory would be well deserved for Shouldvebeenaring

Middleham stalwart has chance to add a first Group One to his CV.

Grabbing Group One glory in Sunday’s ARC Prix Maurice de Gheest would be “the icing on the cake” for Shouldvebeenaring’s proud connections.

The Richard Hannon-trained four-year-old has been a grand servant for Middleham Park Racing, earning just under GBP 500,000 in prize-money for his six career wins and numerous placed efforts in high-class company.

He returns to Deauville in fine form following a gutsy Group Three success in last month’s Prix de Ris-Orangis and now goes in search of a first triumph at elite level.

Shouldvebeenaring went down by just a neck in the Sprint Cup at Haydock last September and may eventually bid to go one better there, but the unique set-up of this weekend’s French contest is expected to play to his strengths even more.

Tim Palin of Middleham Park Racing said: “You’d say Deauville and Haydock are him playing at home and you’d say anything between six and seven furlongs is him playing at home.

“If I had to choose between six furlongs and seven furlongs, I’d really struggle to say which is his ideal distance, because six and a half is his ideal distance.

“The ground last weekend was on the quick side, so that’s a little bit of an issue, but this has been one of his two major targets of the season – this and Haydock – so we’re laser focused on Deauville on Sunday.

“He’s got that place at the Irish National Stud at the end of the season, he’s already a dual Listed winner, a Group Three winner, he’s been placed in two Group Ones – and if he could win a Group One, that would be the icing on the cake before going off to stud.

“He was a Listed winner at two, a Listed winner at three and he seems to be getting better with age, like a fine wine.

“His two Group One placed efforts were at the back-end of last year and getting touched off by a nose in the Duke of York this season, although that was a Group Two, it was a Group One line-up.

“So, he deserves to dine at the top table and hopefully he’ll be on the podium at the weekend and maybe even pick up a gold medal.”

It was Jane Chapple-Hyam’s Mill Stream who edged out Shouldvebeenaring at York in mid-May and Palin is looking forward to renewing that old rivalry.

Dante Festival 2024 – Day One – York Racecourse
Mill Stream (second right) shades Shouldvebeenaring (rails) at York (Mike Egerton/PA).

He added: “In our head-to-heads, we’re 3-2 down against Mill Stream and it would be nice to level that score up.”

Mill Stream of course claimed Group One honours in the July Cup on his last start and seeks back-to-back top-level victories with William Buick aboard once again.

Charlie Hills’ dual Royal Ascot winner Khaadem was well held in that Newmarket event, but is involved once again, while Irish raider Matilda Picotte has not been seen since running at the Curragh in May and trainer Kieran Cotter is expecting a bold show from the front-running four-year-old.

He said: “The plan all last year was the Prix Maurice de Gheest would be her target this season, so we didn’t campaign her much in the early part of the season.

Matilda Picotte returns from a break in Deauville
Matilda Picotte returns from a break in Deauville (Nigel French/PA)

“I know she went to Saudi Arabia, but this race has been in mind for a long time and she’s going there a fresh horse.

“We’re looking forward to it and I think the track will suit her – the track and trip, the ground, everything seems right. We’ve got our fingers crossed and we’re looking for a big run from her. I’m fairly confident she will run well.”

Andrew Balding’s Flora Of Bermuda had Marco Botti’s Great Generation in fourth when claiming York’s Group Three Summer Stakes and now both step up in grade, while Archie Watson’s Saint Lawrence gets a second bite of the Prix Maurice de Gheest cherry having finished a narrow third 12 months ago.

The six-year-old was half a length adrift of Nicolas Caullery’s King Gold in 2023 and the defending champion arrives in good order having landed the Prix de la Porte Maillot in June.

Jerome Reynier’s unbeaten Lazzat and Jean-Claude Rouget’s Prix Jean Prat one-two of Puchkine and Havana Cigar are others with leading claims for the home team.

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