Soccer

Royal Ascot's Prince of Wales's Stakes on cards for Vadeni

French Derby and and Coral-Eclipse winner Vadeni could be on his way to Royal Ascot next summer.

The three-year-old was a little unfortunate when third in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown last month and stepped up to a mile and a half for the first time in Europe's premier middle-distance contest on Sunday.
The Churchill colt dispelled doubts about his stamina by finishing a half-length second to Sir Mark Prescott's Alpinista, two places ahead of his stablemate Al Hakeem.
Following discussions with their respective connections, trainer Jean-Claude Rouget is looking forward to seeing both horses return as four-year-olds in 2023.
"They have come back very well and now they will have a quiet winter," the trainer said.
"They will both come back as four-year-olds and we will run three or four times before the Arc.
"They will start late in the season, not before May. With Vadeni we will try and win at Ascot first in the Prince of Wales's Stakes.
"The ground was a little soft (at ParisLongchamp) for Al Hakeem, I think he will win a Group One next year. It was a monsoon and Vadeni handled it no problem. I hope they both improve as four-year-olds."
Speaking on Nick Luck's Daily Podcast, owner-breeder the Aga Khan's racing manager Georges Rimaud said: "We felt he was unlucky in the Irish Champion and he was beaten in the Arc in very deep ground, so we felt he needed to get another chance in it.
"He answered all the questions - he can stay and he doesn't mind the ground - so we felt the right thing to do was give him another chance next year.
"I think it's the right decision. I think the horse will strengthen more and I think he will have a very good year next year.
"We will probably start with a race in France - the Prix Ganay or something like that. Then we could maybe aim for the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot and then see how we bring him to the Irish Champion and then the Arc, something of that nature with all the variations in between.
"It all depends really what other horses will be running next year and how the horse is. There's a lot of ifs and buts during a horse's career, but the trainer mentioned those races on Sunday."

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