'Vandeek is a top-class colt, he'll take all the beating' - Crisfords confident ahead of Middle Park clash

The Middle Park is primarily a breeding race. Those set for Classics will spend the autumn of their two-year-old season in finishing schools like the Dewhurst and Futurity. The most precocious sprinters should be leveraging the weight-for-age scale in open-age races. Winning the Middle Park keeps options open, while guaranteeing a place at stud alongside the last nine winners.

Starting in the early-2010s, when Coolmore increased their interest in fast sires, Aidan O'Brien has only once been without a runner. O'Brien's fourth winner since 2010, Blackbeard last year, took up his position on the Coolmore stallion roster straight away. It would be odds against that River Tiber goes the same way even if he were to win. Yet the Middle Park feels like a logical endgame for a horse who was engineered to win the Coventry Stakes in June.

River Tiber was having his third run at Royal Ascot. He has raced only once in more than three months since, in the Prix Morny where he was third behind the reopposing Vandeek.

The winner's performance in the Morny was worth a Racing Post Rating of 115. That is bang on the recent average for the race, but is still among the very best juvenile showings in Europe this year. Only City Of Troy and Henry Longfellow have bettered it.

That suggests an unremarkable crop of two-year-olds. This is backed up by the impression left in other minor Pattern events across the division in recent weeks. 

That should be heartening to supporters of those horses who have won lesser trials. The winners of the Gimcrack (Lake Forest), July Stakes (Jasour) and Sirenia Stakes (Starlust) are all in the line-up and on offer at big prices. The last winner of any of those races to follow up in the Middle Park was The Last Lion, who in 2016 ran in almost every big juvenile race starting with the Brocklesby. He also returned 25-1 at Newmarket.

With none of the fancy form, but the pedigree to make up for it, is Ripon Two-Year-Old Trophy winner Task Force. The Ripon form has had minor boosts since, but the real selling point with him is his being dual Guineas bred. His sire is Frankel and his dam Special Duty was awarded the 1,000 Guineas in the stewards' room. As an obvious Classic hope for next year, he stands in contrast to many of his rivals in the Middle Park.
Race analysis by Keith Melrose

'He'll take all the beating' - Vandeek camp confident of second Group 1 

A bullish Simon and Ed Crisford believe top-class prospect Vandeek will be difficult to beat as he searches for a fourth consecutive victory in the Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes.

The Havana Grey colt, who runs for KHK Racing Ltd, is the only runner in the line-up to boast Group 1-winning form after he oozed class in beating the well-regarded French-trained Ramatuelle in the Prix Morny at Deauville in August. 

Vandeek and Andrea Atzeni after winning the Group 1 Sumbe Prix Morny

The testing surface that day was completely different to what he will encounter at Newmarket, but connections feel the improving colt may benefit for the switch to quicker conditions.

Ed Crisford said: "He’s done extremely well for a couple of weeks chilling out after the Morny. He just seems to be a stronger horse all round and he’s been training superbly. 

"The ground is good to firm but he’s a good-moving horse and it’s slightly just been the way it’s worked out that his three races were all on soft ground. Being by Havana Grey and the way he moves, we always thought he’d be a top-of-the-ground horse. You never know, he could even be better on it. 

"It’s exciting and I think he’ll take all the beating. James [Doyle] has sat on him a couple of times and he’s very relaxed and straightforward. Vandeek is a top-class colt and if he can put this in the back of the net, it'll be great."

River Tiber on revival mission

An interrupted prep was blamed after River Tiber lost his unblemished record in the Prix Morny but Aidan O'Brien has provided a more upbeat bulletin before his rematch with Vandeek. 

The Wootton Bassett colt missed ten days of work in the build-up to his Group 1 debut at Deauville but was still able to produce a creditable effort in third, finishing strongly but without threatening the front pair.

Training has gone far more smoothly for the impressive Coventry Stakes winner before his Newmarket appearance as he seeks to give O'Brien a record-extending eighth Middle Park win.

O'Brien said: "It was a big run from him in the Prix Morny considering everything he went through to try to get there. He finished his race well, and we were delighted to see him doing that. Given his preparation for the Morny, Ryan [Moore] gave him a chance in the early part of the race and he came home well. We were delighted with him. 

"Everything has gone smoothly with him this time. We're all very happy."

What they say

Tom Marquand, jockey of Lake Forest
It's going to be an extremely tough race and there are those horses that are proven at the top level already, but he's a Gimcrack winner, and you have to be a pretty good horse to do that and hopefully he can continue on that path. He's a really cool little horse that isn't flash at home, but I like him as a character as he's a bit under the radar.

Barry Mahon, racing manager for Juddmonte, owners of Task Force
He did it nicely at Ripon last time, but is still a bit babyish mentally and needs to learn to settle better, which is why we're running him over six furlongs rather than seven. He can want to rush things a bit at the start of his races, but he's improving and definitely has raw ability. The experience of running in this will stand him in good stead next year. He'll develop too as he was a late foal and he'll be better next season, while you'd hope he'd be fine on the course having coped with Ripon.

Reporting by James Stevens

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