Racing: strap in for a month of great racing around the world

The Listowel Harvest Festival has come and gone. The weather has turned and there is already talk of Cheltenham in March.

But hang on. Before you start putting up the Christmas decorations, the international flat racing season is far from over. In fact, it is just about to hit top gear and there is loads to look forward to.

The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is on this Sunday in Paris. The following weekend, we have the Dewhurst and Cesarewitch at Newmarket, and a week later it’s Champions Day at Ascot.

Kick on another fortnight to the first weekend in November and it’s the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar in California. And three days later, you’ve got the Melbourne Cup.

Now, if you’re not excited by that because you think flat racing is boring, how about if I gave you six winning tips for some of those big racedays?

In fact, I was going to headline this article ‘How to turn €1 into €20,000 in a month’ but it probably would have drawn complaints from the anti-gambling lobby, so promise me you’ll keep these good things to yourself.

Japanese winner

Let’s kick off with this Sunday’s Arc – it’s written in the stars it will be won by the Japanese horse, Shin Emperor. He had a perfect prep race at Leopardstown last month and looks destined to emulate his brother Sottsass, who won the Arc in 2020.

We move on to Newmarket on Saturday week, where The Lion In Winter is a certainty for the Dewhurst Stakes. Aidan O’Brien’s unbeaten colt was very impressive at York in August and the form of that race is working out very well.

On the same day, I expect trainer Emmet Mullins to win the Cesarewitch. He won it last year with The Shunter and that horse is likely to turn out again, but I have good word that stable companion Jacovec Cavern is working very well at home and is the one to be on.

He had a perfect prep race at Leopardstown last month and looks destined to emulate his brother Sottsass, who won the Arc in 2020

The best bet on Champions Day at Ascot is Charyn in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. This grey four-year-old has run six times this season and won four. On the other two occasions he was caught out by a front-runner who was lucky to get first run on him. He wins, simple as that.

I’m not putting up City Of Troy as a bet in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday, 2 November. Good luck to him but it’s asking a lot to take on America’s best on your first race on dirt.

A much more reliable proposition on the same night is Cogburn in the Turf Sprint. This guy is by far and away the best turf sprinter in the States. Bradsell is the only European sprinter who could give him a race and hopefully he won’t travel. And if Bradsell does run in Del Mar, it will be his first time racing around a bend.

If, I mean when (ahem) all of those win, your €1 bet will be worth almost €20,000. And we’re having it all on Jan Breughel to win the Melbourne Cup at 10/1.

Another trained by Aidan O’Brien, Jan Breughel won the St Leger at Doncaster last month. O’Brien has never won the Melbourne Cup but has twice trained the runner-up and it’s about five years since he had a runner in the race.

Last Sunday, O’Brien saddled The Euphrates to win the Irish Cesarewitch, which is like the Irish version of the Melbourne Cup. Jan Breughel is undoubtedly a lot better than The Euphrates, so you have to think that connections know they have a live one here.