Turpin to take Frankel test
Dick Turpin is gunning for Frankel after snatching Group One glory in the Premio Vittoria Di Capua in Milan on Saturday.
Christophe Soumillon got Richard Hannon’s four-year-old up in the final strides to collar fellow British raider Cityscape by a short head.
Owner John Manley is now keen to take on the brilliant unbeaten three-year-old colt in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on October 15.
“He is such a tough horse and, though he looked in trouble for a while and would probably have preferred a bit more ease in the ground, he dug deep to get the job done,” the trainer told www.richardhannonracing.tv.
“I could not be more pleased for his owner, John Manley, whose gamble in keeping the horse in training at four has been admirably rewarded.
“Dick Turpin won a couple of Group Twos earlier in the season (the Sandown Mile and the Summer Mile at Ascot), and now he has bagged his second Group One (he also won the Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly last season).
“John is quite keen to take on Frankel in the QEII at Ascot on Champions Day, so he could well go there. There is plenty of good place prize money on offer and, who knows, if we get our ground we might even beat him.
“However, we also have Dick Turpin in other top races at the back-end, though Strong Suit will probably be our horse for the Challenge Stakes.
“The seven furlongs will suit him perfectly, but we’d be hopeful that he would get the extra distance in the Breeders Cup Mile at Churchill Downs, which is a sharp track.”
