19 Oct 2022Talented colt Rajapour continued a fine week for our shuttle stallion Almanzor when the French two-year-old stretched his unbeaten run to three.
Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget for breeder the Aga Khan, he comfortably bridged the gap to black type class off the back of two lead-up wins when he claimed top honours in the Listed Prix Isonomy at Deauville over 1600 metres.
Rajapour was again partnered by Cristian Demuro and travelled easily in third place before striking the front 300 metres from home to win under a soft ride by 2l.
Another exciting prospect for Almanzor is Godolphin’s Castle Way, who posted his second win from four appearances with victory this week for trainer Charlie Appleby and rider William Buick over 2000 metres at Newmarket.
The promising filly Around Midnight also performed well at Deauville where the Jean Claude Roget-trained youngster finished second in the G3 Prix des Reservoirs over 1600 metres. She had won the Listed Prix du Haras de Bouquetot in her previous appearance.
On the Australasian front, King’s Crossing turned in a stout performance to finish third in the Listed Geelong Classic over 2200 metres.
Prepared by Danny O’Brien, the son of Almanzor was parked three off the fence in midfield before improving wider near the turn for rider Damian Lane and stayed on strongly after hitting the front early in the run home.
King’s Crossing was bred by Helen-Gaye and Graham Bax and sold as a yearling for $220,000 to O'Brien and Bruce Perry Bloodstock. The effort saw the three-year-old gelding's G1 VRC Derby odds crunched in from a triple figure quote to $26.