SATURDAY, JULY 31 2021 SUESA STORMS TO WONDERFUL TONIGHT THE SATURDAY STAR KING GEORGE GLORY With Goodwood Saturday centred around the Stewards Cup for the sprinters, the G2 Qatar Lillie Langtry S. is the sole black- type contest on the closing card but it features one of Europe=s best in Wonderful Tonight (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}). Christopher Wright=s G1 Prix de Royallieu, G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares S. and G2 Hardwicke S. heroine was forced to miss last Saturday=s G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. due to the fast surface and despite the ground drying out all the time here, she is committed to run under her three-pound penalty. Trainer David Menuisier is taking nothing for granted. AThe opposition obviously is not the same as the King George, but they have to be respected,@ he said. AI haven=t gone into great detail as to the horses left in the race but there=s a 3-year-old carrying next to no weight, which is something you Suesa, a dual group winner in France, earned her first black-type win can=t discard. She=s the favourite and she should be, but we=re in the UK during the Qatar Goodwood Festival on Friday not going there thinking she=s a sure thing. It=s a horse race and Racingfotos.com we know Goodwood offers some upsets at times.@ Cont. p7 Unbeaten bar a latest blip in testing ground in the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot June 18, George Strawbridge=s Suesa (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) bounced back to her brilliant best in Friday=s G2 King George Qatar S. at Goodwood. Sent off at 7-1, the Apr. 20 G3 Prix Sigy and May 17 G3 Prix Texanita winner chased the frantic early pace which saw the four-times winner Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) sitting off it throughout the early stages. Coming alive for William Buick at halfway, the Francois Rohaut-trained bay powered by Dragon Symbol (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}) approaching the furlong pole en route to a three-length dismissal of that fellow 3-year-old, with Glass Slippers (GB) (Dream Ahead) the best of the older sprinters 1 1/2 lengths away in third. Battaash, the 2-1 favourite, Wonderful Tonight will contest Saturday=s G2 Qatar Lillie Langtry S. found little when the crunch came and trailed in seventh. under a three-pound penalty | Scoop Dyga AIt was an amazing performance,@ the in-form Buick said after steering his sixth winner of the meeting after his success in the other AKing George@ at Ascot on Saturday. AShe travelled IN TDN AMERICA TODAY through the race very strongly and had that kick at the finish off BERNARDINI DEAD AT 18 a fast pace. It was bad ground in the Commonwealth Cup and Bernardini (A.P. Indy), a Classic winner and leading sire, was she couldn=t get any cover early over six furlongs, so she ended euthanised on Friday. Click or tap here to go straight to TDN up running her race the wrong way round there.@ America. TDN EUROPE • PAGE 2 OF 12 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • 31 JULY 2021 G2 King George Qatar S. Cont. from p1 Spirit {Ire}) as the race regular Ornate (GB) (Bahamian Bounty {GB}) blazed the trail, she was off the bridle and working as He added, AEveryone had put a line through that and I wanted Battaash was still hard on the steel for Jim Crowley out wide to let her travel where she was comfortable here, so it was just with 1 1/2 furlongs remaining. While his effort petered out about getting a run. She has a great attitude and is very calm-- remarkably quickly, Suesa=s surge was relentless to make the she=s just a very good filly.@ speedy Dragon Symbol and Glass Slippers appear relatively Racing for owner Georgina Cabrero and trainer Carlos pedestrian late on. Laffon-Parias initially, Suesa scored in a debutantes contest over James Wigan, racing manager for George Strawbridge, said, six furlongs at Chantilly in October before following up over AWe thought she was very good before Ascot and then the rain 5 1/2 furlongs back at that venue in the Listed Prix Yacowlef the came and the ground was bottomless. She just couldn=t act on it, next month. Doing enough to draw attention from George luckily we took her home and she was okay. Her form in France Strawbridge as a result, she provided an instant return on his before was very impressive, but we didn=t know what she=d be investment when taking the Sigy over the Yacowlef course and like over here. There aren=t really many deep sprint group races distance before winning with just as much authority over six on in France in the summer, so this was the obvious place to come. her fourth start at Chantilly in the Texanita. Sent off the 9-4 As for a run at York [in the Aug. 20 G1 Nunthorpe S.], it depends favourite for the Commonwealth, she was beaten two out and what she is like when she gets back. She=ll have had quite a lot faded to eighth after racing prominently and it was a case of of travelling, coming here and then going back, then coming back to the drawing board for connections. again having already done Ascot. The [Oct. 3 G1] Abbaye will be Entering this aggressive test of pace something of a forgotten the obvious target. There is a very good chance she will stay in filly as a result, it turned out to be tailor-made for her racing training next year, as the owner is very much a sportsman.@ style and the true Suesa was in evidence as she brushed aside Oisin Murphy was left feeling deflated by another runner-up some leading sprinters including Shadwell=s lord of the manor in finish for Dragon Symbol. AHe is better than that. It=s a shame a watershed moment for this prize. Always travelling within the good ones weren=t drawn beside him, we followed the herself following Dragon Symbol and Arecibo (Fr) (Invincible wrong ones,@ he said. Cont. p3 TDN EUROPE • PAGE 3 OF 12 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • 31 JULY 2021 G2 King George Qatar S. Cont. Glass Slippers=s trainer Kevin Ryan was pleased with the effort of the mare on her seasonal bow. AWe would like to have got a racecourse gallop into her, but the ground has been so firm everywhere. We didn=t want to risk doing that,@ he said. AWe knew coming here she was going to need the run. We can look Senior Vice President Gary King forward to the rest of the year now. We will have a chat over Twitter: @garykingTDN the weekend, but we will generally take the same sort of route, [email protected] the race in Ireland [the Sept. 12 G1 Flying Five] I would imagine + 1.732.320.0975 will be on the agenda. It will be a nice chat to have on Sunday morning.@ International Editor Charlie Hills was inclined to blacme the ground for the Kelsey Riley uncharacteristically tame effort of the favourite. AHe had a good Twitter: @kelseynrileyTDN trip and although there was a lot of pace on the other side of [email protected] the track he came into it nice and strong,@ he said. Al was a little European Editor bit concerned about the going here today and he didn=t handle it Emma Berry as well as he could have done. We were happy that he was Twitter: @collingsberry doing everything he=s done in the past few years and there was [email protected] no difference really. We=ll see how he comes out of this and speak to the management and Sheikha Hissa and see where we Associate International Editor go.@ Heather Anderson Jim Crowley added, AThe ground was probably slow enough for Twitter: @HLAndersonTDN him. He travelled well early and showed plenty of enthusiasm. Marketing Manager Even cantering down, I thought the going was slow enough.@ Alayna Cullen Shadwell=s Angus Gold refused to give a kneejerk reaction, but Twitter: @AlaynaCullen seemed to be suggesting that retirement could beckon now. AHe [email protected] had an injury last year and it took him a long time to come right. He=s had issues all his life and I think it=s remarkable that he=s Contributing Editors back with us at all,@ he commented. AI=ll speak to Sheikha Hissa. Alan Carasso He is her horse and the last thing we want to do is abuse him. Christina Bossinakis After all the problems he=s had and him being seven, why would Cafe Racing we go on now? Ascot I thought was a good run given how long Sean Cronin he had been back in the yard. Today was not so good. Obviously, Tom Frary Charlie and the team would like to keep him in the yard, but [email protected] there comes a time for all of us.@ Irish Correspondent Pedigree Notes Daithi Harvey Suesa is out of an unraced half-sister to the Listed Radley S.- Regular Columnists placed Sheboygan (Ire) (Grand Lodge) and daughter of the Listed Chris McGrath | John Berry | Kevin Blake Tyros S. third White Satin (Ire) (Fairy King). The latter is kin to Amy Lynam | Melissa Steele the stakes-winning and GII Honeymoon H.-placed Chenille (Ire) (Tenby {GB}) and the Group 3-placed Sweet Treat (Ire) (Orpen) connected to the dual listed-winning and dual group-placed sprinter Nights Cross (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}).