Haydock for Bristol
FRANKIE DETTORI has been given a challenging task to add to his 14 Breeders’ Cup wins after all his fancied mounts were handed tough draws.
Dettori has five rides at the two-day event that gets under way on Friday at Santa Anita, with the Simon Crisfordtrained A’Ali his best chance of victory in the Juvenile Turf Sprint.
The Norfolk Stakes and Flying Childers winner, however, will have to overcome stall 10 in a 12-strong field.
Dettori also teams up with Aidan O’Brien in the Juvenile Filly Turf on Etoile, but she has the widest stall of all in 14.
Dettori is also drawn widest on John Gosden’s prolific winner Fanny Logan in the Filly & Mare Turf in stall 12.
The Breeders’ Cup Mile is one of the feature races of the meeting but again Dettori was posted wide on James Tate’s Hey Gaman in 13.
One of O’Brien’s big hopes for success in the Mile, St James’s Palace Stakes hero Circus Maximus, will leave from stall nine. O’Brien’s Turf Investec Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck drew stall five in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, with stable companion Mount Everest on his inside in four.
Dettori’s final mount, Imprimis in the Turf Sprint, drew stall three.
BRISTOL DE MAI will reappear in the Betfair Chase at Haydock on November 23 after connections decided to miss the Charlie Hall Chase this weekend.
Bristol De Mai took the Wetherby three-mile feature in 2017 for his trainer Nigel TwistonDavies on his way to winning Haydock’s Grade One showpiece for the first time when he beat Cue Card by 57 lengths.
The eight-year-old made his seasonal debut in the Betfair last autumn, beating Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Native River by four lengths.
“He’s not in the Charlie Hall. He’s going straight to Haydock. Everything’s OK with him,” said Twiston-Davies.
The Naunton handler still hopes to win the Charlie Hall for a sixth time with Ballyoptic.