Horses for courses as home comforts prove strong for Lemon Pop

Champion dirt horse Lemon Pop added another significant victory to his glittering profile last week as he captured the NAR G1 Sakitama Hai at Urawa on Wednesday.

It was a second G1 success on the NAR circuit for the six-year-old, who took the 2023 Mile Championship Nambu Hai by 30 lengths, adding to his pair of top-level JRA wins in last season’s February Stakes and Champions Cup.

Lemon Pop has won 11 of his 14 starts in Japan, finishing second on his three other appearances, with his only disappointing efforts coming abroad in the 2023 Dubai Golden Shaheen and this year’s Saudi Cup.

He could yet look to end his apparent aversion to travel in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, although a repeat bid at the Mile Championship Nambu Hai looks more likely before he takes up stallion duties next year.

Wild Tiger is a less extreme case of travel sickness, although the five-year-old is unbeaten in four UK starts, with both his career defeats coming at Meydan earlier in the year.

The half-brother to Dubai World Cup runner-up Algiers provided Saeed bin Suroor with a 39th Royal Ascot victory when taking Wednesday’s Royal Hunt Cup, a contest his trainer won with subsequent Group winner Real World in 2021.

Trawlerman had gamely edged out Kyprios in last season’s G2 British Champions Long Distance Cup and the duo served up another titanic finish at Ascot in Thursday’s G1 Gold Cup, with the Godolphin stayer having to settle for a length second behind his old rival.

Exciting two-year-old Ancient Truth maintained his unbeaten record when defying a penalty at Newmarket on Saturday. Ancient Wisdom won the corresponding race 12 months ago and Ancient Truth has Group targets on his radar, including next month’s G2 Superlative Stakes.

First Mission will be hoping to follow up a dominant G2 Alysheba Stakes win when he returns to Churchill Downs for this Saturday’s G1 Stephen Foster Stakes, a card which also sees Ottoman Fleet seek more G2 success in the Wise Dan Stakes.