Horses for courses as Tribalist shines again at Saint-Cloud

Tribalist made the perfect return to action last Monday as he readily took the G3 Prix Edmond Blanc for a second successive year, enhancing his superb record at Saint-Cloud in the process.

The five-year-old stretched his record to six wins from nine appearances at the Paris track, with his other successes including defeating this season’s G1 Dubai Turf scorer Facteur Cheval in the G2 Prix du Muguet in May.

A top-level victory remains high on the agenda for the son of Farhh this year and he could head to the G1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury next month, a race his sire won in commanding fashion in 2013.

Theurgist also has significant targets on his radar following a cosy Listed success at Nakayama on Sunday. A three-time winner on the NAR, the son of Ghostzapper looks set to return to the local government circuit due to the greater sprint opportunities on the dirt, with the Jpn G3 Cluster Cup and Jpn G1 JBC Sprint among his objectives.

Promising three-year-olds Notable Speech and Devoted Queen both posted eye-catching wins at Kempton Park on Saturday. The duo hold respective entries in the Newmarket Classics but could instead be aimed towards Royal Ascot.

Day one of The Championships at Randwick on Saturday went ahead despite a deluge of rain, with testing ground leading to the withdrawal of Zardozi, Cylinder and Golden Mile. Traffic Warden was headed on the line when going down by a nose in the G1 ATC Sires' Produce Stakes, while Pericles ran a huge race to take second in the G1 Doncaster Mile.

Mischief Magic also filled the runner-up spot as he closed strongly in the G2 Shakertown Stakes at Keeneland on the same day. His trainer Charlie Appleby is due to be represented in two of the meeting’s flagship races this week, with Master Of The Seas and Naval Power lining up in Friday’s G1 Maker’s Mark Mile and English Rose tackling the G1 Jenny Wiley Stakes on Saturday.

Last season’s G1 Coaching Club American Oaks winner Wet Paint is set to kick off her four-year-old season on Saturday in the Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park, a course where she is unbeaten in three previous starts.