Battle Of Marengo looking to make a recovery in Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris – Horseracing news
Battle Of Marengo will be out to recover his losses in the past two races by winning the Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris (Group 1) at Longchamp in France.
The three-year-old colt enjoyed a great time during his debut season in 2012 and started off the current season on a positive note too. However, victories have eluded him over the past couple of races, which has been a setback for his camp. There does not seem to be any apparent issue with him at the moment, thus he might end up making a strong impression in the upcoming race.
According to the colt’s trainer Aidan O’Brien, “He (Battle Of Marengo) has been very consistent and we've been happy with him since his run at Royal Ascot. We're putting blinkers on to sharpen him a bit.”
At one stage in his career, the Irish stallion had won five back-to-back races, which put him right at the top with some of the best runners of the modern era. His confidence level was high, so he took on some better runners in important competitions.
However, things changed completely when he finished fourth in the Investec Derby, where he had a solid chance of winning the race. He was given a pretty decent winning percentage and his main rival Dawn Approach suffered a problem in the opening stages, which ruled him out of contention.
Despite that, Battle Of Marengo failed to make an impression and other stallions, who were not really expected to shine in the event, finished in the top three. This was so much frustrating for O’Brien, but he still backed his challenger at the Royal Ascot, where an improved run saw him secure the runner up spot.
Things will be different for the talented runner at Longchamp, where he will be facing some solid stallions like Manndawi, who might spring a surprise in the race.
According to his trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre, “He's (Manndawi) progressing and I think the third run of the season is an interesting point in his career. He'll need to find a few kilos but I think he can run well and can certainly be in the first four.”
The punters will be keeping an eye on both the talented stallions and it will be interesting to see which one of them steals the show at Longchamp.
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