Housesofparliament can rule in Voltigeur for O'Brien

Betway Great Voltigeur Stakes
3.05 York

Across The Stars shoulders the 3lb penalty for winning the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot that has twice been carried to victory in the past four decades.Ten Voltigeur winners came from that Group 2 between 1982 and 2012.

Housesofparliament was a strong staying winner of the Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket, with Harrison in third. Mick Channon, who trains the latter, won that Group 3 in 2006 with Youmzain, who followed up here, but the Ballydoyle colt looks the better of the pair. Housesofparliament had earlier found the ground too soft when fourth behind Across The Stars at Royal Ascot.

Lots of former winners have made the frame in one or both of the Epsom and Curragh Derbys. The slight worry about Idaho, who was placed in both, is that he earlier failed in two Group 3s. However, he got closer to Harzand at the Curragh and made him battle hard.

Imperial Aviator was supplemented for the Prix du Jockey Club on the back of a significant handicap victory at Newbury on Lockinge day, only to show little. His subsequent absence suggests there was a reason behind the below-par showing in France and he is worth checking in the market.

Selection Housesofparliament
Alternative Idaho

Juddmonte International Stakes
3.40 York

Sir Michael Stoute has won this five times with older horses who tended to come into the race having been placed in a Group 1. Neither of his runners – Arab Spring or Exosphere – fits that criteria.

Dariyan won what looked a below-par renewal of the Group 1 Prix Ganay in May. One must always respect Alain de Royer-Dupre’s runners in Britain and there must be more to Dariyan’s two subsequent defeats than meets the eye.

Highland Reel is the unsung hero of Ballydoyle despite Group/Grade 1 victories in America and Hong Kong, and recently in the King George at Ascot. He is yet another runner who excels at 1m4f but, if the pace isn’t strong enough over this shorter trip, he has the advantage of being able to make the running.

Mutakayyef, who didn’t reappear last year until this meeting, had a smoother prep this season with a fluent victory in the Summer Mile at Ascot last month. He has a fine record at this track but takes another step up in class.

Postponed had to miss the King George with a respiratory infection. His record over 1m4f is terrific, with six victories and one defeat in seven Group 1 or 2 races. Normally a middle-distance performer might be vulnerable back at this trip, but this year the majority of the older colts – who lead those aged three by 26 to 14 – are in the same boat.

Having been runner-up and third in this in the last two years, we should see the real The Grey Gatsby today after a few starts on unsuitable ground and last time over the wrong trip.

Hawkbill burst on to the scene when winning a Group 3 at Royal Ascot, but his real breakthrough was when beating his elders in the Eclipse at Sandown last month, again on soft ground. Is it significant that since 1976 the two three-year-olds to win the Sandown feature and follow up were the exceptional pair Giant’s Causeway and Sea The Stars? He moves like a colt who should act on fast ground.

The returning Dante winner Wings Of Desire should be better suited by this trip than the 1m4f he encountered in the Derby and King George. Those top-class events give him the best credentials and he is a strong contender at decent each-way odds.

Selection Postponed
Alternative Wings Of Desire