European duo out to spoil mighty Tepin's Breeders' Cup prep

Royal Ascot winner Tepin is following a tried-and-tested path back to the Breeders' Cup as she has her final prep race in the First Lady Stakes at Keeneland (9.35pm BST), one of seven Grade 1s shown live on At The Races on another star-studded US Saturday programme.

After trouncing her rivals in last year's race, America's 'Queen of the Turf' beat the boys a month later in the Breeders' Cup Mile, where the runner-up was the David O'Meara-trained Mondialiste, who also runs on today's card as he tries to add another lucrative US pot to his haul after his Arlington Million success.

Tepin, who has now won 11 of her last 13 starts dating back two years, will face a couple of European opponents in Coronation Stakes runner-up Nemoralia and Irish-trained Now Or Never.

Tepin's trainer Mark Casse said: “Our feeling was it would be better to run her against fillies and hopefully get a little easier race this time out, and it should set her up nicer for the Breeders' Cup.

“That said, I'm not saying the fillies are easy to beat. There are some really good fillies in there but we just thought it would be a little easier.”

Keeneland card

On her first start since a memorable triumph in the Queen Anne, Tepin won cosily three weeks ago in the Woodbine Mile.

Seeking her ninth win in succession, she is drawn in gate two in a ten-runner field where rivals include Newmarket visitor Nemoralia – out to atone for a Doncaster flop - and Now Or Never, a couple of places behind Nemoralia at Royal Ascot.

Nemoralia sold

Nemoralia will be carrying new colours as she has been sold to Americans Peter Brant and Joseph Allen.

“She's going great but we face a big problem called Tepin,” said trainer Jeremy Noseda. “She stays with me until after the Breeders’ Cup, where she’ll run after this.”

O’Callaghan said of Now Or Never: “We weren't expecting to have to take on Tepin and thought she might go elsewhere. But our filly is in great form and travelled over well. She's been thriving since she got there.”

An hour and ten minutes later Mondialiste will be strongly fancied to win the third North American million-dollar event of his career in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile.

The six-year-old is well known to North American audiences, having also won last year's Woodbine Mile in Canada before finishing second to Tepin at the Breeders' Cup.

Rivals in a double-figure field include Canadian visitor Tower Of Texas, who closed to within half a length of Tepin at Woodbine three weeks ago, last year's winner Grand Arch, and Arlington runner-up Kasaqui, who was just a neck behind Mondialiste in the Chicago highlight.

At Belmont Park, the Jockey Club Gold Cup (10.23pm BST) is also among eight Grade 1 contests in the US today and a six-runner field has assembled for New York's most prestigious all-aged race, headed by Effinex, third last year before chasing home American Pharoah in the Breeders' Cup Classic.