Can Aidan O'Brien's Capulet capture £100,000 prize or will Cuban Tiger follow up his Good Friday success?

This looks an excellent £100,000 conditions event with the Aidan O’Brien-trained Capulet a runner of considerable interest.

Placed in Group 2 events over a mile at Leopardstown and Newmarket as a juvenile, he shaped as though a stiffer test of stamina would suit him this year.

Likely to be ridden prominently at a track which favours those tactics, many punters will bank on him to take advantage of the drop in class on his seasonal reappearance. 

He is currently quoted at 33-1 for the Betfred Derby and holds an entry in the Irish 2,000 Guineas. This race also enables horses to earn points in order to gain a berth in the Kentucky Derby. 

O’Brien reported him to be “good and forward” in a recent Racing Post stable tour, and made the point that he “could get further than a mile and half in time”. 

Cuban Tiger will not be lacking for fitness, having landed the Listed Burradon Stakes over a mile at Newcastle last Friday.

That was a career-best effort by a considerable margin, but the performance apparently came as no surprise to connections. He looks open to further improvement, but is rated 10lb inferior to Capulet on official ratings.

Orne, who finished just over three lengths behind Cuban Tiger in third at Newcastle, renews rivalry on 5lb better terms in first-time cheekpieces.

He is more exposed than the top two in the market, but did win the Group 3 Horris Hill Stakes on heavy ground at Newmarket last November.

Richard Hughes, successful with nine of his last 21 runners for a 43 per cent strike-rate, saddles Bracken’s Laugh. He made a winning debut on soft ground over a mile at Newbury last September prior to finishing fifth of seven in the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud.
Race analysis by Richard Birch

Classy Capulet out to crack Chelmsford return

Aidan O'Brien bids to improve on his healthy strike-rate at Chelmsford with Capulet, who bids to give him a first success in this lucrative contest.

The champion trainer has struck with two of his six runners at the track, although neither were in this mile contest. Antilles finished a neck second in the inaugural running in 2019, in which U S S Michigan finished fourth when sent off the 15-8 favourite.

Aidan O'Brien: runs Capulet at Chelmsford on SaturdayCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

O'Brien relies on Capulet to strike this time. The son of Justify finished second behind stablemate Diego Velazquez in a Leopardstown Group 2 before ending his juvenile campaign with a third in the Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket in September.

He already has winning all-weather form, having landed a Dundalk maiden on his debut last August, and O'Brien is hopeful he can put up an encouraging comeback performance.

He said: "He's in good form. He'll obviously stay further than a mile and we think he can improve when he steps up in trip, but we're happy with him and he's ready to start off."

What they say

Jack Davison, trainer of Bergamasco
He's been a revelation through the winter and he's travelled over well. He got a decent rise in the ratings after his win the last day which inspires a bit more confidence. He seems to tick a lot of boxes so hopefully he can make his presence felt.

Richard Hughes, trainer of Bracken's Laugh
He's really pleasing us at home. A mile might be a bit sharp, but we're looking at running him in the Dee Stakes at Chester next month and it'll be good to get a run under his belt. This looks a nice starting point and Finley [Marsh, jockey] is in good form and has won on him before. He deserves to be riding horses like him.

Karl Burke, trainer of Cuban Tiger
We were hoping he'd run really well at Newcastle when he won last week, but you never know what you're taking on. I knew we had a horse who was better than his rating, it was a question of how good he was. It comes a bit quick but there aren't many options for him on turf.

John Gosden, joint trainer of Orne
Carrying penalties has made it difficult for him so far this year and thankfully this race is off level weights. It's a deep race but hopefully he can be in the mix.

Hugo Palmer, trainer of Under The Sun
He's done exceptionally well from two to three and has done everything right over the winter. He's ready to start back and I expect he'll be stepping up in trip before long, but we'll learn a lot more about him from this run.
Reporting by Matt Rennie

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'We're looking forward to getting him started' - Derby third White Birch makes return in Group 3   

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