2022 Prix de l'Abbaye Tips
Highfield Princess is lining up as the betting favourite for the 2022 Prix de l'Abbaye, with John Quinn hoping to land a rare Longchamp success as a trainer. There have been three successive wins for the five-year-old and the first of these came at Deauville racecourse on 7 August when the horse was able to land the spoils in the Arc Prix Maurice de Gheest over six-and-a-half furlongs.
At the Ebor Festival at the Knavesmire, there was another success when the runner obliged in the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes and it was noticeable that she was able to get the better of The Platinum Queen who will be looking to frank the form of that particular race after finishing two-and-a-half lengths behind this runner.
The bookies certainly kept the mare onside when sending her off as short-priced favourite ahead of the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai Flying Five Stakes and she was able to achieve a victory over five furlongs on soft ground. Now comes a stiff test where The Platinum Queen will be looking to get closer.
The Richard Fahey-trained runner was also second in her last outing when finishing second behind Trillium, with that being a narrow defeat by a short head. Meanwhile, Creative Force will run in the distinctive Godolphin colours and the horse will have had a long break since finishing fourth in the Darley July Cup Stakes.
Suesa Now Heads 2021 Prix de l’Abbaye Betting
Suesa has recently leapt to the head of the betting market for the 2021 Prix de l’Abbaye, with the filly having triumphed in the Group Two King George Stakes at Goodwood in July by an impressive three lengths. She then headed to York and ran particularly well despite finishing fourth in the Nunthorpe Stakes and there was no disgrace in a narrow finish behind eventual winner Winter Power.
Many will put that defeat down to a bad draw at the Knavesmire which saw Suesa on the wrong side of the track where the going wasn’t as good, with the horse noticeably making up ground during the end of the race and it looks as though she’ll be a warm order for this clash.
Winter Power Bidding for Another Big Victory
Winter Power ran well in the Nunthorpe Stakes to claim a Group 1 victory in Yorkshire, with the Tim Easterby-trained charge bidding for a consecutive hat-trick of wins and this will now be a different kind of test for a three-year-old who has done all their running in the United Kingdom.
The Nunthorpe victory saw the horse win with plenty in hand and it therefore stands that Winter Power might have more in the tank when aiming to fend off many of the same rivals who are going to line up at Longchamp. "She's just brilliant," Easterby has said about his mare. "She's a machine, she's a superstar and she's also just right now. It took a long time to get her there. Some horses need a bit of time to come to themselves.”
Glass Slippers and Dragon Symbol Next in the Betting
Glass Slippers is likely to be a popular each-way bet, with the horse running an excellent race at odds of 22/1 in the King George Stakes at Glorious Goodwood. Kevin Ryan was delighted with this performance and will hope that the more experienced five-year-old is able to frank the form with Suesa, with the horse having also won the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint last autumn.
Dragon Symbol finished second in the King George Stakes and it’s nearly always the case that the two-year-old produces a bright performance in top-class company. Third place in the Nunthorpe Stakes and perhaps this is the obvious each-way betting selection considering that the horse is bang in the frame when running in these races.
2020 Prix de l'Abbaye Race card
Sometimes you can run out of superlatives to describe a horse and Battaash probably fits into that category considering that the six-year-old has reached the peak of his powers.
For the past two seasons, the Charles Hills-trained charge has been scoring victories left right and centre, with 2020 seeing Jim Crowley ride Battaash to triumphs at Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood and the Ebor Festival.
There was a relatively comfortable win in the King’s Stand Stakes on 16 June where the horse fended off Equilateral by over two lengths, while next engagement was in the King George Qatar Stakes where there was a victory over Glass Slippers by a similar distance.
Most recently, the horse lined up in the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes and pleased favourite backers by beating Que Amoro, with Battaash now heading to France and he’ll have a point to prove when arriving at Longchamp.
After all, great things were expected of the horse in last year’s Prix de l'Abbaye and the horse was sent off as the 9/10 favourite although it was a distinctly underwhelming performance and perhaps backers might tread carefully this time around.
We can probably put that run down to a number of mitigating factors and there is currently odds of 6/4 with William Hill that Battaash can add this Prix de l'Abbaye title to a growing list of victories.
Who Are the Big Dangers to Battaash in the Prix de l'Abbaye?
This is clearly not a one-horse race and Glass Slippers was the victor in last year’s renewal so there’s no reason why the horse can’t land consecutive successes at a track where he clearly performs so well.
The horse won twice at Longchamp towards the end of the previous flat season and the four-year-old clearly acts at this racecourse, although he’s only been seen twice this year and has yet to find a way into the winners’ enclosure.
Glass Slippers finished nearly six lengths behind Battaash at Royal Ascot and more recently finished second to the same horse in the Qatar Stakes. However, the runner-up got closer to the winner in that race and perhaps we’ll have a grandstand tussle all the way to the line.
The History of the Prix de l'Abbaye
This is one of the biggest French horse races and it was inaugurated in 1957, with the distance only being 1,000 metres or five furlongs. That means it’s a dash to the finish and a massive test of speed for all the runners, with a good start essential to any chance of victory.
Any horse aged two or older can compete in the Prix de l'Abbaye, although the winner tends to be older due to having more experience and conditioning for a race such as this one. Battaash has already won this race in 2017 and will be bidding to land victory for a second time along with Glass Slippers.
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