Rosallion, scratched from last weekend’s Jacque le Marois in France and winless since June 2024, heads the Group 1 City of York Stakes on Saturday at York Racecourse.
A bruised foot kept Rosallion from traveling from trainer Richard Hannon Jr.’s base in England to the Marois at Deauville Racecourse in France, but Rosallion quickly pops up in the seven-furlong City of York, seeking his first win since the St. James’s Palace Stakes at the 2024 Royal Ascot meeting.
Among his rivals is Qirat, who was 150-1 in England when he beat Rosallion by a neck on July 30 at Goodwood in the Group 1 Sussex. Qirat raced as a pacemaker for odds-on favorite Field of Gold, but while Field of Gold failed to fire and came out of the Sussex lame, Qirat failed to stop and posted a historic upset.
Never So Brave makes his Group 1 debut after winning his first group race of any sort when he captured the Group 2 Summer Mile. That victory came after Never So Brave beat 26 foes in a seven-furlong Royal Ascot handicap, winning by more than two lengths while carrying top weight.
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