Following his outstanding but ultimately unplaced run in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe three weeks ago, Sevenna’s Knight gets another opportunity to add a valuable Group 1 title to his resume in the G1 Prix Royal-Oak at Saint-Cloud on Sunday.
Somewhat of a surprise packet this season, Sevenna’s Knight’s journey to the Royal-Oak is now well documented. A competitive run at Meydan in March was followed by back-to-back victories at Group level on his favourite French track, Longchamp, across April and May. June saw him venture to Saint-Cloud to contest a Group 1 for the first time in the Grand Prix de Paris, where a firming track conspired against him. He had a break from racing across July and August before returning for another Group 3 win at Longchamp in September. He then went on to ‘the Arc’ in the first week of October and performed so admirably there, finishing strongly into 5th position.
Sevenna’s Knight finished 5th in the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
The distance of Sunday’s event (3100m) appears far more suitable for Sevenna’s Knight. A five-time winner, all 5 of them have been at distances of 2800m or further. He will however need to overcome some of the best stayers Europe has to offer. Kyprios, Trawlerman, Magical Zoe and Illinois are just some of the world-renowned stayers currently in the nominations.
In Sevenna’s Knight’s favour, however, is that he is trained by the master, Andre Fabre and will again be ridden by Mickael Barzalona, with whom he has formed a tremendous association, having been paired together for his last 9 starts.
Sevenna’s Knight is a horse that was touted as a Melbourne Cup contender earlier this season. He is currently making his mark a long way from Flemington and a win in this Group 1 on Sunday would almost certainly rule him out of future Melbourne Cup contention, given his rating would become too high for our two-mile handicap feature. While it would be a shame to never see him on Australian shores, he is providing his ownership group (in both hemispheres) memories of a lifetime and all connected will be cheering him loudly this Sunday.