Capulet, Aablan Bid for BC Berth in Royal Lodge

Kentucky-bred Capulet has been declared to face eight rivals as the favorite in the Sept. 30 Royal Lodge Stakes (G2) at Newmarket. The winner of the one-mile contest will gain an automatic berth into the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) at Santa Anita Park through the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In.

Capulet, a son of Triple Crown hero Justify owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith, posted a commendable effort in just his second start when finishing second by a half-length to stablemate Diego Velazquez in the Sept. 9 Champions Juvenile Stakes (G2) at Leopardstown, a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series race for the Juvenile Turf. Trainer Aidan O’Brien is just one victory away from equaling the record of Noel Murless, who has eight wins in this race.

Speaking ahead of the race, O’Brien said: “We’ve always liked Capulet. From day one we always thought he was a lovely colt and he’s very genuine.”

The unbeaten Aablan , trained by Charlie Appleby, is one of the most exciting 2-year-olds in England at present. The Godolphin-owned son of Dubawi looks ready for the step up to this distance after he stayed seven furlongs strongly last time out at Sandown to claim the Sept. 2 Solario Stakes (G3) by a neck.

The Sheikh Abdullah Almalek Alsabah-owned Al Musmak , trained by Roger Varian, won for the second time in three starts Sept. 9 when he captured the listed Ascendant Stakes going a mile at Haydock.

Varian will be double-handed in this contest as he has also declared Defiance. The son of Camelot is the second of three runners in this race who still retain a 100% record. He was an impressive debut winner at one mile on Aug. 10 when overcoming inexperience at Sandown to run down Caviar Heights, eking out the success by a head.

Juddmonte’s Macduff was 1 1/2 lengths behind Al Musmak when they faced each other at Haydock, and the Ralph Beckett-trained colt will look to reverse that form Saturday.

Ghostwriter, trained by Clive Cox, is another 2-year-old whose perfect record of two wins is under threat. The J.C. Smith-owned colt defied a penalty at Ascot last time over seven furlongs. The step up to one mile means there could be further improvement to come still for this son of Invincible Spirit .

The nine-runner field is completed by the Christophe Soumillon-ridden At Vimeiro and the Richard Hannon-trained Son .

This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.