Racing: Doyen can regain his Champion status

The leaves are dropping off the 2004 Flat season, and so might be the attention, but a cattle prod to the ribs arrives this afternoon in the shape of Newmarket's Champions' Day, which is not so grandiose as the nomenclature might suggest.

The leaves are dropping off the 2004 Flat season, and so might be the attention, but a cattle prod to the ribs arrives this afternoon in the shape of Newmarket's Champions' Day, which is not so grandiose as the nomenclature might suggest.

Lone Star Park in Texas in two weeks' time might well style itself, under the Breeders' Cup banner, as racing's world championships. That meeting though is in danger of being suffocated under the pillow of an extraordinarily well endowed card today.

Top of the bill at Headquarters, in financial terms at least, is the Champion Stakes, a Group One race sprinkled with achievers, nearly-men and tyros. The form for the race is available to be spun in so many different ways.

Mark Johnston attempts a small domination here in running both Lucky Story and Mister Monet. The former bounds in after a brilliant effort in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot, where he was second to Ratki, which followed a paler effort in the Prix du Moulin.

This is a race in which the soft ground will have a quite substantial impact. It might work for Mister Monet, who does not have the class in the book, and against Lucky Story, who does. "I said his run at Ascot was a prep run as we were so disappointed with his effort in France," the trainer said yesterday. "We thought after that a step up in trip was the right thing to do, so we went to Ascot quite relaxed. To come second and be running on at the death was a bonus."

Mister Monet has stepped up from handicap company to Group Three and then Group Two company recently. Now comes the most slippery of rungs. "Mister Monet more than deserves his place in the line-up and it was the only Group One opportunity other than dropping him back to a mile," Johnston said. "I would hope that we haven't seen the best of him yet - although he did win a Group Two by a good few lengths last time out."

Azamour, who was taken out of York's International Stakes because of the soft ground, appears a vulnerable favourite, even if he does make the starting stalls. More solid than his case and the ground is Doyen (next best 3.25), who was slipping and be-garlanded through the pillars into Mount Olympus until dribbling home behind Azamour at Leopardstown in the Irish Champion Stakes.

The King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner's best performances this season have been on firm going, but there is another string. Doyen was second to Dalakhani in the Prix Niel last season and fourth to the same horse in the Arc on softer terrain. His feet are also made for slogging. In addition, it may transpire that going left-handed was not totally his bag.

Johnston runs the unbeaten Shamardal in the other Group One race, the Dewhurst Stakes, and remains positive despite the recent deluges. "He is in great form and everything has gone well with him," the trainer said. "You never know until they run, but we are going there more than hopeful and he will take an awful lot of beating."

The limbs of another fast horse, Etlaala, are likely to be slowed also and it should pay to remain with a horse with more experience, one which has already travelled and got the T-shirt, Oratorio (4.00), the victor in the the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère on Arc day.

Among the many classy horses there is an apparently insipid contest for the plodders, one which would be insignificant if it was not called the Cesarewitch and spread across 2m 2f of the Suffolk flatlands.

A bizarre historical footnote to this contest is that a high draw seems to be significant despite the Marco Polo journey. The much-fancied Escayola, the Ascot winner, is therefore beautifully berthed, but the ground has gone against him.

The soggy dice have fallen in favour of one with the right draw, one who stays and will be able to lap up the ground off a low weight. It has all come right for the Mick Channon-trained ALMIZAN (nap 2.45).