Friendly Soul

DEAUVILLE, France -- While nothing will ever top Derby day as the day in the racing calendar not to be missed, a close second is Prix Morny day in Deauville. Or in fact any racing day in Deauville.  Those mizzly days of autumn with almost nobody there are special in their own aloof way, but Morny day - or Sumbe Prix Morny day to give it its full title - is one that offers something for everyone, whether purist or holidaymaker, in sharp suits or shorts. Probably no course in...

Over the last three years Frankel (GB) and Dubawi (Ire) have handed the sires' championship back and forth between each other, and they rule supreme as the two most expensive stallions in the world this year at £350,000. While Darley's Dubawi duly provided the winner of the first British Classic of the season when Notable Speech (GB) became his fourth in that particular race - an achievement that is unrivalled in the post-war era - it was Frankel's Juddmonte friend and rival Kingman (GB) who had the bragging rights on...

18.30 Kempton, £6,800, Mdn, 2yo, f, 8f (AWT) George Strawbridge's homebred FRIENDLY SOUL (GB) (Kingman {GB}), one of two nominees from the John and Thady Gosden stable, is a half-sister to six stakes performers headed by elite-level winners We Are (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), With You (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and Call The Wind (GB) (Frankel {GB}). She was scratched from her intended debut at Lingfield earlier this month, having become distressed in the stalls during the loading process, and faces one dozen rivals here. Opposition includes Roger Varian trainee Lightning Touch...