MAGNIFICENT MUSIR

MUSIR (43) clocked a sensational time to win Europe's most valuable mile race, the Topkapi Trophy at Veliefendi's big international meeting in Turkey. He cruised clear off a strong early pace and won comfortably, easing up, by nearly four lengths.

Clearly Musir is best at trips short of ten furlongs. Indeed if you toss out his two runs this year off lengthy breaks he would probably have won the other eight times he's run less than ten furlongs but for veering across the track when second in South Africa as a two year old and hanging when beat half a length in the Champion's Mile in Hong Kong.

The obvious targets for Musir are the Mile Championship at Kyoto, the Hong Kong Mile and, in the Spring, the Dubai Duty Free. I'd be wary of opposing him in any of those races. The only thing that might concern me is soft ground, which he has yet to race on.

RHYTHM OF LIGHT COULD SCORE UPSET IN SUN CHARIOT STAKES

VANJURA (40) routinely runs faster than the average winner of a fillies' Group 1. And she did so again when winning the Group 2 race for fillies at the International Racing Festival at Veliefendi’s. She came off a searching early pace, caught the tiring tearaway leader before the furlong pole and was never looked in any danger, scoring by two lengths.

This remarkable filly has now won ten of her sixteen starts but has yet to win the Group 1 she needs to secure her stud value, having lost the Premio Vittorio di Capua in a photo last year. She's entered for that race once more on the 24th of this month and it looks her best option even though she also holds an entry in what looks like a weak renewal of the Sun Chariot Stakes against her own sex.

The trouble with the Sun Chariot Stakes is it's run on a straight course and Vanjura ran significantly below her best the only time she tried a straight course in the Prix Rothschild. She's so good I'd still be interested in her chances if she lined up at Newmarket but the Italian race looks the right way to go. She should be the one to beat there.

Runner up RHYTHM OF LIGHT (38) managed to beat the smart Antara and Music Show for third, running her best ever race. However I wouldn't leap to the conclusion that this performance means she can now handle a turn.

Rhythm Of Light has won three of her four starts on straight courses but got herself into traffic problems pretty much every time she'd run around a turn before this.

I've noted before that Veliefendi is so well designed and has such a well graded turn that it ensures horses can keep balanced throughout a race and even start their run on the turn. Horses that can only handle small fields or straight courses elsewhere often jump up and show their best form around a turn at the course. So I'm inclined to think that Rhythm Of Light is still going to prove best on straight courses.

In the immediate future that's no problem for Rhythm Of Light as her next entry is in the Sun Chariot Stakes up the straight at Newmarket. She ran fast enough here to have a serious shot in that race, which, as I've mentioned, looks set to be below its normal standard this year. I wouldn't be surprised if she pulled off a big priced win there.