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Thursday’s racing round-up brings news that AMO Racing’s Group 1-winning two-year-old Bucanero Fuerte has been retired…
Group 1-winning two-year-old Bucanero Fuerte has been retired to stand at Tally-Ho Stud next season. A €165,000 at the Arqana August Yearling Sale by Robson Aguiar, Bucanero Fuerte made a successful debut in the first two-year-old race of the Irish Flat season at the Curragh before going on to finish third in the Group 2 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot. A return to the Curragh would see Adrian Murray's juvenile plunder the Group 2 Railway Stakes prior to demolishing top-class filly Porta Fortuna to gain a breakthrough Group 1 triumph in the Phoenix Stakes. A stud fee will be announced at a later date.
Owen Burrows has revealed Alflaila will take his place in the Bahrain International Trophy next Friday. Burrows, who saddled Anmaat to land the Champion Stakes at Ascot in October, will be hoping to continue a fine recent run of form. The Shadwell-owned gelding was disappointing when well-beaten behind City Of Troy in the Juddmonte International at York in August, he but has some top form in the book with a Group 2 victory at the same venue earlier in the season proceeding a good effort in the Prince of Wales's at Royal Ascot.
Joseph O'Brien's high-class chaser Banbridge will make his reappearance at Navan or Cork before his mid-season target of the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day. The eight-year-old, who won the Grade 1 Champion Chase at Punchestown on his final outing last season, will make his return over two and a half miles before stepping up to three miles at Kempton later in the year.
Adrian Keatley's mare Gale Mahler will head back to Cheltenham next Friday after finishing a well-held second in Grade 2 company at their opening meeting. A winner of her first four outings over hurdles, including in a Listed event at the Galway Festival in July, Gale Mahler was sent off the 4/5 market leader to stretch her winning run last time. She was unable to lay a glove on Dan Skelton's front-running Valgrand on that occasion, but Keatley will bid to get back on track when returning to Prestbury Park next week.