Racing: Motivator's trajectory aims at the Arc

Our two luminaries - one a Derby winner, the other notably not - continued their revivals on the gallops yesterday.

Frankie Dettori and Motivator came to grief on the same day at Sandown almost two months ago, the jockey breaking a collarbone in a fall, the horse breaking an unbeaten sequence when collared by Oratorio in the Eclipse Stakes.

Dettori will be back in competitive action on his home course on Friday, while Motivator is being nurtured towards the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown two weeks on Saturday.

The Blue Riband winner accomplished two swinging canters up Long Hill, his shape much distinguished from the animal we saw earlier in the campaign.

"He's in very good form and he looks a picture," Michael Bell, the trainer, said. "As with all proper three-year-olds, he is developing because horses are never the finished article at three. He is furnishing because the break did him the world of good. It's given him a chance to fill his frame. There is little doubt that he would be a better horse next year.

"He had a semi-Guineas preparation and then a rejig to the Dante Stakes, and you couldn't have him on the go from April all the way through to October. If you're at them all year it becomes very tough. They have to have a break at some point. They cannot dance every dance."

There have been the lazy days of summer since Motivator's abortive attempt to establish himself over a different distance and different foes in the Eclipse. In the interim another colt has come along to snatch the attention as an athlete capable over a variety of trips.

Now Motivator must travel to Azamour's home turf to wrest the initiative. After that is the no smaller matter of a Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

"These races we've picked for him are no penalty kicks," Bell added. "Azamour will be very hard to beat and may even go off favourite against us in the Irish Champion Stakes. He is obviously a very high class horse and his CV reads very well from a mile up to a mile and a half.

"We'd like to take him on with conditions in our favour, which means ground just on the easy side of good - as it was on Derby day - soft enough to get his toe in but not too soft to blunt his speed. Then we go to Longchamp, where there has never been an easy Arc. But I wouldn't swap my horse.

"Certainly, on Derby day he looked awesome. His colours were lowered in the Eclipse, but in all his other races he has looked very special. Oratorio has taken a long time to get over the race and other horses broke down at Sandown that day. The ground caught a lot of horses out and thankfully Motivator came out of the race unscathed.

"In a faster-run race I think we would have had Oratorio in deep trouble a long way out and he wouldn't have got to us. With all due respect to the horse that beat him, we were unfortunate to be beaten.

"The trouble with having a good horse is that you don't get many bites at the cherry. You have to cosset them a bit by definition, because of the racing programme. I wouldn't say mine's a forgotten horse. Maybe he hasn't run for a while, but he's still second favourite for the Arc and top of all the handicap ratings. Everyone should be looking forward to seeing him back on the track. Keep the faith."

Dettori was on the 45-winner mark when Celtic Mill propelled him into the Esher terrain. Now rehabilitation is about complete and he will ease himself back in for the weekend rides on Centaurus, a St Leger entry, in Goodwood's March Stakes on Saturday, then Layman in the Celebration Mile at the same course the following day.

"He's coming back at Newmarket on Friday, then he's doing a double-header at Goodwood and Windsor on Saturday, Goodwood again on Sunday and we'll kick on from there," Ray Cochrane, the Italian's agent, said. "He's been riding out every day since last Monday, as well as training and jogging. He's in good form and raring to go."

Jarvis run continues

William Jarvis's purple patch continued at Yarmouth yesterday when his La Persiana surged to success in the Listed Virginia Stakes.

The Newmarket trainer, based at Phantom House Stables, has saddled six winners from 18 runners in the last 14 days, with La Persiana on the score-sheet twice in that time.