The 2024 Sun Chariot Stakes: runner-by-runner guide

The Virgin Bet Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday sets punters a poser. Do they trust the old guard, who have the best overall form, or do they put their trust in the new fillies on the block? 

Multiple Group One winners Inspiral and Nashwa, both daughters of Frankel, stand out on their overall form but the pair, who have chalked up 24 Group One runs between them, have had truncated campaigns and arrive with something to prove. 

So do their joint-trainers, John and Thady Gosden, who also have Running Lion and Friendly Soul in the mix. This powerful father-and-son combination had just five winners from 61 runners last month. That strike-rate of just 8 per cent is nothing like what you would expect from them and compares miserably with previous years. 

Seven of the 11 potential runners represent the three-year-old generation, and they include Classic winners in Elmalka and Darnation. 

Here’s a guide to the 11 possible runners. 

Timeform rating: 128. Odds: 100-30. 

Inspiral has been one of the stars of recent seasons and was electric when winning this race by almost four lengths last year. She then went on to Santa Anita to scoop the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, chalking up her sixth win at the highest level in the process. 

However, this season has been one of underachievement. Her first two efforts suggested her powers (and maybe interest) were on the wane, while her latest run in the Jacques le Marois at Deauville, when third to Charyn, was a mix of the good, the bad and the ugly. 

It ended up being a creditable run, in terms of form, but the way she blew the start was troubling, even if she has always been prone to sluggish breaks. It looked for a moment that she might not come out of the gates at all, a trait that evoked memories of her quirky dam, Starscope. 

Inspiral’s state of mind on Saturday will be pivotal. Her connections will no doubt be encouraged that she’s 2/2 on the Rowley Mile, impressing on easy ground in the Fillies’ Mile three years ago, before her exhibition 12 months ago. That was then, though, and this is now, plus stable form clouds the picture further. 

Timeform rating: 132. Odds: 6-1. 

The decision to keep Nashwa in training at five was a bold one – there must have been a temptation to call it a day given her potential as a broodmare – but it’s not been rewarded. 

An early return in the Dubai Turf, at the end of March, hinted she could be in for another busy campaign, but she’s not resurfaced until now. 

She ran as if needing the run at Meydan, fading to finish in midfield, and after another six months off she may again be rusty, especially given she must have had an issue or two in the interim. 

We are in the dark as to her wellbeing, or what ability she retains, although you could easily argue that she could win this without needing to be at her best. 

If Nashwa can deliver anything like her best form, which including a five-length romp in last season’s Falmouth Stakes, then she will take plenty of beating. But having missed virtually the whole season, it’s a big “if”. 

Timeform rating: 117. Odds: 33-1. 

Rogue Millennium has run in eight Group One races without getting her head in front, and that sequence seems likely to continue Saturday. 

Wins of any nature, in fact, have totalled zero since her success in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot last summer. 

There have been some creditable performances along the way, including when placed in the Falmouth Stakes and Prix Rothschild this summer, but the suspicion is that she’s not been firing on all cylinders. 

She stepped back up in trip in the Blandford Stakes at The Curragh last time, but that failed to work the oracle. The other worry here is the track, as she looked all at sea on the Rowley Mile on her only previous visit here two years ago. 

Timeform rating: 121. Odds: 33-1. 

A theme in this year’s Sun Chariot is not knowing what to expect from several high-profile fillies. That goes for Running Lion, too, as her record reflects her tendency to blow hot and cold. 

She was on her best behaviour when landing the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, which came after she had trailed home last in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom. 

And since that Ascot triumph, she’s run lamentably in the Falmouth Stakes. The way she folded that day hinted at a physical, or perhaps mental issue. 

Connections hit the pause button after that, and she is now set to resume after three months off. Even if she’s back at her best, it may well not be good enough. 

Timeform rating: 117. Odds: 50-1. 

Karl Burke’s dream season shows no signs of slowing, and it’s probably slipped the minds of many that Darnation won a Classic for him in late May. 

Her fluent win in the German 1000 Guineas tended to get overlooked as Fallen Angel was winning the Irish 1000 Guineas for him on the same day. 

That win at Dusseldorf highlighted how well Darnation is suited by the combination of a mile and soft ground. She is again likely to get her conditions, and it’s worth remembering she dished out a three-length beating to See The Fire in the May Hill Stakes at Doncaster last season, having landed the Prestige Stakes at Goodwood before that. 

The daughter of Too Darn Hot has moved up to ten furlongs on her past two starts, running respectably without necessarily improving for the extra yardage. 

Dropping back to a mile makes sense and the 50-1 on offer is a bit of an insult, although she did finish well adrift of several of these in the 1000 Guineas over course and distance in early May. 

Timeform rating: 120. Odds: 10-1. 

Emalka seeks to emulate Attraction and Sky Lantern, who have been 1000 Guineas winners in the past 20 years who have gone on scoop this race in the same season. 

I certainly would not be in a hurry to write off her prospects, as she performed wonders to overhaul Porta Fortuna late on in the Guineas, on what was only her third start. 

The Kingman filly was a creditable fourth in the Coronation Stakes next time, especially given she was held up in a race that did not bring her stamina into play. 

Moving up to ten furlongs in the Nassau Stakes last time seemed a logical move, but she could only muster the one pace in the closing stages and again had to settle fourth. I couldn’t work out whether she had stayed or not by the end of things. On balance, the longer trip did not seem to be of any great help. 

The combination of a straight mile and some juice in the ground could be an ideal combination, although she’s only raced on good going or quicker on turf. 

Her best half-brother, Benbatl, was at his best on fast terrain, although he was by Dubawi, whereas Elmalka is a daughter of Kingman, and his stock seem to cope with all types of surfaces. Elmaka’s dam, Nahrain, was comfortable on slower going. 

Timeform rating: 118p. Odds: 11-1. 

She looked a potential top-notcher when beating Kalpana in the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Guineas meeting here (1m 2f) in May, having also impressed on her debut at Kempton. 

However, her Classic bubble was burst when she bombed badly in the Musidora Stakes at York ten days later. She hung badly right and ended up trailing home last of the seven runners, to the dismay of odds-on backers. 

Friendly Soul put that behind her when a fluent winner of the Group Three Valiant Stakes over a mile at Ascot ten weeks later, and again made all when taking a Group Two prize at Deauville last time, when back up to 1m 2f. 

Ten furlongs does look a natural trip for her, although that’s not to say she is effective over a mile. It could be she heads to Paris for an alternative engagement this weekend. 

Timeform rating: 126. Odds: 7-1. 

This daughter of Sea The Stars made the most of a drop in class when landing the Group Three Strensall Stakes at York last time. She won in taking style, given the way the race unfolded, and reassuringly kept straight because she has looked something of a wanderer. 

See The Fire’s previous five assignments had all been in Group One company and have been something of a mixed bag. A feature of them has been her tendency to hang, and she does not seem fussy about which direction. 

She did keep straight when an excellent neck second to Opera Singer in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood on her penultimate start, having been fourth to City Of Troy in the Coral-Eclipse before that. 

Dropping back to a mile here is a niggle, and I’m not sure the open expanses of the Rowley Mile are ideal for her. She hung badly left when third to Ylang Ylang in the Fillies’ Mile a year ago and her one stinker came in the 1000 Guineas, when strong in the betting. 

Timeform rating: 122. Odds: 11-4. 

There are plenty of horses in this year’s Sun Chariot who could finish first or last, and you would not be surprised. That’s not the case with Tamfana, who looks something of a certainty to give her running. 

She’s been impossible to knock in each of her eight runs, plus has shown herself to be versatile in terms of trip, ground and tactics. 

The memory of her luckless fourth in the 1000 Guineas lingers, and then came a narrow reverse in the French Oaks. 

Tamfana was also a good fourth against the boys in the Grand Prix de Paris, especially as the trip of 1m 4f seemed at the very upper limit of her stamina reserves. The winner, Sosie, is favourite for Sunday’s Arc, while Illinois, the runner-up, gave Los Angeles a fright next time before finishing runner-up in the St Leger. 

Given a deserved break, Tamfana returned with a comfortable win over a mile in the Atalanta Stakes. Saffron Beach won the same race en route to victory here in 2021. The Rowley Mile will suit her even better and she deserves her prominent place in the betting. 

Timeform rating: 118p. Odds: 25-1. 

It will be a surprise if Wingspan drops back to a mile, given that her only run over the trip was on her debut in the spring. 

Since then, she’s moved up in trip – in keeping with her pedigree – and shown smart form. If anything, you would think a move to 1m 4f is on the cards. 

I imagine she will be in action in France this weekend, if she’s in action anywhere. 

Timeform rating: 119. Odds: 7-1. 

Who would have thought that Inspiral Nashwa and Ylang Ylang would all potentially be lining up for this race having not won all season? 

Some folk fancied Ylang Ylang to pull off the Guineas/Oaks double at the start of the year, especially once it became clear Opera Singer, her stablemate, had suffered a setback and would miss the former. 

Ylang Ylang went off at 5/1 for the first leg but the ground was quicker than when she had won the Fillies’ Mile the previous autumn and that counted against her. She kept on well to be beaten under a length but had to settle for fifth. 

Ylang Ylang was all the rage for the Oaks after that and went off at 11/8 favourite, but she trailed home a distant sixth at Epsom. She was subsequently found to have pulled some muscles. 

That setback has left the Frankel filly playing catch up in the second half of the season. She was easy to back and handled considerately next time at Leopardstown, after more than two months off, but her latest staying-on fourth to Porta Fortuna in the Matron Stakes was much more like it. 

Ylang Ylang probably want further than a mile, but this could still be a good fit. She would be a fascinating contender. 

To follow on Thursday once we know the final field.