Gali can land the Queen’s Vase for Balding and Murphy

SOME top-class horses have won the Group Two Queen’s Vase (3.05pm) over the years, with Eldar Eldarov claiming this one-mile-six-furlong prize and then the St Leger a few months later in 2022.

Illinois almost landed the same double in 2024, going down by a neck to stablemate Jan Brueghel at Doncaster.

Whoever wins this afternoon will be towards the head of the market for the final Classic of the season and I’m hoping that will be GALIYAN for Andrew Balding and Oisin Murphy, who combined to win this race with Dashing Willoughby in 2019.

Galiyan was very green on debut at Newmarket back in April before doing all his best work at the finish in what looked a fair maiden over an extended mile-and-a-half at Chester last month.

You had to be impressed with the way he saw out his race after looking in trouble in the final half mile, powering clear to beat the odds-on favourite by two-and-a-quarter lengths.

Although he isn’t a big price at 5/2, he looks like he will improve for the extra distance and is a strong fancy.

Undoubtedly the biggest threat is Joseph O’Brien’s Limestone who landed a hat-trick at Navan last month in a one-mile-five-furlong Listed event, getting the better of Johnny Murtagh’s Asakir who reopposes here.

Limestone held Derby entries prior to that Navan success, but this race was immediately earmarked and given his connections, a trip to Melbourne could be on the cards at some stage in his career.

There are others in the line-up who have claims, but I’m happy to stick with Galiyan to bring home the prize after such an impressive display at Chester.