You beat me to it Mr D - I was going to ask the speed figure gurus what they thought of his time figures as I'm no expert either and they seem pretty good to me?

Yep, this race should sort of tell us whether or not Solow is as good as he looked in Dubai, old Cirrus Des Aigles will give him something to think about if both are declared tomorrow morning. Gailo Chop is also pencilled in for this and he's a horse I liked last season but he wants soft ground, it will be an interesting race.

Morning ELG - don't think the stiff mile will be an issue, was 2nd to Designs On Rome over 9 & 10f last year but the beating European horses on their own patch will be the very hard part.

With Able Friend rated already in the 134 region, this promises too be the warmest  contest of the year, if he runs his race and say NOT beats him ,NOT could well be rated higher than Kingman?(WHAT A RACE)

Some will say he may have improved? but I agree with you sintonian.

Trainer Freddy Head is concerned that Solow has yet to be tested ahead of his clash with Cirrus Des Aigles in the Prix d’Ispahan at Longchamp on Sunday.

Solow was an easy winner of the US$6 million (Dh22m) Dubai Turf in March and beat Irish Champion Stakes winner The Grey Gatsby, who runs on Sunday in the Gold Cup at the Curragh, by more than four lengths.

The win at Meydan Racecourse brought Solow’s aggregate winning margin to almost 17 lengths from his past five victories.

Read more:

– Night Of Thunder strikes hard on Godolphin debut at Lockinge Stakes

– Moore’s the merrier after capturing 2,000 Guineas and 1,000 Guineas

Cirrus Des Aigles has left some of Europe’s best horses in his wake over the past few seasons.

Some of those high-profile scalps include Solow’s stablemate We Are last time in the Group 1 Prix Ganay at Longchamp three weeks ago.

That was the first time in eight years that the remarkable mount of Christophe Soumillon had won a race on his seasonal bow.

The signs are there that the evergreen nine year old is as redoubtable as ever.

With Gailo Chop, Pollyana and Sparkling Beam the only other runners in the race it is likely that it will come down to a head-to-head battle between two horses rated alongside dual Arc heroine Treve as the top ranked in Europe, according to ratings organisation Timeform.

“It is going to be a real tough race, a real test against Cirrus,” Head said from his Chantilly base. “He was very impressive last time and at the age of nine it is quite extraordinary.

“It is a re-entry for us. I stopped his training after Dubai for a bit so he will have to be at his best to win.

“Solow has never had a real test. He has won his races really easily.

“He has never been challenged, never here at home either as he is better than any horse in the whole stable.

“It is easy for him every time.”

Cirrus Des Aigles is likely to take the lead early under Soumillon, while Maxime Guyon will have to decide as late as possible when it is best to sneak past Cirrus Des Aigles without getting engaged in a battle of wills.

The bigger picture is that Solow has the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot in focus and a tough race against Cirrus Des Aigles could easily dash those hopes.

After that, Head hopes to give his charge a summer break before lucrative autumn targets, such as the Breeders’ Cup or Hong Kong, ahead of a defence of his title in Dubai.

Head won the Ispahan three times as a jockey and has won it twice as a trainer with the brilliant Goldikova.

Solow is a gelding and Head hopes his charge can forge a long career such as his main rival, also a gelding, who had already run seven times at Listed level and won a Group 2 and Group 3 race before Solow was born in 2010.

“I am very happy with him,” Head said. “He has taken his race in Dubai well and seems in good form.

“He’s a Group 1 horse, that’s for sure, and he could be very good.”

He was impressive again, travelled strongly and quickend well off a pretty strong pace. There are still question marks for me though.

Gailo Chop ran a great race after a long lay off (August) in his first European G1 race.

Reports from Soumillion say he eased CDA after one of his shoes broke off during the race.

The Grey Gatsby didn't do much for the Dubai form today.

Is 8F Solow's best trip? I think 1m 2f would be his optimum trip the way he has won over 9F... Freddy knows a lot more than me though!!!

SOLOW B ABLE FRIEND WILL BE THE RACE OF THE CENTURY...........TWO MACHINES

Very comfortable win but only did what he was entitled too.

I agree about the POW Sint - if Free Eagle were to miss the gig then with The Grey Gatsby looking out of sorts Solow would be a clear favourite for that, whereas he has two very strong rivals for the Queen Anne.

Head says QA is the race, no mention of the POW at this stage, so if they do go for the QA I hope the Wertheimers have the sense to put in a pacemaker as he'll need a strong pace. They often did with Goldikova.

Able Friend cruises through Royal Ascot trial.

02/06/2015 HKJC Website

Able Friend completed a straightforward barrier trial assignment this morning, Tuesday 2 June, as trainer John Moore continued the five-year-old’s preparations for the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes (1600m) at Royal Ascot two weeks today.

The big chestnut will depart for England on Saturday ahead of his 16 June engagement and both his trainer and his jockey, Joao Moreira, are of the view that the world’s current joint highest rated horse is right where he needs to be.

“Joao said he’s 85-90% there now and with two weeks up our sleeves it’s just right on schedule with how I’ve trained him for his previous big races. All in all I’m very pleased with the outcome of that trial. He’s at the end of his prep so when we get to England it’ll just be a case of fine-tuning him,” said Moore.

Able Friend camped at the tail of the eight runners and travelled smoothly across the Sha Tin turf. After turning into the straight, the gelding made steady ground down the stands’ side rail, slightly apart from the other runners, as Moreira allowed him to roll through the climax of the 1600m trial with zero pressure. The Shamardal gelding, a four-time G1 winner this season, crossed the line a short-head second behind the local G3 winner Packing Llaregyb in a time of 1m 37.74s.

“He did that nicely, he’s done nothing wrong and I was delighted with how he travelled. I was actually very happy he didn’t trial in an outstanding manner. That means he is heading to his best when we need him to be. He’s done extremely well and I think he’s as good as or even better than when he won the Champions Mile, so I’m going to play safe and go with he’s as good as,” said Moreira.

The Brazilian’s only concern heading into the elite contest down Ascot’s famous straight mile is couched in the uncertainty of whether or not the horse will flourish after travelling half-way around the world, with a transit time of about 21 hours. He has no worries about the horse coping with the idiosyncrasies of a new racing environment.

“He’s the type of horse that whatever you try to teach him, from the top, he just picks it up right away,” said the Brazilian. “He’s a very smart, intelligent type of horse and I think, being so professional, he will take it easily. The thing is that it’s his first trip overseas from Hong Kong and that’s the only thing that concerns me, but, at the same time, I’m confident that he can handle it because he is so professional, he’s sharp and he’ll know what he’s there for. I’m looking forward to it.”

As for the opposition, Moreira is not taking his rivals lightly, especially Solow, the French star who blew away his opponents when winning the G1 Dubai Turf (1800m) in March.

“Based on Solow’s win in Dubai he looks like he’s the main danger to our horse but obviously we’ve got to respect the other horses in the race. But at the same time I’m full of confidence for my horse, he’s been good to me and I have a lot of faith in him.”

Moore expressed his gratitude to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for staging the unscheduled mile turf trial to aid Able Friend’s training for the Queen Anne.

“I’m very grateful to the Jockey Club for putting on this mile, it was very necessary to make sure that we go into the Queen Anne with a horse at the top of his game. We’ll wait to see how he is after he cools down and he’ll be trotted up this afternoon,” he said.

You could be spot on with that HK!

Hopefully Royal Ascot week will be warm and sunny.

AF = 5/2 second Fav guys.

The big fella is on his way... hopefully he has a safe and relaxed flight.

What's the forecast like as he's left 30+ degrees and 80% humidity behind so hopefully he'll be finding it more comfortable!!

Bet 3.65 are now NRNB on all races

http://www.hkjc.com/english/corporate/racing_news_item.asp?in_file=/english/news/2015-06/news_2015060801726.html&b_cid=EWHPJSE__

PP money back as free bet up to £50,if 2nd/3rd.

I'm surprised this race is not getting bigged up in the press more. It looks phenomenal.

For me this is the race of the meeting... and what a way to start it all off!

Enjoyed reading your positive feedback on Able Friend Sandown. Good Ba Ba's track record at Sha Tin is 1.32.71 (Hong Kong Mile G1 2008), Able Friend has done a 1.33.50 on the bit. Good Ba Ba at his peak was a top class G1 miler and multiple Hong Kong Mile winner and AF's times compare very well with Good Ba Ba, carrying the same weight. I believe this fella is one of the best I've seen and I still don't think he's reached his peak performance yet, we could see something very special Tuesday and I just hope the track (Stickels Watering Can) and flight don't put a dent in his performance. I might be wrong but visually along with his sectional times at Sha Tin he looks rock solid IMO.

Solow has been very easy on the eye in his races the past year and will be a stern test for Able Friend but I still have my doubts about him as posted previously on this thread.