Murtagh confident Take Charge Star can mix it with the best

Johnny Murtagh believes Take Charge Star can follow his Royal Ascot conqueror Thesecretadversary on to the highest step with a Group One win in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville on Sunday.

The Starspangledbanner colt went down by a neck to the Fozzy Stack-trained winner after a spirited duel for the Jersey Stakes at the Royal meeting back in June.

With the winner giving the form a healthy boost in the Prix Jean Prat at the Normandy track next time, Murtagh says he is confident Take Charge Star can make a bold bid to land his own Group One.

“He is fresh and well and arrived over in Deauville on Thursday. He has been going nicely since Royal Ascot and we have had this race earmarked since then,” said Murtagh.

“I said I wouldn’t go to the Jean Prat as sometimes after Ascot I run them back a little bit quick and it is tough going to Ascot so it was always the plan to give him a bit of a break and target this one, but it was great to see the form upheld.

“Seamie Heffernan told me Thesecretadversary was a good horse and he is a Group One winner now so it was good to see the form being boosted.

“Deauville is pretty similar to Ascot in that it is a straight six and a half and it is quite demanding and takes a bit of getting so I thought everything about Deauville would suit our fellow as well so we are looking forward to it.”

Form lines with Thesecretadversary from the Jersey and Prix Jean Prat must be taken with some caution given the half-furlong shorter trip, but they give Take Charge Star a narrow edge over True Love and Samangan, trained by Aidan O’Brien and Francis-Henri Graffard, respectively.

O’Brien believes the shorter test at Deauville will suit his filly, who was beaten half a length into second behind Thesecretadversary in the Prix Jean Prat.

“She had the run over seven, so she’s coming back another half a furlong now. We are happy with her,” said O’Brien who was the last Irish-based trainer to land the contest back with King Charlemagne back in 2001.

Samangan, a length fourth in the same race, goes with a live chance of hitting the podium according Nemone Routh, French racing manager for owners Aga Khan Studs.

“He’ll love this ground and he likes this track,” said Routh.

“He probably ran his best race when fourth in the Prix Jean Prat when he wasn’t there as a lead horse for Rayif, but was there to help Rayif get some cover behind him. We’re probably going there with an each-way chance, but he’s in great form.”

George Boughey takes another shot at a Group One with Rosy Affair who steps up in trip after finishing fourth to Mission Central in the King Charles III and again in the Group Two Sapphire Stakes at the Curragh.

Godolphin’s Middle Park winner Wise Approach bids to bounce back from finishing a distant last behind Venetian Sun in the Commonwealth Cup.