Loco Team Eyeing Major Celebration Success

Newmarket handler Chris Wall is having one of his best ever seasons and with his team appearing to be holding their form as well as ever there are good reasons for anticipating that stable star Premio Loco can land a big prize at Goodwood on Saturday when he challenges for the Group 2 Totesport.com Celebration Mile, writes Elliot Slater.

The late maturing Premio Loco most definitely seems to be getting better with age and is a fine advertisement for those in the racing game that believe that too many potentially smart racehorses are being retired before they are able to show their full potential. Now aged six, the gelded son of Prized is clearly getting improving and has graduated from being a decent handicapper two seasons ago to being a genuine contender in the major mile contests around Europe.

Already this season Premio Loco has landed a Group 3 contest at Newmarket, the Group 2 Summer Mile at Ascot, and then last time out at Glorious Goodwood he ran a stormer to finish third in the Group 1 Sussex Stakes, chasing home the mighty pair of Canford Cliffs and the subsequent Juddmonte International winner Rip Van Winkle.

Being the highest rated horse in the field for the Celebration Mile Premio Loco is a probable favourite, but in giving away weight-for-age and carrying a Group 2 penalty he will have to be at the very top of his game to see off last season's Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes winner Beethoven, who after a rather disappointing time of things earlier this term hinted strongly that he is on the way back when easily winning the Group 3 Desmond Stakes at the Curragh a couple of weeks ago.

With racing tips for today noting that recent York winner Rio De La Plata and the talented pair of Finjaan and Main Aim also likely contenders, the Celebration Mile is shaping up to be a fine contest, but one that should go to Premio Loco, a horse who has twice before shown his liking for the idiosyncratic course.