Hannon’s Sky Lantern to have lights dimmed at Breeders’ Cup

Richard Hannon has never trained a major winner outside Europe, let alone at the Breeders’ Cup, but the consensus is that Sky Lantern represents the best ever chance of the yard.

Sky Lantern is the 2/1 favourite for the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf and she has done little wrong in her two-year-old season, failing to finish outside of the first two in her five career starts.

Connections were happy with the manner of her last victory in the Moyglare Stakes at the Curragh and believe that a first career start at 1m can be taken in her stride, with Sky Lantern untried over anything more than 7f.

Meanwhile, the fact that Lasix, a diuretic that has been used in the US since the 1970s to prevent bleeding and lung haemorrhaging, has been banned from all two-year-old contests this year, ensures that the race will be a level playing field.

Despite, all of this, 2/1 is plenty short enough for a horse that is not even the best two-year-old in the Hannon yard, let alone in Europe.

Olympic Glory has had a good season, while Van Der Neer was second in the Racing Post Trophy.

Also against her is that there has been no European winner in all four renewals of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf.

The US charge looks particularly strong, with Spring Venture and Flashy Ways both arriving at Santa Anita with unbeaten records to maintain.

Waterway Run and Watsdachances are others with more wins on their records than defeats, while Sustained can count herself a little unlucky when beaten by Watsdachances last time.

She is perhaps the value call at this stage at 16/1, especially as Watsdachances is fairly short at 6/1.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.