Maltese Cross in top shape for Christmas Day rematch It is not often the next time the first two home from the Derby meet is in a Group Two, but that is the situation in the Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes at York on Wednesday for Christmas Day and Maltese Cross. Perhaps because he was not the choice of Ryan Moore at Epsom, Christmas Day does not seem to have been placed on the same sort of pedestal as most Derby winners and he did meet with defeat to stablemate Benvenuto Cellini in the Irish version. On the other hand, Maltese Cross has become a Group One winner in his own right, travelling to France for the Grand Prix de Paris where he narrowly beat Ancient Egypt. Equine Penalties and Ground Preference Divide Front-Runners The Derby one-two have to carry 5lb penalties which will make life difficult, although while Lambourn failed to manage that last year, Los Angeles did defy the extra burden in 2024. Maltese Cross is a narrow favourite and his trainer William Haggas believes he has improved with every race of his career to date. “He put up his best performance I thought, last time, so each race he’s run in this year has been better than the previous one,” said Haggas. “I’d say he’s going the right way. I don’t know when it will stop, but we’ll find that out soon enough.” Maltese Cross’ jockey Tom Marquand told Sky Sports Racing: “Both he and Christmas Day have to shoulder the penalty and it sounds like we’ll be on good ground, so pretty different to Derby day. “We’re much happier on fast ground and what the Christmas Day camp think, I’m not sure, but he won his Derby on soft ground and I guess we weren’t too far behind him on ground that we hoped we’d be better on a bit quicker and we proved that in Paris. “In Paris he really showed it (turn of foot) and that was the feel I got from him at Lingfield. He’s gone from strength to strength as a horse and it’s great fun being part of it.” Ballydoyle St Leger Prospects and Clarehaven Contender Christmas Day’s trainer Aidan O’Brien also runs Pierre Bonnard, who was the big talking horse over the winter having impressed at two. He did not look the same horse through the spring, but fared better in the Irish Derby. Nevertheless, Moore has gone with Christmas Day. O’Brien told Racing TV: “Christmas Day came out of the Irish Derby very well. He can run here and then he can go either way – he can go to a Leger or he can go to an Arc. “He’s a lovely, laid-back horse who only does what he has to do. Ground doesn’t really matter to him – he’s unusual in that he handles soft ground as well as he does fast ground. “He’s a very unassuming, easy horse to have anything to do with. He’s never been flashy, but he’s brave and he’s relentless. “It’s a nice stepping-stone for Pierre Bonnard as well, wherever he goes. He’s a lovely, big horse and he’s going to be a better horse next year as well. He’s classy, but he could get a Leger trip.” John and Thady Gosden are represented by Superior Choice, winner of all his three outings this season, as the Clarehaven yard seeks a first win in the race since Logician in 2019, who went on to land the St Leger winner. Paul Curran, racing manager to Superior Choice’s owners, Ace Stud, said: “It’s a step up in class, but it’s well deserved. “It’s a good barometer really to see where you’re at. There’s three Group One winners in the race, but we’re looking forward to seeing whether he’s in that class. Hopefully he should run a good race and show his true colours.”
