Brown Panther's the one to beat in Yorkshire Cup

Despite the four-pound penalty he carries as a result of his Irish St Leger

(Ire-G1) triumph, Andrew Black and Michael Owen's Brown Panther (Shirocco) is

the one with the bullseye attached in York's Yorkshire Cup (Eng-G2) on Friday.

Amazingly, for a horse trained in the North, this will be the seven-year-old's

first visit to the Knavesmire although he was second in the 2011 St Leger

(Eng-G1) down the motorway at Doncaster. As he proved at the Curragh in

September and when annexing the Goodwood Cup (Eng-G2) in 2013, the bay excels

when positively ridden on ground with some bounce in it and arrives on the back

of a smooth win in Meydan's Dubai Gold Cup (UAE-G2) over two miles March 28.

"Brown Panther has been the horse of a lifetime for me and I couldn't have

been more thrilled with his Dubai win," Owen told PA Sport. "He has been in

great form since and I am very much looking forward to the Yorkshire Cup. He has

never run at York before and, although it should suit him, he has to give weight

to some strong opponents."

Another who contested the Leger is last year's third Snow Sky (Nayef) and he

is the type with which Sir Michael Stoute profits. Successful in the Lingfield

Derby Trial last May and Goodwood's Gordon S. (Eng-G3) in July, Khalid

Abdullah's homebred was last seen finishing seventh in the Hong Kong Vase

(HK-G1) over 12 furlongs at Sha Tin December 14.

"Snow Sky was a bit disappointing in the Hong Kong Vase, but they went a

pedestrian pace," Juddmonte's racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe told PA Sport. "He

has come back fine from Hong Kong and has had a very straightforward

preparation. He's in good shape and the ground should be fine. This looks a good

starting opportunity for him."

Godolphin has enjoyed five winners of this and rely on the John Gosden-trained

Leger runner-up Romsdal (Halling), who was third in the April 18 John Porter S.

(Eng-G3) over 1 1/2 miles at Newbury.

"Romsdal found the ground a bit too fast at Newbury last time -- they broke

the track record that day," his conditioner said. "At the moment, it looks like

the ground at York will be fine for him but we will just have to see how it

turns out on the day.

"He is in good form. He has made the running in each of his last two races,

but he doesn't need to. He is just like a lot of horses in that he prefers a

good, even gallop. At the moment, he is a mile and a half to a mile and three

quarters horse. He does hold an entry in the Gold Cup (Eng-G1) at Royal Ascot

but two and a half miles may turn out to be beyond his range."

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