Sunday's Meetings Newmarket Flat 7 Races 1:15-4:50p.m. Hamilton Flat 7 Races 1:30-4:56p.m. Sligo Flat 7 Races 1:40-5:10p.m. Salisbury Flat 7 Races 2:10-5:35p.m. Racecards At The Races Sporting Life Racing Post Good Luck
2.25 Newmarket-Mashaaer Though still a maiden, think she is talented Each Way...current best odds of 28-1
John Gosden has won 5 out of the last 8 renewals of the Pretty Polly, which shows how seriously he sees the race for his best middle distance fillies. He won with Taghrooda, Lah Ti Dar and Run Wild amongst others. However, when you look at his winners, he is 3 from 5 with horses that have had one run before in the season. He also likes running Newmarket form back at Newmarket with 3 from 6 winners running at Newmarket in their last race. It all points to Crenelle today, who can make it 6 from 9 renewals for John Gosden.
It would be churlish to complain about the size of the fields at HQ today as the Pretty Polly and the Dahlia always attract single figure fields. The Pretty Polly has a habit of throwing up a decent middle distance filly and the front three in the betting are all of interest for different reasons. If HQ put on a race for stable cats, the Appleby feline would probably win it with the form of the yard. His representative here, the Frankel filly With The Moonlight won two minor events last term but was beaten on both her turf starts, the most recent of which was a Listed race at HQ. So is she in this as a marker to assess the merit of the others or has she come on over the winter? The Cheveley Park filly Peripatetic similarly has yet to win on turf but her trainer does not tend to place his horses out of their depth, so she has to be respected. The favourite Crenelle won her maiden here, comes from a good middle distance family and her trainer has farmed this race in the last decade (five winners including subsequent Oaks winner Taghrooda) so she will be hard to beat. Last year’s winner of the Dahlia, Lady Bowthorpe, proved to be annoying to follow as she only won when I did not back her. This year’s renewal includes the French raider Ebaiyra, who has won a couple of Group 2 races at home and warmed up for this with a run in a Longchamp Listed race; however, I cannot help but think that the ground will be too quick for her as winning last year’s Prix Allez France is her only victory on ground that did not have ease in it. So although she is the top rated filly and race fit, I am passing her over. Sir Michael Stoute used to farm this race but has only had two winners in the last decade and I have been on a few of his that have lost in that time! Yet the key form race for the home team was last year’s Pride Stakes, where Lilac Road chased home VILLE DE GRACE with Climate and Auria behind. To a large extent here I am going on the reputation of the trainer with older fillies and mares to bring her on from that Group 3 success and I expect her to be fit enough to do herself justice under Ryan Moore. Ed Walker’s mare Dreamloper is a Group 3 winner and was out of her depth in a couple of Group 1s last term, she should give a good account if fit enough but does she want this step up in trip?
I think that the 1000 Guineas looks like a much more interesting race than yesterday’s 2000 Guineas because there is no out-and-out favourite from last year’s juvenile form and it has attracted several foreign raiders with different positives and negatives. What I do see in this year’s renewal is not many that will give us any Oaks clues – except Minding’s sister Tuesday (get on her now if you fancy her for Epsom). Looking at the betting, Aidan O’Brien’s twice raced Tenebrism will go off favourite as she is the top rated filly and her second win was in the Cheveley Park Stakes, which decades ago used to be one of the three key form races. She came from last to first that day (although whether that tactic was intended is questionable) and the much vaunted Sandrine was four lengths third. Her trainer’s record in this is second to none in recent times (six of last ten winners) but her pedigree does not shout miler. The other Ballydoyle contender, Naas maiden winner Tuesday was only beaten by more experienced Discoveries on her debut. Jessica Harrington’s filly ended her juvenile career with victory in the Moyglare and comes from a very good Niarchos family line so she looks like a live contender. The money has been piling on Roger Varian’s Ameynah but I just cannot be having a maiden race winner in a Classic – my guess is the bets have been each way at fancy odds. The two French raiders contested the Prix Imprudence, one of the key French trial races, with Andre Fabre’s Zellie coming out second best to Malavath. We know that Fabre does not full wind his horses up for trial races but I thought that Zellie won a bad Prix Marcel Boussac last year and she really needs easy ground, so if the French are to win this Malavath is the more likely as she was second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (Cachet and Hello You behind) and won a Chantilly Group 2 last term. Cachet won the Nell Gywn with Hello You well behind in third, was third in the Fillies’ Mile over course and distance (Prosperous Voyage second) but was previously beaten by Hello You in the Rockfel. This makes me think that these three fillies are much of a muchness and I would be most interested in Ralph Beckett’s filly as an each way bet. Ger Lyons’ Justice comes her on the back of a Dundalk Listed win on the sand but that does not look good enough and what happened to those decent two year old fillies he had last term? I have to say that I do not think that this year’s Fred Darling was a great race as more than half the field looked like also-rans hoping to run a place to enhance their paddock value. The front two in the betting fought out the finish and I am going to go with William Buick’s mount WILD BEAUTY to go on from there and give Charlie Appleby his first 1000 Guineas winner and another Classic for Frankel. She won a Grade 1 in Canada beating subsequent Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Pizza Bianca giving her a good form line with French raider Malavath. Whatever wins this afternoon, I hope that something wins with authority because the ratings indicate this is a mediocre renewal in need of someone to put in a star performance.
The saying is Never Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth, so I am just going to put my money on it and not look... The handicap at 1:50 features an old staying race chestnut, Red Verdon, as topweight and he is hard to fancy despite having won Group races when he was younger. One from the Prescott barn should never be ignored and Revolver won a string of races in 2020 but has not been seen for more than a year and a half due to injury. Last year’s Melrose winner Valley Forge has had his tackle removed over the winter but lacks race fitness. Three of these ran in a Musselburgh race with Dark Jedi second ahead of Sir Rumi and Soapy Stevens so at least they have fitness assured. However, bottom weight CEMHAAN easily won a moderate Salibury handicap against five rivals eleven days ago by more than three lengths and gets in today with just a 5lb penalty. The down side to this one is that was only his third career win in sixteen starts but George Baker’s charge has the services of Hollie Doyle today.
The two fillies races have told us very little. Given that the Pretty Polly was being run at a married man's gallop, I wondered why Dettori did not go on and set his own fractions on the favourite as she was a bit keen. Fair play to William Buick for seizing the initiative and winning convincingly but a three furlong sprint gives us no clue as to whether With The Moonlight will stay. Now I need a Buick/Appleby/Frankel double... I am not sure what Soumillon thought he was doing in the Dahlia, sitting out back on a filly that possibly wants further and then coming too late. Well done to the winner but I think the prize would have been heading over the Channel in another five yards (and should have been).
My money on the wrong double. Congratulations to George Boughey. Congratulations to James Doyle on a Classic double with the ride of the meeting. No messing about tracking someone else and hoping for the best; just out the gate and catch me if you can. It has to be good for the game when a Classic is won by a smaller yard rather than the usual suspects and the Highclere members have certainly had their money's worth from Cachet. The immediate problem I have with the form here is the first two just swapped finishing order from the Fillies' Mile, so was this a good Guineas? Only time will tell if they just ran to last year's form. A massive Oaks pointer by Tuesday on just her third start finishing third.
Hmm, just a humble opinion, but Cachet and James Doyle made a right monkey of them all, and that probably includes all the media 'expert' tipsters too. Very happy indeed for James, a damn good jockey who thoroughly deserved his first classic successes with this amazing 2000 and 1000 Guineas double. Bravo James Doyle! A word for the young trainer too, what a triumph for young George Boughey, only 30-years-old. (Second horse home ran a cracker too!)
