My Timeform: Three Horses To Take Away From The Craven Meeting
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By Ben Fearnley -- published 19th April 2015
Ben Fearnley picks out three horses from the Craven meeting deserving of a place in his My Timeform tracker.
Hakam – Newmarket, Wednesday 15 April
Hakam had his first run as a three-year-old in an inconspicuous Lingfield maiden and attracted plenty of support with both a Derby entry and Ryan Moore booked for a rare ride in the Hamdan Al Maktoum silks. He shaped best that day but greenness put paid to his chances of making a winning debut. Nevertheless, Hakam had shown enough to be sent off second favourite for the first race of the Newmarket Craven meeting of 2015.
Although the first maiden run on the Rowely Mile this season will probably not go down as the best, with favourite Akeed Champion and standard setter Acaster Malbis appearing to run below form, there is no denying that Hakam was an unlucky loser. Paul Hanagan was going best of all two out when finding himself trapped on the heels of the pace setters, and Hakam was hampered and forced to switch while also conceding first run to the eventual winner Carnival King. Bred to stay further than seven furlongs, it will certainly not be long before Hakam gets off the mark in maiden company and he is one of a number of exciting three-year-old prospects for his owner.
Golden Horn – Newmarket, Wednesday 15 April
Golden Horn only won by a head on debut, but the manner in which he swept round the outside of the field (having missed the break and shown greenness in the early stages) and delivered a devastating turn of foot to draw well clear with the second, a promising horse in his own right, saw him entered in many-a-notebook at an early stage in his career.
His second start saw him pitched in to the Listed Feilden Stakes on Wednesday at Newmarket and Golden Horn gave favourite backers no cause for concern as he ran in similar style to debut: dropped out, made wide headway from half way, quickened to take it up over one furlong out, asserted well for pressure. The form looks full of substance, too, as both the second and third had been placed in listed company as two-year-olds. He holds both Guineas and Dante entries, but the latter will likely be the plan with both his breeding and this performance suggesting the trip in the Dante will hold no fears.
Exosphere - Newmarket, Thursday 16 April
The latest renewal of the Wood Ditton was almost certainly an up-to-scratch edition, barely an ordinary pedigree on show and plenty of leading yards represented, and it should throw up plenty of winners. Sectionals suggest that the winner, Winter House, did well to make up so much ground and prevail, though there were plenty of other eye-catchers in behind, notably the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Exosphere.
Exosphere is a half-brother to useful middle-distance performers Blog and Tuscan Light, so it bodes well for his future prospects that he shaped so well over a trip that is likely to prove short of his best. Slowly into stride, Exosphere raced off the pace and ran green when asked to make his effort, carrying his head to one side as his inexperience showed. He made good headway late on, though, without being given anything like a hard time, so will surely benefit enormously from the initial outing and should prove difficult to beat next time.
