Katie Midwinter (17/08/23)
NEWBURY
1:50pm – Geoffrey Freer Stakes (Group 3)
A tricky staying race where a case could be made for a few of the contenders in the field. Four-year-old Jack Darcy has eye-catching form in France having finished second behind a useful type in Lassaut when the pair met in a Listed contest at Deauville.
Lassaut is Group Two placed and was beaten less than a length by a Group One winner in Simca Mille. He also has form ahead of consistent Group level performer Tribalist, who recently recorded a hat-trick of black-type wins.
Paul and Olive Cole’s charge, who has 1lb to find with the favourite on ratings, is bred to stay with plenty of stamina in his pedigree. The step up in trip should suit and could bring further improvement from the Gleneagles gelding.
Last seen finishing a four-length second to Hamish, with Neil Callan onboard, Jack Darcy has shown glimpses of staying ability and could build on his Goodwood performance. The Cole yard have a 22% strike rate at the track this term and saddle a lively chance in the opener.
Jack Darcy 8/1 – Paul & Oliver Cole, Neil Callan
3:00pm – Class 2 Handicap
Spangled Mac can be forgiven for a below par Ascot run when last seen, drawn on the wrong side and lacking focus when in front and asked for a run. First-time cheekpieces are tried in an attempt to reignite the spark in the four-year-old gelding, with William Buick taking the ride.
The son of Starspangledbanner runs off a mark of 93, 5lbs higher than his last winning mark but 2lbs lower than when a respectable fourth in the Buckingham Palace Stakes earlier this season. He could still be well handicapped as he has run well when rated higher, and may be worth sticking with.
Popular Bless Him is back on his last winning mark of 101 but has a hefty weight to carry if he is to reign victorious. A best price of 11/1 is short enough for a horse that can often find trouble when running in big fields due to his running style, but he is a solid each-way contender.
Spangled Mac 9/1 – George Boughey, William Buick
RIPON
2:10pm – Class 2 Novice Stakes
It’s usually wise to keep an eye on juveniles from the Richard Hannon yard, and this recent 50,000gns breeze-up purchase The Coffee Pod showed promise on his racecourse debut at Nottingham earlier this month. Only beaten a length by winner Angel Of England, the Acclamation colt kept on towards the line and will have learnt plenty for the experience. Likely to improve for the run, he could land his maiden success in the hands of Ben Curtis.
The Coffee Pod – Richard Hannon, Ben Curtis
CURRAGH
Many exciting young juveniles feature on the card at the Curragh for “Future Champions” Day on Saturday. The opening race on the card sees son of Justity, third foal of quadruple Group One winner Winter, London City make his debut for Aidan O’Brien. A half-brother to Group Two winner Shartash also features, Shamsuddin, a Siyouni colt out of a dual Group Two winner in Shamreen. Expensive purchase Queen Of Thunder cost 340,000gns as a yearling and is another to watch in her first appearance.
The card features two Group Two contests, the first comes in the 3:27pm Futurity Stakes where Henry Longfellow is the odds-on favourite, set to make it two from two. The course-and-distance winner landed a debut success on soft ground at the track last month, beating subsequent winner Mythology. A son of Dubawi, out of Minding, he is one of the exciting Ballydoyle juveniles of the season and will take all of the beating.
The Debutante Stakes follows, a rematch between Chesham Stakes winner Snellen and Pearls And Rubies. Snellen got the better of his rival at Royal Ascot and now bids for a hat-trick of wins to protect his unbeaten record. The Ballydoyle challenger was a beaten favourite once again in her following race, finishing a length-and-a-quarter behind Kairyu when dropped in trip in the Group Two Anglesey Stakes. She will need to bounce back if she is to live up to the expectation surrounding her, and is the current favourite to do so.
One to watch later on the card is Noel Meade’s Spitfire Fighter (4:35pm), who caught the eye in the paddock at Galway when making his debut recently. Already gelded, the three-year-old son of Elusive Pimpernel is a half-brother to a number of winners and it may not take him too long to get his head in front and land a maiden success.
All runners/prices are correct at the time of publication.
Photo by Pardeep Bhakar on Unsplash
THE CONDITIONAL 