James in full flight.
A relatively warm and bright start to the day which is set to continue into the afternoon.
Eight horses completed a six and a half furlong piece of work on the Al Bahathri first lot. They included Dark Red, who looks set to go to Beverley next Tuesday for the 1m maiden there.
No owners this morning and I am due to leave for Chester shortly to oversee Prince Gagarin in the Dee Stakes. The field is down to four with the ground now soft, but as I said yesterday, Prince proved he handles plenty of cut when winning in Listed company at Pontefract in the autumn. That form is well below what Smuggler’s Cove and Disegno bring to the table, but we are bred to improve now upped in trip and the three-year-olds don’t appear anything like a vintage crop this year.
Elsewhere, Seaworthy makes her second start in a warm Ascot maiden this evening. She probably shaped better than the bare result at Sandown, travelling ok until the turn for home and showing plenty of signs of inexperience, but she is still very much learning her job.
Taqneen is also a lone ranger as he travels to Ripon. He was entered in a couple of 0-80 contests at Nottingham, but they actually looked warmer than this 0-90 and there doesn’t appear a standout on paper. He runs like middle-distances will suit and we expect a big performance.
We also send three to Nottingham. Imvula makes her debut in the 1m maiden and this is a nice place to start. Mahsooba has been given the coffin draw in the fillies’ handicap and will need plenty of luck from there – Paul Hanagan now rides having switched from Chester. Finally, Rock Lobster contests an open-looking 1m2f handicap which closes the card. His opening mark is a fair one, the ground is right and the draw is useful – he should go well.
No declarations today but a few potential entries for next Thursday which will need tidied up shortly before lunchtime. We will obviously not be confirming Prince Gagarin for the Dante, where the burgeoning reputation of Jack Hobbs looks set to undergo its next examination.
Finally, a team of eight from La Grange completed the Newmarket Heath Race yesterday evening, which is a 6km test over the undulations of the training grounds. Thankfully all of the squad managed to complete, but with varying degrees of success. James described himself as a “Group horse in a handicap” after posting a time of just over 22 minutes, while we have come to the conclusion that Hannah prefers a flatter track and could do with more time. Either that or the July Sale!
Ed.