Good Morning from Newmarket. We are represented by just the one runner today, with Achaeus set to line up in the nine and a half furlong two-year-old novice at Wolverhampton at 6.45.
This good-looking son of the late sire Tertullian boasts a very eyecatching pedigree. He is a half-brother to the 2016 Melbourne Cup winner Almandin, whilst his dam was a Listed winner and his further siblings include the Grp-2 winner Atempo. A quality family, but one that thrives with time and distance, so we must temper our expectations today.
Charlie Appleby's Magic Illusion sets a good form standard, Roger Charlton's Time Control has a superb pedigree, and Roger Varian's Sezim produced a promising effort on debut at Newbury, so this is no easy opening. The sharp Wolverhampton track might also be against us, but I feel strongly that a run now will do wonders for Achaeus further down the line. I hope that he can break on terms, travel fairly well and then make some late headway in the home straight, and we will see where it takes us. Although winning today might be a tall order, I do hope that the horse can demonstrate that he is a half decent prospect for next year. Shane Kelly takes the mount.
All the best
Ed