Good morning from Newmarket. After baking in the heat for a while it is thankfully a little cooler in HQ today, and this coincides with us kicking back into action. We have plenty of horses entered up next week, in anticipation of a little bit of rain hitting the country, so we will have to wait and see if it materialises.
With so much quick ground around we have had to seek refuge on artificial surfaces with some of our runners, and today we have two runners at Chelmsford. In the 2.15 Roxy Art returns from a mid-season break in the six-furlong 0-95 three-year-old handicap.
Although this is a furiously competitive race and we are chalked up as major outsiders, we have been pleased with the way this filly has returned from her break and we are going back to the scene of her two-year-old victory. The jury is still out a little on trip, and we have not had conclusive evidence yet whether or not she has trained on. So this is something of a fact finding mission, but we are hoping for the best. Sean Levey rides.
Our second runner at Chelmsford is Roca Magica in the mile 0-60 at 4.35. This daughter of Garswood was second in a Kempton nursery over six-furlongs last year, but we are still unsure of her trip. She tried five, six and seven-furlongs last year, but didn’t entirely convince that any of those distances was her optimum. So, given how well she has strengthened from two to three, and given that her half-brother Art of America stays a mile and a quarter and has been tried over hurdles, we felt it was worth rolling the dice over a mile for the first time. She will improve for the run and the race is highly competitive, but hopefully we will see some encouraging signs. Colm O’Donoghue takes the ride.
We will take a chance on the ground, however, with one horse today as Maqaadeer runs in the finale at Nottingham at 8.40. This horse is an enigma, as he has always worked like a talented sort but remains a maiden after six starts. Genuinely fast ground might not be ideal, and we continue to fiddle with his trip.
We go back up to a mile and a quarter after a creditable third at Newmarket over a mile last time, as on that occasion he travelled well but didn’t find much off the bridle (not for the first time) and then just stayed on rather than accelerated. It is hoped that this extra couple of furlongs will play to his strengths, but we are running out of excuses for him. We have tried varying trips, surfaces and headgear in order to get his head in front, but so far have not found the magic formula. He is more than talented enough to be competitive from a mark of 70, so hopefully this can be the day when everything clicks. Kieran Shoemark takes the mount.
Enjoy the action today,
Ed.