Reviews:
Quick review on my last couple of posts, first a couple of non-runners which is unfortunate but trying to find time now back at work is a nightmare but I will be keeping an eye out for Lost Eden and Zoffarelli when they are declared again. One horse I was looking forward to seeing back out was James Fanshawe's Bomb Proof (pictured) who was another short price (story of my life at the minute) but to be honest, I was expecting odds on but he drifted to 6/4 which was a nice surprise, Bomb Proof didn’t disappoint and considering the Society Rock gelding hadn’t seen the racecourse for over 400 days I’m sure James would have been pretty pleased with the performance.
A couple of eye-catchers I wrote about last week were Nurse Florence and Imperial Yellow. I thought Nurse Florence had a good chance of making the frame at least but looking back I should have seen the warning signs of her debut race when being a little awkward in running. Nicola Currie looked to have a job on her hands trying to control the Jamie Osborne trained filly at Windsor and Nurse Florence could only manage fourth place, maybe one for the future when she settles better.
Imperial Yellow was my next tracker and after running well in what looks to be a nice maiden first timeout at Newmarket I was expecting the Roger Varian trained New Bay colt to go one better at Yarmouth, and he never disappointed sticking on gamely to beat the fast-finishing Wild Lion.
Previews and trackers:
16:00 Doncaster 30 Jun 2020
A nice Novice Stakes race here with plenty of unexposed types that could be anything. The Charlie Appleby trained State Crown has been off the track for over 300 days and was last seen at Chelmsford last August when finishing third to Surf Dancer, the form of the race isn't top draw by all means but the New Approach colt was slowly away that day and bustled along mid-race before staying on without threatening the experienced Surf Dancer. A half brother to Key Victory and Blair House who are both talented horses from the Appleby yard themselves. State Crown takes a significant step up in trip here but I’m hoping he's wintered well and fit and ready to go onto better things.
17:40 Kempton 01 Jul 2020
The 3-year-old filly Cosmic Princess went into my trackers with an eye-catching performance in her only race at Kempton last October. Hollie Doyle steadied Cosmic Princess at the start and the 33/1 outsider was given a learning process before running on late to finish six. The third that day was Shimmering for John Gosden who easily won her next race at Lingfield. The step up in trip could see further improvement and hopefully, she can get involved in the finish and grab a place at least. Delta’s Royalty brings good form to the table and will be hard to beat in an interesting little race.
Thanks for reading and good luck.
ALASH ORDA is by Kodiac (GB) out of Albanka (USA), trained by Roger Varian and owned by Mr Nurlan Bizakov. The Roger Varian bay filly ran a race full of promise on her anticipated debut at Salisbury last September. The surprise Michael Stoute winner Snow Shower looks a nice type. Despite being on and off the bridle Alash Order finished the race well and should pick up her maiden win this season. A half-sister to another Roger Varian filly Altyn Orda who ended her career with an official rating of 112.
ASFURASAGIRA is by Night Of Thunder (IRE) out of Oriental Melody (IRE), trained by Owen Burrows and owned and bred by Hadi Al-Tajir. The Owen Burrows chestnut filly is a half-sister to Oriental Song who only ran three times for the same connections, the highlight being her last run when finishing fifth in the Dick Poole Fillies' Stakes (Group 3). Afurasagira did attract slight support before the start when backed from 11/1 to 9/1 but I think the price showed she needed the run that day and so it proved when slowly away and carrying her head to the left before staying on to finish fourth on her debut at Leicester. An injury kept her off the track for the rest of the season so as long as she has recovered from that injury Asfurasagira will hopefully lose her maiden tag this season.
BOMA GREEN is by Iffraaj (GB) out of Dubai Cyclone (USA), trained by J Noseda until May 2019 and now trained by Charlie Fellowes and owned by Mrs Susan Roy. The £105,000 purchase made a favourable impression when making his debut in a Class 2 Maiden Stakes race way back in May. Showing inexperience and missing the break Boma Green made steady headway under a considerate ride by Frankie Dettori and kept on well into third. The winner Repartee has since finished third in the Gimcrack Stakes and also looks a nice type for this season. As long as the layoff isn't a problem Boma Green looks the type to improve after a promising debut last May.
COSMIC PRINCESS is by Kingman (GB) out of Galaxy Highflyer (GB), trained by H Morrison and owned by Helena Springfield Ltd. The 3-year-old filly went into my trackers with an eye-catching performance in her only race at Kempton last October. Hollie Doyle steadied Cosmic Princess at the start and the 33/1 outsider was given a learning process before running on late to finish six behind some promising types from the big yards. The third that day was Shimmering for John Gosden who easily won her next race at Lingfield and another who will do well this season. A step up to a mile could see further improvement and hopefully, she can get her first win on the board.
DECLARING LOVE is by Dubawi (IRE) out of Wedding March (IRE), trained by Charlie Appleby and owned by Godolphin. I don't think I will get rich backing this Dubawi filly on her next start but I’m really interested to see how far she can go this season for the all-conquering Godolphin team. I was looking forward to seeing her run after a promising debut at Newmarket in May. Little did I know at the time that the winner of this hot race Daahyeh would go on to win the Albany Stakes next timeout and the second Raffle Prize would go on to win the Queen Mary. A step up to a mile should see this filly improve again to be involved in some pattern races this season and hopefully after the layoff she has strengthened up over the winter.
FRANKENSTELLA is by Frankel (GB) out of L'ancresse (IRE), trained by John Quinn and owned by Phoenix Thoroughbred Limited. The Frankel filly made her debut at Nottingham last September and came with a huge price tag around her neck. Purchased for 480,000 euros at the Arqana 2018 August Yearling Sales. Frankenstella is a full brother to the 118 rated Master Of Reality who won the Sequence Events Vintage Crop Stakes (Group 3) at Navan last April. Frankestella was never on terms on what was her first day at school, slowly away and always behind. A step up in trip should see Frankenstella make significant progress this season and hopefully pay some of that price tag back.
LORD CAMPARI is by Kingman (GB) out of Blanche Dubawi (IRE), trained by Roger Varian and owned by Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum. The Kingman colt was bought for 350,000 gns at the 2018 October Yearling Sales. Lord Campari looked to be given a nice introduction by jockey Andrea Atzeni after pulling his chances away early on. Lord Campari plugged onto finish six in what looked a nice enough race. The winner Palace Pier won again next timeout and looks a useful prospect for the season ahead. Another who could benefit from a step up in distance.
Thanks for reading and look out for my next 3-year-old Maidens to follow.
Just a quick update on yesterday's post.
I mentioned French Asset was an eye-catcher on debut and thought the Michael Stoute colt would progress at Nottingham, with the ground and short price I decided not to bet. Not sure if it was the heavy going or French Asset is just disappointing but I will keep an eye on the betting next timeout.
Hesssa turned out to be a non-runner and again the heavy going could have been the reason for that.
Oriental Mystique turned out to be my only bet of the day and was ridden more prominent today by Jim Crowley. She came to win her race at the furlong pole and won well at odds of 4/1. I think she had a bit left in the tank and looks a nice filly for the future.
It was finally nice to get a much-needed win after a few disappointments and placed efforts in the last few posts.
16:55 Kempton 28 Oct 2019:
Cosmic Princess looked a 33/1 shot the first half of her debut race at Kempton last week. The Hughie Morrison Kingman filly was drawn out wide and lost a few lengths at the start. Hollie Doyle looked to have Cosmic Princess on and off the bridle for the first few furlongs until she seemed to grasp the idea that she was in a race and stayed on nicely all the way to the line. I thought that was a real eye-catching debut, and she will have learned plenty from her first racecourse experience.
Another one to take out of this race is the John Gosden filly Shimmering who was an 8/1 shot for her debut race at Kempton. The 150,000 gns yearling was another who was drawn wide and lost a few lengths tracking over to the inside. Jockey Robert Havlin gave her a nice experience without giving the Lope De Vega filly a hard time. Owner Lloyd Webber looks to have a nice filly on his hands here and will be more competitive next start am sure.
18:30 Kempton 28 Oct 2019:
Thumur will have gone into many notebooks after a promising debut. The Owen Burrows Golden Horn colt was a 220,000 gns purchase for owner Mr. Hamdan Al Maktoum as a yearling. Thumur was slowly away and well-behind before making eye-catching progress and ran on well inside the final furlong for jockey Jim Crowley. Even though he couldn’t land a blow Thumur will have learned plenty and one to keep on the right side of when making his next appearance.
18:10 Kempton 31 Oct 2019:
Morlaix was given as a horse to follow by apprentice jockey Poppy Bridgwater when she answered a few questions for my blog. The Mayson bay gelding won’t be a superstar but stepped up on his debut run when staying on without threatening the winner at Kempton last timeout. Trained by David Simcock, I will be keeping an eye out when Morlaix runs over further in a small race.
Thanks for reading and good luck
