I guess I didn't expect all three I mentioned to have a chance at the business end of the race, but they did and Night Colours quickened up to win in style. It was a lovely performance by the Simon Crisford filly and as for Fashion Royalty it was also a much-improved performance and could pick up a race soon. I didn't back the winner personally but I hope somebody who reads the blog might have had a couple of quid on.
14:20 Sandown 18 Sep 2019:
British Stallion Studs EBF Novice Stakes:
A tasty little race here with a few potentially nice colts, I will mention a few that have raced.
Byzantine Empire for the all-conquering John Gosden team. It's no secret that John Gosden's 2-year-olds are flying at the minute and Byzantine Empire is a beautifully bred Golden Horn colt who is owned and bred Rachel D S Hood. He is a half brother to Richard Pankhurst who won the Listed Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot as a 2-year-old. Byzantine Empire was 3/1 second-favourite for his debut but fell out of the stalls and lost a good few lengths before steadily catching up and finishing like a train. Should be more clued-up today looks to have a good chance of being in the mix. (Eye-Catcher) Never Alone is nicely bred Charlie Appleby colt who made an impressive debut in what looked like a hot little contest, but it was all about the other Charlie Appleby colt Royal Crusade at Newmarket that day who looks top class after a tidy win.
Never Alone is a 1,200,000 gns Dubawi colt who despite going right out of the stalls, looked professional and knew his job. Brett Doyle gave Never Alone a nice introduction and the extra distance should bring out more improvement. (Eye-Catcher)
Finest Sound was a big price on his debut here three weeks ago. The Simon Crisford colt was well put in his place by the exciting John Gosden Palace Pier who by the way has a Group 1 Dewhurst entry. That was a really nice performance and looks a horse worth following.
Heaven Forfend comes here with the best form and is a worthy favourite for Michael Stoute and the Cheveley Park Team. The Frankel colt should be a big player here after finishing a creditable sixth in the Chesham Stakes at Ascot last timeout. Ridden along and looking one pace until the final few furlongs when Oisin Murphy got a tune out of Heaven Forfend and stayed on steadily.
Conclusion: When I saw Never Alone running I was expecting to have a nice bet but there's a lot of potential on show here and even the unraced Andrew Balding colt is worth a market check. I will wait to see the market settle and see if I can get an each-way on Never Alone.
14:10 Yarmouth 18 Sep 2019:
This looks like a nice opportunity for Maqtal to get off the mark here. The Roger Varian trained homebred colt ran a promising debut at Doncaster back in July. The winner that day was the Richard Fahey trained Valdernoro who had since gone on to win the Group 3 Acomb Stakes at York. Maqtal could improve any amount after his debut but such a short price is no bet for me. It could be a mistake even mentioning Anglo Saxson here but the Charlie Fellows gelding who cost £70,000 looked to get the hang of things late on in his last race at Brighton. Will have to hope that a few of the nice newcomers disappoint here to grab a place, Thanks for reading and good luck.
