The horse racing broadcaster previews the first day of the Guineas meeting at Newmarket, as well as the action from Goodwood.
There will hopefully be seven races on ITV on Friday afternoon, split between the first day of the Guineas meeting at Newmarket and three from Goodwood.
The ground is very different at the two venues, with likely good ground at Newmarket – rain forecast during racing – but heavy will be the order of the day at Goodwood with the potential amount of rain causing concerns about racing going ahead.
The Listed Newmarket Stakes provides a test of Jayarebe’s Feilden victory, with both second and third lining up in Whip Cracker and Caviar Heights. Whip Cracker is trained by Richard Hughes, whose horses have made a fast start to the season so there may not be much more to come, while Caviar Heights was making his debut for Karl Burke and could have more to offer. Both may have to play second fiddle to the unbeaten ENDLESS VICTORY
5/6
(14:25 Newmarket), who got up close to home to beat Salamanca over course and distance. A full brother to Melbourne Cup winner Cross Counter, who also started his racing career at Wolverhampton, Endless Victory can take another step forward and improve the already excellent record of William Buick (196/986, actual/expected ratio of 1.19) and Charlie Appleby (147/527, A/E 1.27) on the Rowley Mile (combined 110/321, A/E 1.34).
My angle into most two-year-old races at Goodwood is to oppose the debutants, as the configuration of the track means any signs of greenness can be very costly (A/E 2YO newcomers at track just 0.84). Heavy ground may partly mitigate this, but preference is still for those with experience and, given conditions, it may be worth going with ROYAL ACCORD (14:40 Goodwood) at a big price. A cheap purchase, his debut looked nothing to write home about but the Wolverhampton race has worked out well with the first two home winning since, and the stable’s juveniles have been improving significantly for the run (both winners were on their second start). His sire, Aclaim, also has a decent record on wet ground, unlike Acclamation or Oasis Dream, sires of Gold Medallist and Mighty Real. Gold Medallist looks the best of the debutantes on paper, given the yard have already saddled four first-time-out juveniles this season, but the combination of the ground and experience angle means Royal Accord for the upset appeals more.
The booking of Tom Marquand for ENGLISH OAK
9/2
(15:00 Newmarket) looks a plus for his chances. Tom’s record for Ed Walker is 50/332 (A/E 1.19) and he was in the saddle when the horse just lost out in a close finish over 6f at Ascot last October. Just 1lb higher in the handicap here, he looks as if he can make up into a nice handicapper this season and can beat the consistent Thunder Ball and last start winner Dark Thirty.
SPANISH STAR (15:15 Goodwood) won this race last season and has had the same prep by running at Newbury on his seasonal return last month. He finished two places better at Newbury this time around, and even though 3lb higher than last year, this looks an example where the race is a specific target for him. He has four wins and four places from 13 Goodwood starts, which make up 50 per cent of his overall career wins from the other 58 starts.
Back at Newmarket, BOILING POINT
2/1
(15:35) has finished runner-up in both his Rowley Mile runs and can go one better here with his stable of Roger Varian in better form now than they were at the time of his reappearance. Boiling Point split Alyanaabi – who runs in the 2000 Guineas on Saturday – and Eben Shaddad in a Group 3 race over course and distance last season, and a reproduction of that form should be good enough to prevail here.
DESPERATE HERO (15:50 Goodwood) gets the vote in the handicap sprint because of his ability to handle deep ground. Clarendon House is very speedy but that asset may be blunted by conditions, and he might be picked off inside the final furlong. King’s Lynn has dropped to a good mark and is certainly a danger but Desperate Hero won in the mud at Nottingham and has the assistance of a bang-in-foom rider in David Probert, who has ridden three doubles in the last six days.
TIME LOCK
15/8
(16:10 Newmarket) proved a little bit of a slow burn last season and the sense is that there is still some unfinished business going into this campaign. She was added to our stable tracker off the back of her reappearance at Goodwood, where she cruised through the race only to be picked off late. Clearly failing to handle the fast ground at Haydock next time, she looked as if she may lack the finishing punch to complement the way she moved through a race, until a confidence booster in a Listed Race in the French Provinces was followed by a Group 3 win over this course and distance in October. A strong pace suits her well, so hopefully Outbox will set a decent clip and no doubt connections will be hoping given her pedigree (dam a full sister to Time Test) they can gain success at the highest level this season. Harry Charlton has done well since taking over the license in his own name this season and she can continue the stable’s good run with Ryan Moore again in the saddle.