Two horses mentioned are entered in Goodwood's King George Qatar Stakes

Horses to follow: Five 'dark horse' sprinters

By Matt Brocklebank

Horse Racing

Thu July 06, 2023 · 1y ago

Our man highlights a handful of sprinters that may have slipped under the radar with the rest of the season in mind.

Go Athletico (Trainer: Adrian McGuinness)

Entries: Group 2 Barberstown Castle Sapphire Stakes , Group 1 Flying Five Stakes

Anyone who missed Go Athletico’s Irish debut at Cork the week before Royal Ascot should seriously consider revisiting his performance in winning the six-runner Midsummer Sprint Stakes (replay below).

Already a multiple scorer over distances ranging from five and a half furlongs to seven in France for previous connections, Go Athletico changed hands for 165,000 euros and made an immediate impact over the minimum trip, conceding main market rival - the 102-rated filly Ano Syra - 8lb and hammering her by two lengths.

The five-year-old looks another shrewd piece of business by new trainer Ado McGuiness and he’s surely bound for Group company now, with his next entry at the Curragh coming up on July 22.

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Equality (Charlie Hills)

Entries: Group 3 Coral Charge, Group 2 King George Qatar Stakes, Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes, Group 1 Flying Five Stakes

The gulf between the top handicappers and genuine Group horses seems pretty tight in the sprinting division at present and it’s no surprise to see Charlie Hills giving Equality some lofty entries.

He won handicaps off 82 and 94 in a reasonably productive campaign last term but looks to have taken things to another level altogether following a really impressive five and a half-length victory off 102 at Windsor last month.

Hills knows a thing or two about top sprinters including overseeing the career of Magical Memory, who ran in the same Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds silks, and that one graduated from winning the Stewards’ Cup off precisely the same mark (102) before scoring three times at Group level.

In short, look out for Equality if taking up his weekend engagement in Sandown’s Coral Charge.

Alpha Zulu (James Ferguson)

Entries: Group 1 July Cup Stakes

James Ferguson’s strike-rate over the past couple of weeks hasn’t been great but he’s had a load of horses run well in defeat so I wouldn’t be overly concerned about the form of the yard.

One horse we’ve not seen for a while now is Alpha Zulu and it seems unlikely he’ll be taking up his entry in next week’s July Cup, but he’s definitely one to have on the radar when reappearing as he scored cosily from a couple of subsequent winners when sporting a first-time tongue-tie in a Kempton novice on March 29.

There’s a chance he’ll need seven furlongs in time but a stiff six on turf debut when next hitting the track could be ideal and he’s one for the My Stable tracker.

Go Big Or Go Home (Bryan Smart)

Entries: Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes, Doncaster £300,000 2-Y-O Stakes

Clearly the most fascinating Nunthorpe entry given Go Big Or Go Home is an unraced two-year-old from a yard that has sprung a shock or two in the York races in the past.

Adding to the intrigue is that the daughter of Lope De Vega is a 1.8million guineas half-sister to Battaash and The Antarctic, so to suggest her racecourse debut is much-anticipated would be something of an understatement.

She should probably be a bigger price than the general 66/1 for the Nunthorpe on the face of it, but it could be a relatively open race this time around and her pedigree obviously promises a lot.

Statuette (Aidan O’Brien)

Entries: Group 2 King George Qatar Stakes, Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes, Group 1 Matron Stakes, Group 1 Flying Five Stakes

Another interesting filly with a Nunthorpe entry – to go along with a bunch of other potential engagements over the next few months.

At least they give some sort of indication that Statuette is back in full work and approaching a return to action, having been off the track since taking her record to 2-2 in the Group 2 Airlie Stud Stakes at the Curragh last summer.

She had this year’s 1000 Guineas third Matilda Picotte well held in third that day, with Listed/G3 scorer Zarinsk back in fourth, so the form stands up and it’ll be revealing to see where this daughter of Justify finally gets the go-ahead to resume her career.

Goodwood could be the first port of call if they’re going down the five-furlong route but O’Brien was on record ruling her out of Newmarket (1000 Guineas) right at the start of the year so perhaps she won’t be sprinting at all, though she did show tremendous speed in her two starts as a juvenile so it could at least be worth exploring.

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