Horses to follow this autumn: Five worth noting ahead of end-of-season targets
Matt Brocklebank picks out a handful of under-the-radar horses who could have a say in some nice races on the Flat this autumn.
SENSE OF DUTY (William Haggas)
If there's something of a forgotten horse with the potential to take the sprint scene by storm this back-end then it’s surely the William Haggas-trained Sense Of Duty, who was unbeaten in three starts last year, adding to her maiden success as a juvenile in 2021, before injury struck.
Haggas has desperately been trying to get her back on track this term and it will be fascinating if her entry in Saturday’s Betfair Sprint Cup remains intact come Monday afternoon.
She has winning form at Haydock from the Listed Cecil Frail Stakes last May and her Chipchase Stakes form from Newcastle, when beating Annaf and Bielsa by four and a half lengths and two lengths, reads very well with the runner-up since finishing third to Bradsell in this year’s King’s Stand.
Champions Day has been the principal target all year so don't be too alarmed if Haydock comes too soon, with a Group 2 stepping-stone not completely out of the question en route to Ascot.
CACHET (George Boughey)
I can’t imagine it gets much more exciting than having a fresh-as-paint Classic winner to go to war with in the autumn months and that’s the position George Boughey and Highclere Thoroughbred find themselves in with Cachet.
She’s been off the track since a slightly disappointing effort at Royal Ascot last June but had won the Nell Gwyn and the 1000 Guineas in the spring, before just being touched off in the French version.
She held her form right through to the Breeders’ Cup in November as a two-year-old and evidently trained on in a big way last term, so it’s hoped she’s now fully over the ‘niggles’ which have kept her out of action.
A September outing, potentially at Doncaster’s St Leger meeting, could tee her up for her big target – the Sun Chariot Stakes over the same track and trip as her Classic success.
LORD OF BISCAY (Roger Varian)
There is a sort of symmetry to Lord Of Biscay’s profile to this point in that he won on debut last term before struggling in the Horris Hill at Newbury and also struck gold first time back this term before failing to follow up when last seen out in France.
However, there was very little wrong with his two and a half-length fourth in Listed company at Chantilly on July 1 and it’s interesting to see trainer Roger Varian has given him an entry in the bet365 Cambridgeshire at Newmarket.
He’s a half-brother to Group 1 winner Bayside Boy, who Varian handled patiently and expertly before his rise to the top table, and it would be folly to assume we’ve seen the best of this Lope De Vega colt just yet.
SPACE COWBOY (Richard Spencer)
Entries in the Group 2 Park Stakes at Doncaster and the Group 1 Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot may ultimately prove a little fanciful but they do offer a glimpse into the regard in which Richard Spencer holds Space Cowboy and he’s a name to note in the coming weeks having been off since the end of April last year.
He was third behind El Caballo and Tiber Flow, just in front of Annaf, on All-Weather Finals Day in 2022 having ended his two-year-old season with a maiden win at Wolverhampton and a conditions stakes success at Newcastle – both over six furlongs.
His current BHA rating of 100 may not be beyond him if reappearing in Thursday's six-furlong handicap at Wolverhampton before potentially trying his arm at pattern level.
COVENT GARDEN (Aidan O’Brien)
Entered in the St Leger and the QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup at the time of writing, it’s fair to say Covent Garden is held in pretty high regard at Ballydoyle and it will be intriguing to see where he pitches up next having already proven himself on soft ground.
Dropping down in trip and taking a massive step up in grade, the son of Galileo ran a huge race when third to stablemate Auguste Rodin in the Irish Derby when last sighted and that effort also showed he could handle better ground too.
He’s obviously been given a bit of time over the summer to fill his frame and could be one more for next season, but he’s a promising colt and not a bad back-up for the Champions Day race at Ascot if the likes of Kyprios and Emily Dickinson don’t end up running there for whatever reason.
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