Timeform highlight five horses who improved their rating at Newbury's 2025 Greenham meeting.
DUTY FIRST (109 from 92)
A field of 15 fillies took their chance in the Dubai Duty Free Stakes (Fred Darling), around half of them holding classic entries, and while several of the market leaders disappointed, 33/1 winner Duty First produced the best performance seen in the race for at least a decade.
Placed on soft ground in the Prestige Stakes and Rockfel Stakes on her last two starts last year, Duty First found considerable improvement under less testing conditions to run out a clear-cut winner, taking a keen hold before leading two furlongs out and quickening clear for an easy win by three and a quarter lengths from another long shot Hey Boo.
Duty First’s effort was backed up by a good timefigure, her time just under half a second quicker than the Greenham winner. Entered at the Curragh but not at Newmarket, Duty Free would be well worth supplementing for the 1000 Guineas on this showing for all that her pedigree is essentially that of a sprinter.
JONQUIL (112p from 93p)
The colts in the more steadily-run Greenham Stakes raced in two distinct groups and it was those nearer the stands side who dominated, with the twice-raced Jonquil showing plenty of improvement to get the better of Rashabar who set the standard with his Group 1 placings in France last year.
Having his first start for Andrew Balding, who completed a four-timer on the card, following the retirement of Sir Michael Stoute who trained him at two, Jonquil looked a different proposition to when tried in listed company on his final outing last season. Taking a keen hold behind the pace, he loomed up before leading a furlong out and kept on to win with a bit in hand by a length and a half with a performance close to standard for the race.
From the family of Frankel who followed up his Greenham win in spectacular fashion at Newmarket, Jonquil is surely entitled to go for the 2000 Guineas himself given he’ll stay a mile and is likely to progress further.
DIVINA GRACE (108 from 104)
The first of Balding’s winners on Saturday’s card came in the race registered as the John Porter where the mare Divina Grace was the longer priced of her stable’s two runners.
She was another making a successful debut for the yard following the retirement of her previous trainer, in her case Rae Guest, and she proved better than ever after six months off, looking to have a fitness edge over some of her rivals, including stablemate Bellum Justum. Making the running, Divina Grace overcame a bump in the closing stages as Tabletalk threw down his challenge, but she battled well to hold off the fellow 14/1-shot by a short head.
It’s not unreasonable to think Divina Grace could improve further for her new stable and there are plenty of options for mares in her bracket.
GETHIN (104p from 97p)
There was a potentially smart winner of the valuable novice on Newbury’s Friday card which went to Owen Burrows’ Ghaiyyath colt Gethin.
A six-length winner on heavy ground on his debut at Nottingham in the autumn, he ran out an emphatic winner under these much less testing conditions but was clearly well suited by the extra two furlongs here, even if his task was eased somewhat when the favourite went wrong. Always prominent and not settling fully, Gethin led under two furlongs out and was in control in the final furlong and well on top at the line in beating Saddadd by three and a half lengths.
One of several promising types in his sire’s first crop, Gethin has bags of scope and will surely have a Derby trial on his agenda next (both previous winners of this race ended up in the Derby itself), looking sure to stay a mile and a half.
BACK IN BLACK (102 from 89)
James Fanshawe’s Irish 2000 Guineas entry Back In Black showed plenty of improvement to win the seven-furlong handicap for three-year-olds on Newbury’s Friday card.
Third in a nursery at the St Leger meeting when last seen behind Yaroogh who was narrowly beaten in the Horris Hill later in the autumn, Back In Black turned the tables on the runner-up from Doncaster, Spell Master, with a cosy success. Held up in the near-side group and not settling fully, Back In Black made headway to lead approaching the final furlong and ran out a comfortable winner by two lengths from Shout with favourite Spell Master in third.
Out of a half-sister to smart winner up to a mile Awesometank, Back In Black will stay that trip himself and there should be further improvement to come.
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