Newmarket July Festival: Mike Cattermole previews day two and picks out his best bets

Horse Racing

Fri July 14, 2017 · 7y ago

Top broadcaster Mike Cattermole previews Friday's action at the Moët & Chandon July Festival at Newmarket, providing a selection for every race.

The Group One Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes, which tops the bill on day two at the July Festival, lacks some stardust but Sea Of Grace is taken to steal the limelight for William Haggas and Andrea Atzeni.

Winter is absent, so too is Qemah and the only European Group One winner in the line-up is Wuheida who landed the Prix Marcel Boussac at Chantilly last October.

Charlie Appleby’s filly has not been seen since and although it is good to see her back, the Boussac had me believing that I had seen an Oaks contender rather than a specialist miler. Connections obviously think differently and she must have been showing pace at home.

It says something about the field that the only Guineas winner present is Greta G who won the Argentinian version, admittedly really impressively, last July but who struggled on her British debut at Royal Ascot.

However, both Roly Poly and Sea Of Grace were runners-up in the Irish and French 1,000 Guineas. Indeed, on her last two starts, Roly Poly has only found Winter too good. Yet before that she was only sixth in the French Guineas at Deauville, just over two lengths behind Sea Of Grace.

That was on very soft ground, sure, but William Haggas’s filly showed a decent turn of foot there after being held up off the pace. Precieuse left her floundering in the last 100 yards but it was still a smart effort and it could be the key piece of form.

It was a shame that Precieuse wasn’t able to build on it in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot behind Winter and Roly Poly but she was forced to make the running then and got brought to a standstill in the closing stages.

The improving Arabian Hope is well worthy of her place and would not be a surprise winner. She showed great courage to come through and win a Listed race at York last time and Josephine Gordon, looking for a first Group One, gets on very well with her.

Nyaleti made a bold bid to make all in the Chesham Stakes, only to get caught by September, but beating the colts was a decent effort and dropping her back in trip and back to her own sex for the Group Two Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes seems ideal.

Billesdon Brook, who Nyaleti had beaten on her debut at Salisbury, bolted up by six lengths in a novice race at Kempton last week to add further substance to Nyaleti’s reputation.

The biggest dangers look like being Clemmie, a full sister to Churchill who won a Group Three at the Curragh in good style, and Out Of The Flames, who steps up in trip following her excellent third in the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot.

Heartache looked outstanding in winning that race from the well-fancied American filly Happy Like A Fool so Out Of The Flames is taken very seriously here.

Finally, Leshlaa, second home on the stands’ side when fifth in the Britannia Handicap at Ascot, will be suited by tackling 10 furlongs again and has the class to go close in the Bet365 Handicap.

SELECTIONS:

1.50 FAWAAREQ, 2.25 NYALETI, 3.00 LESHLAA, 3.35 SEA OF GRACE, 4.10 RED ROMAN, 4.45 BEING THERE, 5.20 TRIBAL QUEST, 5.50 DR JULIUS NO

You can tweet Mike @Catters61