As Northern Irish group D:Ream once sang Things Can Only Get Better, and those words are certainly true of the Cambridgeshire Meeting at Newmarket which kicked off in low-key fashion on Thursday.
But despite the offerings on show during day one of the first major autumn event staged on the Rowley Mile, this year there were still some performances worthy of taking a note of encouragement from going forwards.
Results on soft ground must always be treated with caution, but with the time of year approaching where that word will appear in going descriptions more often than not those that handled the testing conditions will be worth following for the remainder of the season.
Nothing impressed more than the manner of which Al Nayyir disposed of his rivals by eight lengths in the Listed Jockey Club Rose Bowl Stakes to show his second in the Group Two Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup Stakes at York was no fluke.
While tougher tests now lie in store for the Dubawi gelding, who is likely to be aimed at the QIPCO British Champions Lonsdale Cup at Ascot next month, his rider Luke Morris expects the six-year-old to continue his progression.
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Morris said: “I rode him at the York the last day and I have ridden him in work since and his work had improved quite a bit so I was very hopeful today.
“The ground was just a bit of a question mark. He had won on soft, but I guess because he was so effective in the Lonsdale Cup we were concerned whether he would be quite so good back on the soft, but like a lot of Dubawi’s he relished it.
“They were a pretty decent bunch, but he has felt good in the mornings so I was hopeful he could do something like that. Hopefully he can step up into a proper Group race and have his day.
“His winter is campaigned towards running in the Middle East as he ran well in Saudi Arabia this year and was second in the Dubai Gold Cup so that’s the main aim, but if he could take in the race at Ascot along the way that would be fantastic.”
Lightning out to strike in France
Although it was all about stamina for Al Nayyir, his trainer Tom Clover will be focused on speed next weekend when taking aim at the Group One Prix de L’Abbaye at Longchamp with Rogue Lightning.
And the Newmarket handler feels the Wathnan Racing-owned four-year-old is returning something close to his best after a promising third over course and distance in last month’s Qatar Prix du Petit Couvert.
Clover said: “He was only beaten a head last time. I think he loves travelling over to France and he has run well at Longchamp twice now.
"I’m very keen to give the Abbaye a go and he looks in good shape. We might just change the headgear to see if it can eek out a bit more improvement.”
While Wathnan hope their investment in Rogue Lightning will finally be rewarded a week on Sunday, the big-spending outfit had to settle for second best with Diego Ventura, who had his colours lowered for the first time in the Group Three Tattersalls Stakes.
Not helped by being drawn out wide the son of Mehmas showed up well for much of his pattern race debut on his first start over seven furlongs before wilting late on, but it was a display which suggests a race of such nature will be within his grasp.
Hamad Al Jehani, trainer, said: “Diego ran very well to be honest as it was first run in a stakes race. He tried very hard with James (Doyle) and it looks like we have a good horse on our hands.
“James mentioned he didn’t have the best draw and as you saw he didn’t have cover the whole way. I think the winner had the advantage of being near that rail, but hopefully he will show up well in a stakes race next time.
“I think we will focus on racing over seven furlongs for now. He dealt with the seven furlongs better than six furlongs. He has a nice mentality so seven furlongs suits him better as six is a bit sharp for him.”
Wise decision to keep tabs on Executive
Only a late rally from Sophia’s Delight denied the Jamie Osborne-trained Executive Decision a win on her first start in 76 days in the British Stallion Studs EBF Premier Fillies’ Handicap. But her rider Saffie Osborne believes it won’t be long until the daughter of Ardad is back occupying first spot in the winner’s enclosure judged on her latest display.
Osborne said: “The ground is key to her. We haven’t run her for any other reason apart from that we haven’t had her ground. Hopefully going into the autumn now she will be really competitive.
“Dad has done a great job with her as she is a pretty busy filly. She is a hard filly to gauge where she is fitness-wise, but they have done a great job of keeping her brain right. The winner has made all, and been able to have the rail, and where I challenged probably wasn’t ideal.
“We were very tightly compact and it was taking her a while to get going so I wasn’t able to challenge through the middle of them, but she is a nice filly for the autumn.”
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