Three key reflections from the Newmarket July meeting
By Tony McFadden
15:17 · MON July 15, 2024
Our expert with three reflections from Newmarket's July meeting, including a winner who has established himself as a Group 1 contender.
Giavellotto a worthy top-level contender
Giavellotto had been placed in the St Leger as a three-year-old and made the most of the weight he was receiving to win the Yorkshire Cup last season, but, while clearly talented, he essentially looked a notch below the top level.
However, decisive victories on both starts in Britain this season suggest that Giavellotto is a much-improved performer and is likely to be a leading player when stepping back up into Group 1 company.
Giavellotto had decisively retained his Yorkshire Cup crown on the Knavesmire in May and he put up an even better performance under a penalty to comfortably win the Princess of Wales's Stakes at Newmarket on Thursday, adding another string to his bow by showing the pace to win at a mile and a half.
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Thursday's three-and-a-quarter-length win earned Giavellotto a Timeform rating of 125 which is 7 lb higher than he was rated last season and not far behind the highest-rated horses in Europe, with Kyprios and White Birch currently sharing that honour on 128.
Kyprios's rating comes from the form he showed during his dominant campaign in 2022, while his recent Gold Cup win at Ascot earned a performance rating of 125. Giavellotto could have the pace and class to trouble him in the Irish St Leger.
Newmarket maiden delivers another smart prospect
The seven-furlong maiden for two-year-olds on the second day of the July meeting is always contested by some well-bred colts from powerful yards and it tends to be won by a smart sort.
Last year's winner, Arabic Legend, has failed to kick on as expected since finishing runner-up to the talented Arabian Crown in a Salisbury listed race, but the three previous winners - Epictetus, Noble Truth and Youth Spirit - all went on to prove successful in Group company.
The latest winner, Field Of Gold, also looks set to make his mark at pattern level following a decisive three-and-a-quarter-length victory that earned a Timeform rating of 99p which is the highest achieved by a two-year-old in maiden or novice company so far this season.
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That impressive victory - which was backed up by a good timefigure - earned a slightly higher rating than the figure of 97p achieved by The Strikin Viking following his decisive debut win at York and by Ancient Truth after he defied a penalty at Newmarket on his second start.
Those two have already shown they belong in Group company, with Ancient Truth winning the Superlative Stakes and The Strikin Viking finishing runner-up in the Railway Stakes, and Field Of Gold also has the tools to handle an immediate step up in class, particularly as the Gosden stable is employing a patient approach with its juveniles and marked improvement can be expected.
Indeed, Field Of Gold, who had shaped nicely when third on debut at Doncaster last month, was only the stable's second juvenile winner this season and the first had been at Doncaster just 24 hours earlier.
Field Of Gold streaks clear
Crisford stable firing on all cylinders
June was a testing time for the Crisfords as the yard had only three winners from 36 runners and none at all during the first two weeks of that month. The bulk of those horses weren't running badly but there's certainly been an uptick in fortune as the yard has already enjoyed five winners from 18 runners in July, including two at Newmarket on Friday.
Involvement had performed creditably when seventh in the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot but raised his game significantly over the longer trip to win the mile-and-a-quarter handicap, while Arabian Dusk also stepped forward on what she had shown previously to win the Group 2 Duchess of Cambridge Stakes just over half an hour later.
Vandeek was unable to cap a brilliant couple of days for the yard as he could finish only third in the July Cup on Saturday - still stepping up on his reappearance effort - but Quddwah provided the stable with another big success in the Summer Mile at Ascot on the same afternoon.
Looking ahead to the team's upcoming entries, Mezzo Soprano and Zipster are both interesting contenders on Monday.
Mezzo Soprano, who contests the six-furlong handicap at Windsor (19:20), lost her unbeaten record when runner-up on her return at Thirsk last month but that was a creditable effort against a race-fit and thriving rival and she is entitled to take a step forward. Zipster, who runs in the seven-furlong handicap at Wolverhampton (18:10), was disappointing when fifth at Sandown in May but that was on soft ground and three of the first four home have won since.
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