John Ingles provides an overview of the key things to note on Sunday.
Three points of interest
Fillies’ novice a race to keep an eye on at Wetherby
Whilst a track better known for its jumpers, Wetherby’s first Flat card of the year opens with a novice for fillies over a mile and a quarter (14:00) which, surprisingly perhaps, has proven a notable source of future Royal Ascot winners! John Gosden won the first two renewals, including with Fanny Logan in 2019 who was out of luck in the Ribblesdale later that season but won the Hardwicke back at Ascot the following year. In 2022 it was won by Tom Clover’s newcomer Rogue Millennium who followed up in the Oaks Trial at Lingfield on her next start and won the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot as a four-year-old.
The other Royal Ascot winner was beaten in this contest, with John & Thady Gosden’s Loving Dream going down to Sir Michael Stoute’s Noon Star (herself a future listed winner) in 2021. Loving Dream went on to win the Ribblesdale two starts later before a Group 1 success in France later in the year in the Prix de Royallieu. The Gosden stable won last year’s race with another smart filly, Danielle, but they’re not represented this time.
But there are some well-bred fillies from top yards among the eight runners and most look open to improvement, with the only four-year-old in the line-up, Clermont Ferrand, making most appeal for Harry Charlton. The daughter of Kodiac was evidently unfancied for her belated debut at Yarmouth earlier this month but showed plenty of ability, threatening in the final furlong before going down by half a length to another newcomer, the Godolphin filly Winter’s Song, who holds an Oaks entry. The third, Tattycoram, managed to turn the tables on the winner in a more valuable novice at Sandown on Friday, so the form looks strong and Clermont Ferrand can go one better here.
Overture can maintain winning streak on return
Four of the eight runners in Southwell’s fillies’ handicap (16:15) make their return after ending last season on a winning note. Russian Crescendo, who won her last two starts in novices at Kempton and Ascot and makes her handicap debut here, and Pique’, who signed off with a win in heavy ground at Nottingham, are two of the leading contenders but preference is for Overture who was improving at a rate of knots for Sir Mark Prescott when last seen in the autumn.
Once stepping up to middle distances, the daughter of New Approach ran up a four-timer last August/September, winning at Yarmouth, Nottingham, Southwell and back at Yarmouth. She beat Pique’ by a neck for the last of those wins but had a lot more in hand than that margin suggests as she was in complete control after making all the running but needed shaking up late on after her jockey had briefly taken things too easily. That earned Overture the ‘Horse In Focus’ flag.
She looks open to further improvement this year, with her useful dam Tribute Act proving better than ever at four when runner-up in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes. With her stable well among the winners this month, Overture can carry on where she left off last term and record another course victory.
Blazeon Five looks well weighted back on Flat
All of Southwell’s contests are worth more than £10,000 to the winner, with the most valuable race on the Premier Raceday card being the final event, a two-mile handicap (18:45) which has a first prize of more than £39,000.
This is a new trip for Caballo de Mar but he completed a four-timer, and a Southwell hat-trick, when easily accounting for the re-opposing Gibside earlier in the month and is an obvious contender, along with course-and-distance winner Manxman who was touched off by a nose in the Cesarewitch last season, a race he was temporarily awarded. More recent form is represented by Heathen and Duke of Oxford who were third and fourth respectively behind Wonder Legend in the Marathon on All-Weather Finals Day at Newcastle nine days ago.
Pick of the weights, though, and heading the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings, is the mare Blazeon Five who has her first start on the Flat for Alan King. She had two runs for him in the mud over hurdles during the winter but promises to be much better suited by a return to this surface. She has run well in both her previous starts at Southwell, in fact, when trained by Roger Teal, winning on the first occasion and beaten a neck in a competitive Racing League contest the other time. Twice a winner at Ascot in 2023 from marks similar to today’s, Blazeon Five looks an interesting runner back on the Flat.
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