Andrew Asquith provides an overview of the key things to note on Thursday.
Three points of interest
Appleby has excellent record in Haydock novice
Charlie Appleby has won the last three renewals of the one-mile novice event at Haydock (15:40) and he has a intriguing contender in this year’s edition, too.
Silver Peak was a €1,250,000 guineas purchase as a yearling and, as you would expect, he has an attractive pedigree – he’s from the family of high-class Persian King.
He shaped well in a strong-looking race on his debut at Kempton a fortnight ago, held back by inexperience, running green upon entering the straight, and unable to go with the principals in the closing stages, but he still pulled clear with three nice types.
The winner of that race looked something out of the ordinary, and Silver Peak looks a sure-fire improver on the back of that experience, so he looks very interesting in a race his yard clearly likes to target.
Fascinating renewal of the Dick Poole Stakes
The Dick Poole Stakes at Salisbury (15:50) is usually a well-received Group 3 and this year’s edition has attracted a representative field.
There are four once-raced winners in the field, who are all open to any amount of improvement, but the one who stands out at the prices is the Karl Burke-trained Greydreambeliever.
She made a winning debut in a valuable novice event at York towards the end of July, knowing her job – like so many from this yard do on debut – and she looked a good prospect, pulling clear of the remainder with another promising type in a good time.
Greydreambeliever also took an age to pull up after the line, suggesting she had much more to give, and she looks more than ready for this step up into pattern company based on her debut win.
Note interesting debutant from Galileo’s final crop
Galileo, who sadly died in July 2021, recently reached the astonishing milestone of siring 100 individual Group/Grade 1 winners when Content won the Yorkshire Oaks at York’s Ebor Festival a couple of weeks ago and he has a two-year-old running from his final crop of foals on Thursday.
Galileo only 13 foals in his final crop and has had only one two-year-old runner this season in Britain or Ireland, a Godolphin-owned colt called Royal Officer who cost a whopping 1,000,000 at the breeze-ups earlier this year.
The horse in question is a filly called Gigi Bliss, who goes in the seven furlong filles’ maiden at Newbury (16:05). She is trained by Richard Hannon, and is a sister to Sam Hawkens and a half-sister to Minnetonka, both of whom represented the same connections.
Sam Hawkens finished runner-up on his debut as a juvenile, while Minnetonka made a striking impression on hers, scoring impressively by seven lengths over six furlongs at Salisbury.
Gigi Bliss is certainly a striking type on paper, while her entries in the Rockfel Stakes and Fillies’ Mile later in the season suggest she has been showing up well at home. She represents a yard who can ready one and it will be interesting to see how she goes in the market.
Tip of the Day
D Day Arvalenreeva – 17:20 Haydock
Flags: Horse In Focus, Top Rated
D Day Arvalenreeva hasn’t won since opening her account on handicap debut at Leicester last season, but she has run two cracking races in defeat so far this year, beaten only by a stable-switcher on her return, and very unlucky not to have won at Windsor when last seen in June.
She produced a career-best effort on the latter occasion, travelling well throughout but constantly denied a run from over two furlongs out, finally getting a gap well inside the final furlong and running on well to narrowly be denied. D Day Arvalenreeva returns from a short break just 1 lb higher in the weights and she appears to have been found a very winnable opportunity.
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