Timeform Daily View | Wednesday preview and tips

By John Ingles

Horse Racing

Wed October 23, 2024 · 1M ago

John Ingles of Timeform provides an overview of the key things to note on the racing front on Wednesday.

Three points of interest

Newcomers make for interesting Newmarket novice

All bar one of the races on Newmarket’s card are for two-year-olds and the novice over seven furlongs (14:20) looks a particularly interesting contest. Only two of the nine runners have racecourse experience, and a much better showing can be expected from Charlie Appleby’s runner Hidden Secret who has been gelded since finishing down the field behind smart stablemate Ancient Truth on the July course when he was held back by inexperience.

But there are some well-bred newcomers from other top yards taking him on, with John & Thady Gosden’s Shadwell colt Mudbir, a son of Kingman, taking the eye on pedigree. His dam Handassa has already produced several at least useful winners for the same connections, with the stand-out pair being the Falmouth Stakes and Sun Chariot Stakes winner Nazeef and last year’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes and Juddmonte International winner Mostahdaf.

Juddmonte colt Pinhole is also of note, being a brother to Fillies’ Mile and 1000 Guineas third Quadrilateral among others, and he has an interesting trainer-jockey combination too with Billy Loughnane having his first ride for Sir Michael Stoute. A win for Pinhole could set up a family double as his useful three-year-old brother Cadogan Place has good claims in the two-mile handicap at Kempton (20:10) this evening.

Stamina test should suit Watching Stars

Charlie Appleby and William Buick could be in for a good day at Newmarket, with Watching Stars looking sure to be suited by a marked step up in trip in the Future Stayers Nursery (15:30). The mile and a quarter contest is restricted to horses whose sire or dam won over the same trip or further and Watching Stars qualifies on both counts as he’s by Sea The Stars out of smart filly Half Light, a listed winner in France over ten furlongs.

After finishing fourth at Newmarket and Goodwood on his first two starts, Watching Stars probably did well to get off the mark in a novice at Thirsk last time given that seven furlongs would have been very much on the short side based on his breeding. But he did show a terrific attitude to come out on top in a sustained duel with Ralph Beckett’s colt Valiant Knight, with little between the pair throughout before Watching Stars edged ahead a furlong out on the way to a short-head success.

Beckett fields Watching Stars’ chief rival Anniversary here, he too bred to appreciate this longer trip, but Watching Stars, who has cheekpieces fitted for his nursery debut, comes out 5 lb clear on Timeform weight-adjusted ratings and can get the better of the top weight.

Inca can make winning return at Fontwell

Some fairly useful hurdlers line up for the 2m3f handicap at Fontwell (15:40), including Inca de Lafayette who has his first start of the season for Paul Nicholls who has a 33% strike rate at the West Sussex track over the last five seasons. It’s encouraging that Inca de Lafayette made a successful seasonal debut this time last year, at Wincanton, and he went on to win over today’s trip at Taunton later in the campaign. He was also a good second back at Taunton on his final start last season when coming up against the progressive Into The Park.

Among Inca de Lafayette’s rivals is top weight Oscars Moonshine who was formerly trained by Nicholls but is now in his ownership and is ridden by daughter Olive for her mother Georgina. While Oscars Moonshine has won his last three starts, ridden by Olive Nicholls each time, he has a year’s absence to overcome since winning twice, a week apart, around this time last year.

Junkanoo is on a handy mark and has the benefit of a recent run and rates as the other main danger to Inca de Lafayette, but the latter looks capable of making another successful reappearance, heading the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings by 1 lb.

Tip of the Day

Unreal Connection – 19:10 Kempton

Flags: Horse In Focus, Top-Rated

Unreal Connection is yet to get her head in front this season but she has a good chance of putting that right at Kempton. The winner of a maiden at Epsom last year, Unreal Connection has been placed five times in handicaps this term, including in all three of her tries on the all-weather.

Her last two runs since being fitted with blinkers have been particularly good, with Benoit de la Sayette, her rider on both those occasions, in the saddle again here. After dead-heating for third behind King of Fury over this course and distance last month, Unreal Connection looked unlucky not to win a fillies’ handicap at Chelmsford a couple of weeks ago when she was forced to come around the entire field entering the straight before keeping on well to go down by a short head to Silver Nightfall.

Also beaten a short head at Epsom in August off the same mark as she runs off here, Unreal Connection has solid claims heading the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings by 3 lb.

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