Back to the grind with my holiday season over (for now), and plenty to talk about before we have a look at the racing this weekend.
Three-year-olds and especially Derby winners have been taking plenty of flack in recent years for being way below the standards expected of a classic winner, but the class of 2023 look a decent bunch to me with Aidan O’Brien proving the master once again with Auguste Rodin pulling off the Epsom Curragh Derby double, and Paddington turning out to be one of the best around after pulling off the Irish 2000 guineas, St James’s Palace Stakes and Coral-Eclipse treble. He now drops back to the mile for the Sussex Stakes in early August, though he still holds an entry in the Arc over a mile and a half. Add in talk of him heading “down under” for a tilt at the Cox Plate and this is a great time to be a racing fan – we may not win the Ashes but Paddington could well give the locals a bloody nose if they decide to campaign him further afield.
Meanwhile, Auguste Rodin looks set to head to the King George for an intriguing rematch with Epsom runner-up and King Edward VII Stakes winner King of Steel, though both Hukum and 2022 Derby winner Desert Crown are also entitled to have a say, and despite all the doom and gloom in our sport, we all have plenty to look forward to.
Over the sea in Ireland there has been a measure of panic with the news that the Gambling Regulation Bill is working its way through their parliament. It may (hopefully) see amendments before being finalised, but as things stand, any form of gambling advertising will be banned from 5.30am to 9.00pm, with the possible knock-on affect of both Racing TV and Sky Sports Racing pulling the plug on their Irish coverage (in Ireland). That would be a hammer blow to the sport without any doubt, and all we can do is hope that common sense prevails – but since when have politics and common sense gone hand in hand?
On to the racing…
Saturday
A big field and the lack of experience and a recent run are the only negatives I can find for the promising Sweet Memories ahead of the 4.45pm at Newbury, but that may mean we get a better price, and we can’t have it both ways. A daughter of Sea The Stars, who set connections back a whopping 680,000 Guineas as a yearling, she is a half-sister to Group One winner Cursory Glance, and made her debut last December at Wolverhampton over this trip when she was slowly away before running on late to be beaten under three lengths in fourth. She should have learned plenty from that experience and although I suspect she will be better when she is stepped up in trip later in the season, if she gets a clear run here under Frankie Dettori, she may be good enough to hit the frame at the very least.
Time Lock is becoming frustrating to follow with three second places and a couple of fourths on her last five starts, but she returns to Listed class in the Aphrodite Stakes this afternoon (4.15pm Newmarket) and that may see her get back to winning ways. Her last start saw her beaten four lengths at Haydock in the Group Two Lancashire Oaks with the three in front of her officially rated her superiors, but she looks up against lesser rivals this afternoon with the exception of Novakia, who hasn’t won since her debut and tries the trip of a mile and a half for the first time, and isn’t guaranteed to get home looking at her pedigree.
The Irish Oaks (3.45pm The Curragh) has cut up pretty badly and if Ryan Moore is on board Savethelastdance, then the hint needs to be taken. She strolled home by 22 lengths at Chester on the Oaks trial and then may have found the ground too quick for her when second to Soul Sister in the Epsom Oaks, beaten a couple of lengths at the line despite rallying late on. Current conditions at The Curragh include the word yielding so she should be able to get her toe in on Saturday, and that may be all she needs to get the better of stable companion Warm Heart who may prefer a quicker surface.
Sean’s Suggestions:
Sweet Memories each way 4.45pm Newbury
Comments