September 15 – Doncaster – Liberty Coach – 80
Sean & John Quinn’s gelding backed up his previous C&D victory with an even more commanding display and his overall speed figure also suggested he took his game to another level. Seemingly just as good on a softer surface, the son of Le Havre will be a horse of significant interest during the backend of the season with conditions deteriorating and he remains one to keep on side.
September 15 – Curragh – Bradsell – 81
As has been the case for several seasons now, UK raiders dominated a sprint over the Irish Sea and Archie Watson’s inmate franked the form of his previous success in the Nunthorpe. The Breeder’s Cup sprint now beckons for him. Of the rest, Believing deserves plenty of credit, faring best of those drawn low, and Makarova posted a career best with her staying-on effort in third. Ed Walker’s filly is will be worth more than a second look in the Prix De L’Abbaye with a better drawn than she got last season.
September 15 – Curragh – Hanalia – 82
Wingspan ensured the gallop was honest right from the start in this Group 2 fillies affair and Johnny Murtagh’s filly took full advantage of a race run to suit. Held up in last, she was produced with a well-timed challenge late on and it was a victory she fully deserved after a couple of bits of ill fortune earlier in the campaign. Not quite staying 1m4f in the Irish Oaks before finding 1m1f too short previously, this trip suits her ideally and The Prix De L’Opera looks the next obvious step, as muted by connections afterwards.
September 18 – Yarmouth – James Webb – 86
Setting out to replicate his previous C&D success, Sir Michael Stoute’s colt ensured there was no hiding place in this 1m1f contest and despite being surrounded by a gaggle of challengers down the home straight, he kept on in game fashion to keep them all at bay. Posting a very big speed figure for the grade, the subsequent rise in the ratings to 91 still looks well south of his true worth and it won’t be too long before this lightly-raced sort breaks out of handicaps into pattern company. Runner-up, Roi De France, lost nothing in defeat and is due to run in the Cambridgeshire this weekend, so we get an immediate chance to see the value of the form.
September 18 – Beverley – Blue Zodiac – 77
A fairly low key juvenile contest for fillies’ but it produced a really smart speed figure for a race of its kind and, as a result, the form could well be worth following. The winner was bouncing back after a disappointing run at York at a higher level where maybe just got caught out by the very fast ground. Either way, this was more like the filly we saw at Yarmouth and Goodwood (behind Coto De Caza) and she is worth another crack at the valuable black type connections clearly desire. Of the vanquished, runner-up Glamour Show deserves a huge amount of praise for making a race of it from her wide draw (Stall 13 of 13) and it surely can’t be too long before she breaks her duck.
September 20 – Ayr – Star Of Lady M – 83
Another quite remarkable performance by Kevin Ryan’s filly, matching the one she produced when winning at a lower level at York. Flying out of the stalls at the Scottish venue, she soon established a lovely rhythm and at no point did she ever look like relinquishing her advantage. Usurping her previous best figure by three spots (80), the daughter of Havana Grey proved what an incredibly fast filly she is when conditions are in her favour and further success awaits her under similar circumstances.
September 20 – Kempton – Consolidation – 75
Ralph Beckett’s juvenile had to wait four runs to finally make a breakthrough but it was a success to suggest there will be plenty more bright days in due course. Tracking the good early pace set by Hunky Dory, the son of Too Darn Hot was produced to gather in the front runner a furlong out and from that point he drew steadily clear to record a fast time. A well-made sort with a pedigree to suggest he will do well in time, he looks the type to do well over middle distances as a three-year-old.
September 21 – Gowran – County Mayo – 76
Well beaten on his debut at Tipperary, Aidan O’Brien’s inmate proved a totally different proposition on his second start and the overall speed figure he posted suggested he could turn out to be quite useful. Jumping much more alertly, the son of Wootton Bassett set sound fractions from the start and although there was a moment where the well-backed favourite, Tropical Nation, looked dangerous, he kept on well to fend him off close home. Where he found this level of improvement from is anyone’s guess, but the data suggests it would be churlish not to take this performance seriously and he deserves to be followed accordingly. As for the runner-up, he fell foul of being caught in a poor position after a furlong and the effort to make up the lost deficit proved his ultimate downfall. He deserves another chance.