Matt Brocklebank highlights six horses to add to your My Stable tracker following the opening meeting of the British Flat season at Doncaster.
VINTAGE CLARETS – 4th 1.15 Doncaster, Saturday
The top four in the betting came to the fore in the Unibet Brocklesby Conditions Stakes and while 8/1 chance Chipotle was a ready winner on the day, the better-fancied placed horses are all entitled to improve a fair amount for this first look at the track.
Above all, it was fourth home VINTAGE CLARETS who shaped like a sure-fire juvenile scorer, having had a wall of horses in front of him with a furlong and a half to travel.
When Paul Hanagan switched him for a challenge towards the middle of the track, he ran green and didn’t quite know what was expected of him, but stayed on stylishly once straightened up and was sensibly looked after close home.
He’s closely related to a whole host of winners, many of which stayed six and seven furlongs, but a stiff five up north at Pontefract or Beverley should be well within this horse’s compass, and it’s not hard to envisage big improvement with this sighter behind him.
QUEEN’S SARGENT – 6th 2.35 Doncaster, Saturday
The sizeable QUEEN’S SARGENT has won first time out in the past but he improved for a run or two last summer and looks the type to come on plenty for his encouraging effort in the Unibet Spring Mile.
Kevin Ryan’s grey positively tanked through the first three-quarters of the race before making a striking move between rivals over a furlong out and boxed on quite well despite not being able to reel in the principals, who were away and gone.
He wasn't exactly powering through the line so while seemingly able to stay a mile these days, it’s no great surprise he’s done his winning around seven furlongs and dropping back to that trip in the next few weeks could help ignite a fifth career success.
His form figures so far at Thirsk read 211 so a return to that venue will look an obvious move at some stage in the summer.
REVICH – 6th 3.10 Doncaster, Saturday
It’s hard to whittle the Unibet Lincoln down to just one to take from the race, given Haqeeqy seems likely to hold his own in Pattern company going forward and runner-up Brunch is clearly still on the upgrade and won’t be handicapped out of similar races even after reassessment.
Orbaan (40/1) obviously wasn’t expected to enjoy the relatively quick ground so he has to be of interest following this first run after winter wind surgery, but REVICH ran a stormer in sixth at 100/1 and was probably a shade unlucky not to finish in the first four.
He’s been known to throw in the odd stinker but Revich caught the eye with the way he sluiced up in what looked a good handicap at Chester last August and this was far more like that effort than the tame run he’d produced in the Town Moor fog on his final start of 2020 in November.
Angus Villiers' 5lb claim is obviously a big help but he didn't have an easy time from the off as Revich was awkward from the stalls and immediately on the back foot. He travelled powerfully once settling into a rhythm but the gaps just didn’t come for him and he was nudged markedly to his left as David Nolan extricated Orbaan from a similar pocket.
Given that interference, the run has to be marked up and, no matter what the official assessor does with his mark (ran off 96, just 5lb higher than aforementioned Chester success), he’s up to winning more nice races as a five-year-old if trainer Richard Spencer can keep him sweet.
EMARAATY ANA – 2nd 3.45 Doncaster, Saturday
Like so many well-bred horses who win first time out, things haven’t been plain sailing for EMARAATY ANA and his three and four-year-old campaigns were spent knocking heads with horses essentially much better than himself.
His sole success since his juvenile season, when he won the Gimcrack and was fifth to Ten Sovereigns in the Middle Park, came in a small conditions race at Salisbury in September 2019, but he’ll find his level again before long based on this weekend comeback run.
Having his first start since undergoing a breathing operation, he was prominent throughout before just being overhauled by Royal Commando who was ridden a touch more patiently.
It was a run the five-year-old can definitely build on and it’s hoped the assessor won’t take too literal a view of him beating 116-rated nine-year-old Brando a head into third.
Trainer Kevin Ryan normally has a Wokingham project on the go right from the start of the year and if Emaraaty Ana’s mark remains around 100, then he could just be one for Ascot this summer.
SEVENAL - 5th 4.20 Doncaster, Saturday
Contested by Bangkok and Telecaster in 2019, this maiden has the potential to throw up several nice three-year-olds and runner-up Dhushan is going to be winning soon based on his effort which confirmed the promise of his debut near-miss at Goodwood last September.
However, I wouldn't be giving up on beaten favourite SEVENAL, who was clearly disappointing on the day but was a shade too keen early on to ultimately do himself justice.
There's also a pretty fair chance he found the ground a shade too lively given his pedigree suggests he'll appreciate a bit of cut underfoot, and he looks the type to put this experience to good use at one of the early Newmarket meetings this year.
The Gosdens may have landed the principal race of the fixture, but the yard has traditionally used this Doncaster meeting as a bit of a springboard and Sevenal could leave his comeback run well behind next time.
CAROLUS MAGNUS - 3rd 2.30 Doncaster, Sunday
Andrew Bading's newcomers invariably come on a bundle for their first taste of racecourse action which bodes pretty well for CAROLUS MAGNUS who showed plenty of potential on his Sunday debut.
The Holy Roman Emperor colt didn't make it to the track at two and is already gelded but he looks a decent bit of business having cost €38,000.
Easy to back and returning 33/1, he was given a lovely introduction by David Probert and displayed a much more willing attitude than the well-fancied Alpha King, staying on nicely past that rival to take third in division two of the Unibet Novice Stakes.
Winner Soundslikethunder made most of the running and showed the benefit of his previous Newmarket run to beat Richard Hannon stablemate Lexington Knight (also right on the speed throughout) in the end, but it's Carolus Magnus who I'd be with next time as he appears to have plenty of scope to keep progressing with racing.