Check out what the trainers say about the leading fancies ahead of day one of the Newmarket Craven Meeting on Tuesday.
2.25 bet365 European Free Handicap
Marcus Tregoning is hoping Ribhi can put himself in the picture for the Classics when he makes his seasonal debut in the Listed bet365 European Free Handicap at Newmarket on Tuesday.
The son of Dark Angel will take on four rivals in the seven-furlong contest, which is a recognised trial for the 2000 Guineas. Ribhi will again be partnered by Jim Crowley, who steered him to victory in a six-furlong conditions race when last seen at Salisbury in September.
Having won a maiden at the same track on debut, he had his colours lowered in a Listed race at Doncaster on good to firm ground on his second start, before winning on soft last time out.
“The race has obviously cut up to a small field because I suppose people are worried about how the ground is everywhere,” said Tregoning. “It is getting pretty quick and we haven’t had as much rain as we should have done. He seems to be going there in good form. We are going there off the back of a couple of wins last year and we are just trying to find out where were are and how far we think he is going to get.”
The last winner of the European Free Handicap to achieve victory in the 2000 Guineas was Mystiko in 1991, while the last participant to win the 1000 Guineas was Harayir, the runner-up in 1995.
“It can happen,” said Tregoning. “We will just have to see and hopefully build on it. Ribhi might get a mile, so we are going that route anyway. Hopefully he will run well and we can gauge something from this race, although it is difficult to gauge things in a small field. It is a fact-finding mission, but going back in trip should help. He is much the same as he was last season. He is in good shape and I’m looking forward to seeing him run.”
Rivals include the Richard Hannon-trained Tacarib Bay, who was third in the Group Three Horris Hill at Newbury on his second of two starts, Hugo Palmer’s Yarmouth novice winner Power Of Beauty and Honey Sweet, trained by Karl Burke.
Ryan Moore rides Tacarib Bay, and told Betfair: “You couldn’t say he is obviously well-treated off his mark of 103, but he has had just the two runs and his third in the Horris Hill on soft ground certainly suggests he could be competitive here.
“He did best of those who raced prominently there. There seems to be some rain forecast on Tuesday, which would obviously be fine for him, but decent ground should also be OK for this Night Of Thunder colt, I’d have thought.”
The Charlie Appleby-trained New Science completes the line-up and heads the market on his seasonal debut. The Lope De Vega colt comfortably beat subsequent dual Group One winner Angel Bleu in the Listed Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot in July.
He stayed on from the rear to take third behind Sovereign Prince on his latest appearance in the Listed Jumeirah Classic over a mile at Meydan in February.
“New Science has definitely come forward from his run in Dubai. If he brings the best of his two-year-old form to the table, it will make him very competitive,” Appleby reported on the Godolphin website.
3.00 bet365 Earl Of Sefton Stakes
Last year’s QIPCO 2000 Guineas runner-up Master Of The Seas makes his return in the bet365 Earl Of Sefton Stakest, trying nine furlongs for the first time at a track he is yet to finish outside of the first three at.
It is the first time the son of Dubawi has run at Group Three level since landing the Craven Stakes at this meeting 12 months ago and Charlie Appleby will be hoping his four-year-old will be on his best behaviour having seen his season end in disappointing circumstances when fancied for the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
He was withdrawn at the start on that occasion having reared in the stalls, but has been gelded in the interim and that could be the key to a successful four-year-old campaign which starts on home turf for the Moulton Paddocks inmate.
Appleby told the Godolphin website: “Master Of The Seas is a horse we haven’t seen since his antics at the Breeders’ Cup. His preparation has gone well and he’s been gelded since that start and I think the step up in trip will suit him. We’re looking forward to it (Craven meeting), it’s an exciting time of year and hopefully we can tick some boxes this week and roll into the Guineas meeting with the right horses. Conditions look there to suit and we are expecting a big run.”
Master Of The Seas is the clear favourite, while John and Thady Gosden’s Megallan will be looking to repeat the form that saw him edge out Sir Busker in the Group Three Sovereign Stakes at Salisbury last August. Last year’s Dante runner-up is rated the biggest danger to the market leader.
One intriguing runner in the line-up is Catch Twentytwo, who makes his debut for Jane Chapple-Hyam. The mount of Robert Tart has raced exclusively in South Africa so far, winning three of his 12 starts, and arrives via Mauritius from Mike de Kock.
The four-year-old will spend the summer with Chapple-Hyam before being reunited with De Kock, and the handler is looking forward to seeing how her new import gets on while in her care.
“He’s going to get a shock on the straight track at Newmarket, he’s going to be looking for the bends!” she said. “He came to me because he was en route to Mike De Kock in Dubai and got held up in quarantine in Mauritius, Mike said to look after him for six months and give him a couple of runs and then he’ll go over to Mike. We felt that rather than sit and wait and go straight into Group Ones, we’d dip our toe in at Group Three and see how he gets on.”
Although a regular in Graded company when racing in South Africa, Chapple-Hyam did add a note of caution to her assessment of the Elusive Fort gelding, but with her time with the horse limited, she is keen to get a run under his belt.
“Just bear in mind, a big open track at Newmarket probably isn’t the right call for him, we probably should be on a turning track, but it’s on our doorstep, two miles down the road and thought why not.
“He arrived on Christmas Eve, so he’s had time to get used to the wet and cold of England and he’s an interesting horse, he’s rated 116 and we’ve got to start somewhere,” said Chapple-Hyam.
Others to note include Andrew Balding’s track-and-trip winner Bells Rock and the Roger Varian-trained Father Of Jazz, who was beaten less than a length in the Magnolia Stakes at Kempton last month.
3.35 Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn Stakes
Cachet bids to get her season off to the ideal start in the Lanwades Nell Gwyn Stakes.
The George Boughey-trained daughter of Acclaim was a close-up fourth to Pizza Bianca in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf on her final start of last season. Having gone down by a length in a bunched finish, Cachet’s strong effort was franked last week when runner-up Malavath landed the Group Three Prix Imprudence at Deauville. Other winners have also come from the Del Mar feature.
Boughey said: “That form was given a good boost when Francis-Henri Graffard’s horse won in France. That was nice to see.”
Though the Highclere Thoroughbred-owned Cachet won just one of her eight starts in an industrious two-year-old campaign, her Newmarket handler feels she has strengthened up over the winter.
Boughey added: “Although she was busy at two, she had a good break in the middle of the summer and had a proper break at the National Stud in the winter. Fortunately, she has come back and not missed a day’s training, so it is one of those things where she has been pretty straightforward. If she had missed, she would be behind the kick, but she hasn’t. She looks great. She is a filly who got physically better as the year went on and I think she will do that again.
“She was a little bit weak at the backend of last year, but hopefully she will see out the mile better this year. This is a good stepping stone and looks a race where she should be very competitive.”
Cachet, as short as 25/1 for the QIPCO 1000 Guineas, will take on eight rivals in the Group Three contest on a straight seven furlongs of the Rowley Mile course that has seen little rain over the past few weeks.
Boughey feels conditions will suit and added: “I think her career-best was on Del Mar on firm ground. I have never really worried about the ground with her. We ran her on heavy ground at Ascot and was very happy to run her on fast ground in Del Mar. She has a fast-ground action and seems to handle anything.”
Cachet will renew rivalry with Hello You, who beat her by a length and a half in the Rockfel Stakes at Newmarket on their penultimate start, a race that was just outside the track record. David Loughnane’s filly was subsequently three-quarters of a length behind Cachet in America, but the Shropshire handler feels the daughter of Invincible Spirit will progress from her seasonal bow and on to the second Classic of the season, for which she is 20-1 with Paddy Power.
“She beat Cachet in the Rockfel comfortably and we were point-four of a second outside the track record that day,” said Loughnane. “The track really suits her and she wasn’t 100 per cent in America. I would very much put a line through that run. She didn’t run a bad race, but she definitely was not 100 per cent.
“Her target is very much the 1000 Guineas and we are very much aiming to have her peaking on that day. She is not completely would up for Tuesday, but she is as good as anything in the race.”
Hello You will be partnered by Rossa Ryan as she takes on rivals who include William Haggas’ Perfect News and Marco Botti’s unbeaten Ribbon Rose.
Though hopeful, Loughnane cautioned: “She might just need her first race. If she does, she does, if she doesn’t, she’ll be there in the business of things.
“It is a long season ahead and we didn’t want to over-cook her, so she has done very well and we are very happy with her. She has grown nicely. She did a nice piece of work 10 days ago at Wolverhampton and we are very pleased with her.”
Loughnane feels she will stay the Gutrip, despite her fifth-place finish on her first attempt over a mile at Del Mar.
“I would like to think she will handle the step up to a mile. I don’t see as a problem whatsoever. She has obviously proved she goes on any ground and she handled most tracks. She was very consistent last year and you never know until you run them whether they have trained on or not, but she has certainly shown the right signs.”