John Ingles provides an overview of the key things to note on Wednesday.
Fahey stable can keep listed prize in the North
Carlisle is the only one of the five scheduled meetings in England and Wales on Wednesday not to have been abandoned due to the excessive heat. The track inherited some good races from Haydock’s abandoned card late last month, but this is normally their most important Flat meeting featuring the historic Carlisle Bell. Earlier on the card is the Eternal Stakes (16:02), a listed race for fillies over just shy of seven furlongs which was moved to Carlisle in 2015.
Southern raiders have had a particularly good record since then and William Haggas and Roger Varian are among the trainers who have been successful before, with the Newmarket pair represented this year by Albaydaa and Classic Cuvee respectively. You have to go back to 2018 for the last time this prize was kept in the North when Richard Fahey was successful with Dance Diva, but the Malton yard looks to have the one to beat again this time with Golden Palace.
She was highly tried last year, including in the Cheveley Park Stakes, after winning novices at Beverley and York on her first two starts, and was no threat in the Nell Gwyn Stakes on her reappearance. But she ran her best race last time when third behind a couple of older rivals in a listed race at Musselburgh won by useful mare Circe. Back in her own age group and on this stiffer track, she can make the most of the weight she receives from Ellusive Butterfly who carries a penalty for winning a similar event at Epsom earlier in the month.
Royal Ascot boost for Wine Dark Sea’s form
The aforementioned Carlisle Bell (16:35) looks a typically competitive contest where Altareq could fulfil the promise of his first two runs this year, but half an hour later the card’s other valuable class 4 handicap, the Cumberland Plate (17:05), looks a bit more manageable, with Harry Charlton’s progressive four-year-old Wine Dark Sea holding strong claims.
Still lightly raced, Wine Dark Sea ended his three-year-old campaign with a fine second in the Old Rowley Cup at Newmarket. That looks particularly strong form as he split a now smart pair in Yabher and Daiquiri Bay, with the latter going on to win the Copper Horse Stakes at Royal Ascot last week. Wine Dark Sea then finished in front of another Royal Ascot when continuing his progress to make a successful reappearance at Ascot last month.
Winning readily by two lengths from Bulletin, back in third was Opportunity who was a winner himself at Carlisle next time (the transferred Haydock card) before following up with a smart effort to win last week’s Duke of Edinburgh Stakes. With the ‘Horse In Focus’ flag and heading the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings with further progress to come, Wine Dark Sea can continue his own progress here.
Group 3 opportunity for Oaks runner Cameo
Highlight of the evening card at Naas is the Jannah Rose Stakes (18:40), a Group 3 contest for three-year-old fillies over a mile and a quarter better known as the Blue Wind Stakes. All seven runners meet on level terms, and the one who stands out on the Timeform ratings is 'Hot Trainer' Aidan O’Brien’s filly Cameo.
The Blue Wind used to be run earlier in the season and therefore served as an Oaks trial, with Was, who finished third in 2012, going on to win the Oaks for O’Brien. This year, though, it could offer some consolation after Epsom for the Ballydoyle runner as Cameo failed to see things out over the longer trip, finishing a well-held fifth in the Oaks behind Thundering On, a filly she’d beaten into fourth when winning her maiden at the Curragh in October.
That clearly wasn’t Cameo’s true form at Epsom, as she’d previously run much her best race to win the Oaks Trial at Lingfield when much stronger at the finish and pulling nearly five lengths clear of runner-up Prizeland. Back down in grade, Cameo looks worth another chance and could book her place in the Irish Oaks field with victory here first.
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