Expert view: We get the view of five insiders who give their views on the two-year-old division in Britain and Ireland

Saturday's Juddmonte Cheveley Park Stakes and Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes kick off a really significant end-of-season spell for the current crop of two-year-olds.

Group One honours are up for grabs for the fillies and colts respectively, while the Darley Dewhurst Stakes and bet365 Fillies' Mile come hot on their heels in October.

So who really sets the standard in the juvenile category at this stage of the strangest of years, and who should we be looking out for in Britain, Ireland or overseas in the next few weeks?

We got the views of leading commentator Simon Holt, Irish expert Donn McClean, Timeform's Flat Editor David Johnson, Press Association Sport journalist Nick Robson and author and Racing TV pundit Mark Howard to help answer some of the key questions.

1. What has been the knockout juvenile performance for you so far this season?

Mark Howard: I was very impressed with Minzaal’s win in the Gimcrack Stakes at York last month. He faces his stiffest test to date at the weekend in the Middle Park Stakes but he toyed with some decent opponents on the Knavesmire and looks ready for another rise in grade.

Simon Holt: We haven't seen a Pinatubo performance this season but I thought Campanelle was really impressive in the Prix Morny, following up her Queen Mary defeat of Sacred. She looks immensely powerful and has a great attitude, and while there may be other targets for her in the States, she could be back for Royal Ascot next year.

David Johnson: In the Group races, I don’t think we’ve really had one yet, which is why the ante-post markets for next year’s Classics remain so open. In terms of really eye-catching performances, Monsoon Moon’s debut third at Ascot really was the sort to make you sit up and take notice and she potentially has the tools to go to the very top. She’s a Kingman half-sister to Logician and her dam is a half-sister to Bated Breath and Cityscape, so she’s wanting for nothing on pedigree and she shaped so well at Ascot first time out, dropped out in a steadily-run race but making a sweeping move on the home turn to pass everything to get to the front over a furlong out. The problem was, she was asked to do too much too soon – think Frankel in the St James’s Palace Stakes over the same course and distance – and it’s forgivable that her effort petered out to finish only third behind Love Is You. She had no trouble making amends in another novice at Newmarket at the weekend, and though she is entered in the Fillies’ Mile, her trainer John Gosden has suggested she’s going to be brought along more gradually this season. She has plenty of scope to make a better three-year-old and will surely be in a Guineas trial in the spring.

Nick Robson: Hindsight has since told us that the race might not have taken as much winning as is usually the case but Dandalla's display in the Albany at Royal Ascot was striking. The second has since won a Listed and the third a Group Three while the winner herself followed up at Newmarket but made hard work of it - although it looks a much stronger piece of form. She's been given plenty of time since that and gets the chance to maintain her unbeaten record this weekend in the Cheveley Park.

Donn McClean: There was an awful lot to like about the performance that Miss Amulet put up in winning the Lowther Stakes. She saw daylight from flagfall and she had to do a lot of running on her own towards the near side as Wings Of A Dove spearheaded the pace on the far side. As well as that, she had to be tough after she hit the front. It looked like Sacred was coming to get her – William Haggas’ filly traded at 1.15 in-running – but she battled back bravely to win by a length.

We learned new things about Ken Condon’s filly that day. We learned that she was brave and tough and that she could see out six furlongs. She had been progressive over five before that, she had won her maiden at Cork by five lengths, and she had beaten Frenetic and Measure Of Magic in a listed race at Naas over the minimum trip. She has stepped forward with every race that she has run, and the Lowther Stakes form has been enhanced already, with Sacred subsequently going down by just a short head in the Flying Childers at Doncaster, and third-placed Umm Kulthum winning the Group 3 Firth of Clyde Stakes at Ayr last week. Miss Amulet has changed ownership, but she remains with Ken Condon, and she could step forward again in the Cheveley Park Stakes on Saturday.

2. Do the bookies have it right with Joseph O’Brien’s Thunder Moon the general 7/1 fav for next year’s 2000 Guineas?

Nick: It seems incredible looking at the top 10 RPRs achieved by two-year-olds this season that not one belongs to Aidan O'Brien. Thunder Moon tops them, of course trained by his son, Joseph, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if there's something lurking at Ballydoyle who most of us haven't even heard of yet who will have a big part to play next year so I'd be reluctant to take that sort of price this far out.

Simon: Thunder Moon looks the leader of the pack, with all due respect to Battleground and Chindit, at the moment, and it was certainly taking how he quickened clear in the National Stakes, the race that Pinatubo won so brilliantly last year. That was an even better performance than it looked considering he was checked before finding a gap, so he's done nothing wrong and, yes, I would make him marginal favourite for the Guineas at this stage ahead of the Dewhurst. The price looks about right.

Donn: This year’s Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes was a messy affair, it was slowly-run, there were hard luck stories, and the winning time was over a second slower than the time that Shale clocked in winning the Moyglare Stud Stakes over the same course and distance a half an hour earlier. That said, you had to have been really impressed with the performance that Thunder Moon put up in winning the race.

He was locked away on the rail as they passed the two-furlong marker just behind the pace-setters, who were starting to fall back into his lap. It all got a little tight, and by the time he got out into the clear, they were passing the furlong pole and Master Of The Seas had made his ground uninterrupted down the outside and had set sail for home. But when Declan McDonogh asked Thunder Moon to pick up, the turn of foot that he showed was seriously impressive. He was level with the Godolphin colt before the 100-yard mark, and he powered on to win by a length and a half from Wembley, who stayed on down the near side to snatch second place.

It was a really impressive performance by Joseph O'Brien's colt. He had been impressive in winning his maiden on his racecourse debut over six furlongs at The Curragh last month, but he stepped up to a new level in winning the National Stakes. A half-brother to Table Rock, who won a listed race at Newmarket over a mile and a nine-furlong handicap in Hong Kong, and to Jaqen H'Ghar, who won over a mile and a half, he should get a mile at least, and he deserved the Guineas quotes that accompanied his National Stakes victory.

Mark: Despite the fact we are in the autumn now, there is a long way to go before next spring but Thunder Moon looks a tremendous prospect. Joseph O’Brien’s colt produced a smart performance at the Curragh having met trouble in running. Given his lack of experience, it was a first class effort and he deserves to head the ante-post lists.

David: In short, yes they do. If anything, it’s arguable that he perhaps should be a little shorter, with everything subject to change over the next few weeks. The National Stakes was the strongest two-year-old race of the season so far with regards the colts, bringing together the winners of the Phoenix, Superlative, Railway, Futurity and Tyros Stakes and while it’s true that the Phoenix winner Lucky Vega didn’t get the rub of the green, things hardly went smoothly for Thunder Moon either so for him to overcome the trouble he did, and quicken to the front in such good style, it suggests he could be something special. The Dewhurst will demand he steps up again and will tell us a lot more with the likes of Chindit and possibly impressive Mill Reef winner Alkumait in there too, but after only two runs in his life so far, Thunder Moon is open to plenty of improvement still himself.

3. Which colt do you expect to really throw their hat into the ring over the next couple of months?

Simon: Well, it looks like Chindit is heading for the Dewhurst, and a possible clash with Thunder Moon, and victory in the season's most prestigious two-year-old race would take him to the highest level after his victory at Doncaster. I saw him win at Ascot before that and he looked a really scopey type beforehand. What I like about him is that he switches off well and picks up to order. A smashing colt.

Donn: Lucky Vega appears to have ducked under the radar a little after his defeat in the National Stakes, but he was the main sufferer in the scrimmaging that occurred on the run to the furlong marker that day. You can simply disregard the run. It was a non-event for him. Winner of his maiden on his racecourse debut at Naas in June on the day that racing resumed in Ireland, he was beaten on his next run in the Group 2 Railway Stakes, but he was only beaten a half a length by Laws Of Indices, and that was on the back of an interrupted preparation.

Jessica Harrington’s colt had a clear run into his next race, his last before the National Stakes, the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes at The Curragh over six furlongs in early August, when he showed an impressive turn of foot to quickly end the race as a contest, coming clear of his rivals and leaving the impression that he had more in hand than the three-and-a-half-length winning margin.

By Lope De Vega and a half-brother to Lady Clair, a three-time winner over the minimum trip, it may be that six furlongs is more his distance than seven for now, and it is interesting that rider Shane Foley nominated the Middle Park Stakes as the race for him quite quickly after the National Stakes. With all the concentration on the top three in the market for Saturday’s race, Minzaal, Method and Supremacy, he could be the forgotten horse of the race.

Mark: Like the same owners Minzaal, Alkumait is already a Group 2 winner having taken the Mill Reef Stakes last weekend. Marcus Tregoning is eyeing a tilt at the Dewhurst Stakes next month and the son of Showcasing won’t look out of place in such company.

David: By his usual high standards, Aidan O’Brien has been very quiet with his youngsters so far and has only two of Timeform’s current top 20 in his care. They both ran in the National Stakes and it was the performance of Wembley that caught my eye and I’m hoping that he can take another step forward when he gets the chance to tackle a mile. We know the National Stakes was a messy race, and it didn’t go unnoticed how the winner overcame trouble and that Lucky Vega was badly hampered – but it rather passed without comment how much ground Wembley made up in the closing stages having still been last of all a furlong out. There are plenty of options over a mile in the coming weeks, races like the Beresford and Autumn Stakes, which have often been a pointer to the Vertem Futurity Trophy at Doncaster – that race an excellent pointer to the Guineas itself in recent seasons.

Nick: Aidan O'Brien admitted recently that the late start to the season played havoc with his plans for his juveniles but Battleground still managed to win at Ascot and Goodwood. It was a real shame he was pulled out of the National Stakes at the 11th hour but should he turn up for the Dewhurst the first foal of Found will warrants plenty of respect despite his form looking a level or two below a couple of the others.

4. The long-range 1000 Guineas picture looks wide open at present – which filly appears set to take the autumn by storm?

David: Basically we are trying to unearth the Fillies’ Mile or the Marcel Boussac winner here and there’s no shortage of lightly-raced, well-bred fillies that could fit the bill. Charlie Appleby’s A’Shaari was an easy winner of a Newmarket novice that has already thrown up a couple of winners and is a half-sister to Wuheida who won the Boussac on her second career outing. Roger Charlton’s Love Is You is out of Coronation Stakes winner Fallen For You and did well to win on her debut in the race Monsoon Moon was third in and could take in the Fillies’ Mile, but it’s one trained by Aidan O’Brien that I’ll give the nod to and that filly is Monday. She was beaten on her debut, but like so many for the yard came on a bundle for that effort and was much improved to win a Listed race on Irish Champions Weekend at Leopardstown on her second start, making the running and finding plenty to hold off the standard setter No Speak Alexander. She needs to keep improving, but is certainly bred to. Her dam Ballydoyle won the Boussac before going on to finish placed in the 1000 Guineas. She’s entered this weekend for an ordinary Rockfel and a win there should see her 1000 Guineas odds of 25/1+ contract a fair bit.

Mark: The appropriately named Monsoon Moon looks to have a bright future. A well bred daughter of Kingman and a half-sister to St Leger winner Logician, she confirmed the promise of her debut run by bolting up at Newmarket last Saturday. Don’t expect her to be plunged into the deep end this year but it could be a different story next season.

Donn: Not sure about taking the autumn by storm, but Thunder Beauty looks like a filly for the future. A daughter of Night Of Thunder, she was impressive in winning her maiden at The Curragh at the end of July and, pitched into the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes on just her second run, she performed more than satisfactorily.

She finished just fifth in the end behind old adversaries Shale and Pretty Gorgeous, but she was only beaten a total of three and a half lengths. As well as that, she was last early on and she had to make her ground widest of all. Passing the furlong marker, it looked like her run might take her into third place, but she just flattened out a little close home, as lack of a recent run probably told. Even so, it was a really good run in Group 1 company for one so inexperienced. She proved that she belongs in this grade.

Her pedigree suggests more middle-distance than mile, but she had the pace to win on her debut over six furlongs, and she is by a Guineas winner from the family of a German Guineas winner, so next year’s Guineas is not an unrealistic aspiration. In the shorter term, she could be a lively outsider in the Fillies’ Mile.

Simon: Monday looks like running in the Rockfel on Friday and can improve again from her Listed win at Leopardstown where I thought she showed a commendable attitude to make most of the running. She is beautifully bred by Fastnet Rock out of Ballydoyle (who chased home Minding in the 2016 1000 Guineas) and has a big future.

Nick: There appears to be very little between Donnacha O'Brien's Shale and his brother Joseph's Pretty Gorgeous and they look the best by some way in Ireland while Dandalla and Fev Rover, both owned by Nick Bradley's syndicate, also appear closely matched. I think you'd have to be impressed by what Indigo Lake did at Doncaster in the May Hill but that race isn't really known for producing Guineas winners. At this stage I'd much rather be looking at those at bigger prices.

5. Is there a once-raced maiden winner you’re desperate to see again before the year is out?

Donn: There was a lot to like about the performance that High Definition put up in winning his maiden at The Curragh in August. He was dropped in early on by Wayne Lordan from his high draw, and he was still just about last as they passed the two-furlong marker. He didn’t show push-button acceleration from there, but he stayed on strongly and willingly to come from an unlikely position, passing seven rivals inside the final furlong to hit the front 50 yards out and win by three parts of a length from Wordsworth, going away.

It was a really likable performance by Aidan O’Brien’s colt, who was only joint-fourth in the market behind his stable companion and fellow racecourse debutant Wordsworth, and there could be significant progress forthcoming now. By Galileo out of Cairn Rouge Stakes winner Palace, and a half-brother to Beresford Stakes winner Innisfree, he holds entries in the Royal Lodge Stakes and the Beresford Stakes on Saturday, and he will be of interest if he lines up in either. Longer term, he could progress to be a high-class middle-distance colt next season.

Nick: Of those at bigger prices in the 1000 Guineas betting Star Seeking interests me. She's by Gleneagles, owned by Michael Tabor and trained by Sir Michael Stoute so has all the right connections of a Classic winner. She fairly dotted up on her only start this year at Leicester and while it is a cliché it is only one because it's true, whenever one from that yard wins first time out they are usually very decent. Star Seeking had fillies trained by Varian, Beckett, Gosden, Hills and Haggas behind her yet she was heavily eased at the line and I can't wait to see where she runs next.

Mark: I am looking forward to seeing Love Is You in action once again having made a favourable impression at Ascot on her debut this month. Trained by Roger Charlton, she is out of a Group 1 winner and a half-sister to Glorious Journey. The aforementioned Monsoon Moon finished behind her at the Berkshire track. She looks to have a big future.

Simon: One of the more obvious ones is the Dubawi filly A'shaari who overcame clear signs of inexperience to win first time out at Newmarket. The ground was on the soft side that day but her dam Hibaayeb won the Ribblesdale Stakes on a fast surface. She should be a lovely middle distance prospect.

David: If I was doing this sort of piece four or five years ago, I’d have had no hesitation at all in putting up Uncle Bryn, who was a stylish winner of a Kempton novice on his only outing to date by 3 lengths. It’s a race worth getting the video out for, because the bare margin of victory doesn’t do him justice given the ground he made up in a steadily-run race, and he was value for plenty extra. The sectional upgrading of that effort turns a form rating in the low 80s, and timefigure in the mid 60s to something in the mid-90s, and he looks to have the potential to move into Listed company sooner rather than later. The problem is that bookmakers tend to spot these sort of horses more often than they used to, (no doubt helped by pieces like this!), so it remains to be seen if he’ll prove betting material next time, but being by Sea The Stars and out of a mare who made the frame in the Group 1 EP Taylor Stakes, he could be a Classic contender in the spring.

High Definition - Click here to add to My Stable

Star Seeking - Click here to add to My Stable

Love Is You - Click here to add to My Stable

A'Shaari - Click here to add to My Stable

Uncle Bryn - Click here to add to My Stable

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