Our Ben Linfoot picks out five points of interest from Saturday's racing at Newbury and the Curragh.
Havana pop at the Super Sprint favourite?
Hmmm. This’ll be a tough one for punters. On the one hand Havana Hurricane has outstanding claims and you can see why he’s the 11/10 favourite for the Weatherbys Super Sprint at Newbury, Saturday’s much-maligned feature race in the UK.
A Royal Ascot winner with a great chance at the weights, this might not end up being as big a field as it normally is which could reduce the chances of Chipotle-like interference which did for Eve Johnson Houghton’s last Windsor Castle winner to try and justify short-price favouritism in this race in 2021.
He only finished ninth in the end and is one of five horses sent off at 2/1 or shorter to get beaten in the Super Sprint, while on the other side of the coin six justified the odds including the favourites in the first three renewals.
HORSES SENT OFF 2/1 OR SHORTER IN SUPER SPRINT
- 1991 Paris House 5/4 fav won
- 1992 Lyric Fantasy 2/5 fav won
- 1993 Risky 8/11 fav won
- 1998 Flanders 6/5 won
- 2000 Romantic Myth 10/11 6th
- 2005 Titus Alone 2/1 fav 8th
- 2009 Monsieur Chevalier 2/1 fav won
- 2015 Excessable 2/1 fav 5th
- 2019 Ventura Rebel 5/4 fav 4th
- 2021 Chipotle 15/8 fav 9th
- 2023 Relief Rally Evens fav won
Havana Hurricane is also by the same sire as Chipotle being by Havana Gold, while they also cost a similar price at the sales, too, (9,000gns v 10,000 gns), so there will be a certain amount of redemption if this year’s representative gets the job done.
The main danger looks to be Anthelia who did not run a bad race at all under a penalty in the Listed Empress Stakes over six furlongs at Newmarket at the end of June.
She had previously looked useful over five furlongs in the National Stakes at Sandown and after costing just £6000 for Rod Millman, who has won this race twice before, she gets 5lb from Havana Hurricane. Hmmm indeed.
When Harry met Saffie
It was interesting that Saffie Osborne got the leg up on Jasour for Clive Cox in last Saturday’s July Cup and she probably conjured the best performance out of the mercurial grey since he was third in the Commonwealth Cup eight starts ago.
Osborne has a good record for Cox, a 20% win strike-rate stretching back four years, her relationship with his Tregony (she won her first four starts on the mare) kicking off her record for the Lambourn trainer nicely.
Perhaps she can strike up a similar relationship with Diligent Harry, the pair set to be reunited in Saturday’s Group 3 Hackwood Stakes at Newbury, under a penalty, after they combined to land the Group 3 Chipchase Stakes at Newcastle last time out, a win that took his all-weather record to 8/16 (as opposed to 0/16 on grass).
That obviously suggests Diligent Harry is a better horse on the all-weather, but if there’s a turf track where you’d back him to bring his best form to the table then Newbury would be right up there after his two runner-up finishes in this very race in 2021 and 2023.
Cox is on weather watch and wouldn’t want Saturday’s forecast showers to be of a thundery nature, but if the ground is fine and he does run he might be worth another chance to finally get his first turf win on the board under a rider that got a fine tune out of him first time up.
Rash to cash in dropped in class
Rashabar has only ever run on turf and it’s amazing to think he’s only got one more win under his belt than Diligent Harry – that 80/1 shocker in the 2024 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Since then he has run five times without success, but four of those were at the very top level and the last two times he has run he has been one of the many swatted aside by a certain Field Of Gold.
Brian Meehan has moved to improve that win strike-rate by steering him away from such hot company and on Saturday he moves up to 10 furlongs for the first time in the Listed BetVictor Steventon Stakes at Newbury.
The trip could really help him as there’s lots of staying power on his dam’s side and this race has provided comfort for class-droppers in the past, with Sakhee, Passage Of Time and Intilaaq all bouncing back to winning form in the calmer waters of this race.
Mgheera to sparkle in Sapphire?
That’s about as good as it gets on a quiet Saturday in the UK but there’s quality action in Ireland on Irish Oaks day at the Curragh and while the feature event looks an Aidan O’Brien benefit the undercard is good.
The Group 2 Barberstown Castle Sapphire Stakes over five furlongs offers the Irish sprinters a chance to show their worth in the division but it’s the English raiders that look like dominating the betting and Ed Walker’s Mgheera tops that list.
She got worked up at the start at Royal Ascot and was withdrawn from the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes after spreading a plate, but the form of her Temple Stakes win at Haydock (see free video replay, below) was well advertised in that race by American Affair.
Indeed, the Temple form looks red-hot with the third, fifth and sixth all winning subsequently and Mgheera could highlight her own Nunthorpe credentials with victory on Saturday – as long as she goes in the stalls.
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New direction for Al Riffa
Al Riffa ran well behind Rebel’s Romance in the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, keeping on well back over a mile and a half in first-time blinkers.
He didn’t quite have the pace to reel in the globetrotting winner, but he stayed on in the style of a horse that will get further and Joseph O’Brien makes an interesting move stepping him up to 1m6f for the Group 2 Michael John Kennedy Curragh Cup.
His dam, Love On My Mind, was an unraced sister to Group 3 two-mile winner and Gold Cup second Mizzou, so there is Cup-style stamina in his pedigree and a good performance on Saturday could open up a completely new avenue for him.
O’Brien is clearly thinking strongly about the staying route as he’s also entered him in the Goodwood Cup, Lonsdale Cup and Irish St Leger, and while he’s been a bit of a nearly horse over middle distances he could be just the type to thrive going out in trip.
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