In the latest part of the series examining the state of play in each division, Adam Houghton outlines how the sprinters rank based on Timeform ratings.
Nothing can touch Nature Strip
It’s fair to say that everything is still to play for among the sprinters, with no horse managing to put their stamp on the division as yet. For context, the top ten sprinters trained in Britain and Ireland on Timeform’s figures are all rated between 123 and 119p, highlighting that they are essentially much of a muchness.
We’ve seen one horse this season who was head and shoulders above the rest, but that was the Australian-trained Nature Strip (133), who registered a breathtaking victory in the King’s Stand Stakes, winning by a remarkably wide margin for a five-furlong race on firmish ground.
Nature Strip broke a little awkwardly but was soon powering along in a perfect position just behind the pace-forcer, eased into the lead at halfway and left his rivals for dead over a furlong out, extending his advantage right through the final furlong.
He had four and a half lengths to spare over Twilight Calls (118) at the line and it was a performance which hammered home the difference between a genuinely top-class performer and the rather mediocre bunch that currently contest this division in Britain and Ireland.
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Incidentally, Nature Strip’s connections declined the opportunity to try and emulate Blue Point by following up in the Platinum Jubilee Stakes later in the week, a decision they might have been left to rue given how that race developed.
Nature Strip’s stablemate Home Affairs ended up finishing well down the field and the winner, Naval Crown (121), needed to show just very smart form to come out on top in a bunched finish (the first 11 runners past the post were covered by less than three lengths).
Platinum Jubilee form flipped on its head
Naval Crown made his next appearance in the July Cup where many of his closest pursuers from Royal Ascot were in opposition once again. They included stable companion Creative Force (121), who had filled the runner-up spot in the Platinum Jubilee, and the Australian raider Artorius (119), who had dead-heated for third with the US-trained Campanelle (117).
In the event, however, it was the ninth-place finisher in the Platinum Jubilee, Alcohol Free (123), who ran out a decisive winner of the July Cup, running easily her best race of the campaign to register the fourth Group One success of her career.
Both her top-level wins last season were achieved over a mile, but she was always in her comfort zone over the much shorter trip at Newmarket, clearly having been sharpened up by her run in the Platinum Jubilee.
Indeed, the most striking aspect of her performance was how smoothly she travelled before putting her stamp on the race inside the final furlong, ultimately beating Naval Crown by a length and a half.
Given that Alcohol Free was below her best when last seen finishing third back over a mile in the Sussex Stakes, there must surely be a temptation to revert to six furlongs next time for a race like the Sprint Cup. After all, she has already shown form good enough to win an average running of that Group One, particularly with her 3-lb sex allowance taken into account.
Power down but Princess keeps on climbing
The first six in the July Cup were all older horses and it was certainly a race in which the form of the three-year-olds took a big knock, with Perfect Power (120) and Flaming Rib (116), the first two from the Commonwealth Cup, both finishing down the field.
Flaming Rib made a bold bid at Royal Ascot as he tried to go one better than when chasing home El Caballo (116) in the Sandy Lane Stakes on his previous start, but he once again found one too good as Perfect Power ran out a clear-cut winner, producing a career best to gain a third Group One victory (won the Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes at two).
At that stage Perfect Power looked set for a productive summer at the highest level, but he has now met with defeat in both starts against his elders having followed his July Cup run with another underwhelming display in the Prix Maurice de Gheest.
The Prix Maurice de Gheest was won by Highfield Princess (119), who continued her remarkable rise through the ranks with a first Group One success. She had already won in Group Two company in the Duke of York Stakes earlier this season and didn’t need to improve on that form to gain her biggest win yet, making all to land the spoils by three quarters of a length.
Minzaal (119) emerged as the best of the rest at Deauville, confirming the improvement he showed when winning the Hackwood Stakes on his previous appearance, while the third Garrus (119), fourth Rohaan (121) and fifth Naval Crown completed a clean sweep of the first few places for the British raiders.
Rohaan, who had previously shown very smart form to defy a big weight in the Wokingham for the second year in a row, was arguably unlucky not to finish a bit closer, shaping well from well off the pace against the all-the-way winner.
Sprint Cup next for the six-furlong sprinters
The first five from the Prix Maurice de Gheest could all meet again in the Sprint Cup, with the likes of Alcohol Free and Creative Force possibly thrown in for good measure.
Others who could be worth looking out for at Haydock include the three-year-olds Sense of Duty (121) and Go Bears Go (118). The progressive Sense of Duty looked Group One material when making it three from three this season in the Chipchase Stakes at Newcastle in June, while Go Bears Go has bounced back well since finishing in mid-division in the Commonwealth Cup, first finishing second in the Hackwood and then winning the Phoenix Sprint Stakes.
Meanwhile, Brad The Brief (120) and Art Power (119) are a couple of older horses who will hopefully be back in action soon. Brad The Brief proved better than ever when last seen winning the Greenlands Stakes in May, while Art Power has been on the sidelines since October but holds an entry in the Sprint Cup, a race in which he finished fourth in 2020 and fifth in 2021.
Nunthorpe aim for exciting Royal Aclaim
Before attentions turn to the Sprint Cup, the next big sprint on the horizon is the Nunthorpe Stakes in which the unbeaten three-year-old filly Royal Aclaim (119p) looks set to start a short-priced favourite.
Royal Aclaim could hardly have been more impressive when registering her third win from as many starts in a Listed contest over the Nunthorpe course and distance last time, coping easily with the steep rise in class in the style of one destined for bigger and better things.
She was settled just behind the leaders in the early stages, travelling powerfully, and the writing was on the wall as she cruised into the lead over a furlong out, quickly drawing clear from there to win by two lengths with plenty in hand.
That form puts Royal Aclaim right in the mix on the weight-adjusted ratings for the Nunthorpe and the small ‘p’ attached to her rating denotes that she is likely to progress further.
The main danger to Royal Aclaim according to the ante-post betting is the two-year-old filly The Platinum Queen (104), who looks set to be supplemented after showing blistering speed to win a minor event at Goodwood, while there are several battle-hardened older horses who will be ready to take advantage should that pair fail to meet market expectations.
They include Khaadem (119) and Raasel (118), who both showed borderline very smart form when recently filled the first two places in the King George Stakes, and Twilight Calls, who hasn’t been seen since chasing home Nature Strip in the King’s Stand.
Only eighth in the King’s Stand was Man of Promise (122), who deserves a mention because of his exploits in Dubai earlier this year. After showing very smart form to win in both Listed and Group Three company, he then failed to meet market expectations back at the top level when third in the Al Quoz Sprint won by A Case of You (121).
Trained by Ado McGuinness, A Case of You was winning his second Group One having also won the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp last autumn. That race is likely to be on the agenda later this year, though the fact we haven’t see him since he finished down the field in the Platinum Jubilee suggests he possibly hasn’t been the easiest to train.
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