Horse racing form analysis and comment: Ben Linfoot reflects on Saturday's action in England and France

1. Saffron Beach

The Kingdom of Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes can be one of the weaker Group Ones of the season, but not this year.

This year we had the QIPCO 1000 Guineas winner, the Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes winner, the Coolmore America “Justify” Matron Stakes winner and SAFFRON BEACH beat them all with a classy display under William Buick.

It could be some aperitif for Buick ahead of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and Adayar on Sunday, but for trainer Jane Chapple-Hyam this was a wonderful and much deserved first Group One.

It was also a first Group One for Saffron Beach’s sire, New Bay, and his progeny are worth watching out for over the closing months of the Flat season.

Since the last week of September New Bay progeny are five from 14 at 36%, thanks in part to Saffron Beach and Spirit Catcher winning on Saturday, and as a general rule they love to get their toe in.

Bayside Boy is a high-profile New Bay who is in the Dewhurst and Vertem Futurity Trophy over the next few weeks, but all of the stallion’s sons and daughters are worth close inspection now the weather has turned.

2. Adam Farragher

ADAM FARRAGHER is a 5lb claimer on fire.

A winner with eight of his last 16 rides, his partnership with William Haggas continues to bear fruit and they teamed up with Mayaas which kicked off a marvellous Chester four-timer for the rider on Saturday.

‘Just about made all’ from stall one around the Roodee sounds so simple, but that was far from the case as Master Zoffany headed him a furlong out.

Mayaas responded to his rider’s urgings and dug deep to get back up and secure victory, but that was plain sailing compared to Flying West who got up by a nostril in the fillies’ handicap.

This was all about strength and timing as James Fanshawe’s Cheveley Park filly put her head down right on the line – in stark contrast to Gaassee who got the treble up when winning by 15 lengths.

All of his talents were on show on and the Chester four-timer took Farragher’s career tally to 35, so he’s still 15 victories short of seeing that golden 5lb claim reduced to 3lb yet.

He’s clearly a jockey to follow – and it will be interesting to see how Haggas utilises him in some of the big end-of-season handicaps coming up over the next month.

3. William Haggas

Talking of WILLIAM HAGGAS, his horses are in a rich vein of form with the Newmarket handler recording an incredible eight victories in England and France on a superb Saturday afternoon.

His Camacho filly With Thanks bounced back to winning form in Ascot’s opening Listed October Stakes, taking her form on soft or heavy ground to 1-1-2-1-1 – it would be no surprise to see her out again in the closing weeks of the turf season.

Aldaary earned Haggas an Ascot double when he won what turned out to be a two-horse race with Symbolize in the 16-runner Challenge Cup, his finishing effort firmly suggesting he’s got all the tools to thrive in the Balmoral Handicap over a mile on Champions Day which he could tackle under a 6lb penalty.

And for good measure Haggas landed the Group Two Qatar Prix Dollar over at ParisLongchamp with Dubai Honour, a thriving three-year-old who is now three from three since stepping up in trip to 10 furlongs.

He’s been gelded so a fruitful racing career might only be just getting going and a top-level assignment awaits, whether it be this year or next.

With the Haggas yard flying – he’s had 18 winners from 51 at 35% in the last fortnight – all eyes now turn to Alenquer, the stable’s only runner on Sunday, who looks an outsider with a good each-way chance in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Given the form of the yard, you simply cannot dismiss his chance lightly.

4. Stradivarius

“I don’t want him to be like an old boxer who still thinks he can carry on. I don’t want to say ‘yeah we’ll carry on, he’s running well and we’ve got excuses because of the ground’. At some stage you have to draw stumps and say ‘he isn’t what he was’.

“I’m not saying that’s where we are today, but that day is going to come for every horse and it is obviously getting closer.”

We may have seen the last of STRADIVARIUS reading between the lines from owner Bjorn Nielsen’s reaction in the immediate aftermath of his four-and-a-half length defeat to new staying king Trueshan in the Qatar Prix du Cadran.

Put in his place by Alan King’s star stayer as they finally met following a season of avoiding each other due to circumstance, it seems the time might well have come to pull the plug on a staggering career that has yielded 17 Group-race victories including seven at the top level.

A second place in a Group One is hardly on the canvas stuff, but with a National Hunt stallion career in mind and his sequence of consecutive Ascot Gold Cup victories over, you can understand the dilemma that Nielsen finds himself in.

If this is it for The Strad, what a wonderful horse he has been. A stayer with a sharp turn of foot who has lit up Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood over the last five years, his phenomenal stretch of group wins over so many seasons marks him out as a much-loved horse, of the kind the Flat has rarely produced. He’ll be missed.

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