Horses to follow: Trackside Live team with horses for your tracker

Nightwalker (John & Thady Gosden)

Dante Stakes - York - 15 May

Do you want a big statement to kick off this week’s column? Here’s one – Nightwalker will win the St Leger. Before you close the page, give us a chance. A raw, gangly two-year-old, Nightwalker earnt his place in our three-year-olds to follow pieces over the winter as a horse sure to improve physically and mentally. He has, but still remains a work-in-progress – give it another couple of months and we will see a different horse. The son of Frankel demonstrated another step forward when finishing a closing fifth in the Dante Stakes behind Pride of Arras but was still green in the pre-parade, having a bit of a shout and a good look around. The yard won the Great Voltigeur with Logician in 2019 en route to Leger glory and this colt is out of a half-sister to the Classic winner - he looks ideal for a similar route.

Luther (Charlie Fellowes)

Poule d’Essai des Poulains - Longchamp - 11 May

A quick jaunt to Paris for the weekend – the things we do in the name of paddock watching. Forget the well-covered drama in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches as Shes Perfect’s win was thrown out in the steward’s room; we were more interested in the run of stablemate Luther in the Poulains. An athletic colt, Luther was hard-fit and a little mind blown by the paddock proceedings in France, where horses are required to parade in race-card order and released into the paddock at a certain time (take note, BHA). Given his expenditure of energy in the preliminaries, where trainer Charlie Fellowes was drafted in as additional help, the colt’s late run to finish fourth behind Henri Matisse marks him out as a horse to follow. A return to France for the Prix du Jockey Club could be on the cards, and he also holds entries in both the Derby and the St James’s Palace Stakes.

Toca Madera (Brian Meehan)

Lindum York Handicap - York - 15 May

Toca Madera constantly caught the Trackside eye in the paddock beforehand, looking fit and coat in superb condition but off the back of a rare poor run last time out, you didn’t really know what to expect. But he bounced back to form in great style, finishing third to a fast-improving American Affair and with Jm Jungle finishing second, the front pair confirming their 1-2 from Musselburgh the month before, it looks a very strong, and believable, piece of form.

Ascot has not been a happy hunting ground for him and with that I’d not be keen if he turned up there next month, but Goodwood is a different matter, and he still remains unexposed at six furlongs, having won over the trip at Windsor last year but raced exclusively at five since that win. He’s come onto my radar as a potential Stewards' Cup horse now - keep him onside this summer when the ground is quick.

* declared for Windsor on Monday

Merchant (William Haggas)

Sky Bet Handicap - York - 15 May

We all saw how easily Merchant won at York last Thursday and putting him up as one to follow seems a bit obvious but we absolutely loved him at Trackside, he looked a cut above his opposition in the paddock beforehand, and the way he won this marked him out as one that, assuming he gets a decent draw, is the one to beat in the King George V Handicap at Royal Ascot.

A real solidly-built sort, more a galloper than a quickener, it was hardly surprising that he found 10f too sharp at Newmarket in retrospect, but this step up in trip enabled him to travel so much better, and it looked a matter of how-far at the two furlong pole. Once Tom Marquand pressed the button he went right away from Rahiebb (who I’d also expect to take his chance come Royal Ascot) and won with plenty in hand. The handicapper will have his say now, but he’s going to be a hard one to beat.

Dolce Courage (James Horton)

Yorkshire Equine Practice Handicap - York - 16 May

Before we all went home on Friday, York threw a 22-runner handicap up at us, and rather than head for the car park (as most did) we stuck around to see if there was anything that caught our eye. Good job we did, as Dolce Courage was one of our early Eyecatchers in the pre-parade ring, getting the comment “excellent coat and very fit, a positive” and he took the preliminaries well.

It was equally pleasing, then, to see him run well enough in finishing seventh, travelling well and perhaps flattening out a bit late as he wanted to hang to the far rail. I’ve no doubt he’s got an idea or two of his own about racing but equally there’s talent there; the sort that needs it all to drop right for him, but I suspect he’s going to drop in when we least expect it, probably at a decent price. He should be eligible for a 0-80 after this, and that’s where I’ll be watching him closely….

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