ITV7: Goodwood and Nottingham guide for day three win £100,000
Dave Smith takes a look at the ITV7 action and makes Poetry his best bet of the day at Nottingham with £100,000 up for grabs in the free-to-play game.
We start the day with a Class 2 handicap over 1m2f. There is the usual mix of unexposed potential and those with something to prove over trip and on the ground. We start with COMMUNIQUE who will bid to give Silvestre De Sousa a second first race win in a row. Mark Johnston's son of Casamento is nicely berthed in stall four and his previous wins over the trip should see him bang in the mix. After disappointing runs at Royal Ascot (stamina when up two furlongs in trip) and York (poor performance) he bounced back nicely at Newmarket in victory. Al Jellaby looks like a step up in distance will help and the stamina on the dam side suggests this son of Exceed and Excel should relish the extra furlongs. Though he was soundly beaten by Big Country on Sunday Ventura Knight plugged on to suggest that, although there are question marks at the trip, that his stamina may not be completely dubious and it wouldn't be the first time that the supposed second string of Mark Johnston romped home. The form of Bathsheba Bay's last run is working out very well with the second-placed horse winning the opening contest here on Tuesday and the fourth place coming sixth in that same race but running better than the bare result suggested. It's a tricky little contest to get started but the vote goes to Communique.
Nottingham's card gets under way with a novice sprint over 5f with a couple of unknowns alongside some who disappointed and some who showed promise. POETRY makes most interesting appeal dropped back to 5f and the nature of her two runs suggests this drop back to the minimum is the ideal launching pad for her first win. She's nicely bred (by Kingman out of a Pivotal mare) and needs to win have any real hope of running in the Moyglare. Be Like Me was conceding 6lb to market rival Iconic Choice the last day and it showed in the final furlong where she was headed and couldn't find anymore. With those terms reversed or at least levelled the result may have been different. She heads here with two solid runs under her belt and should give the selection most to think about. Pearl Of Qatar is a fascinating horse for Brian Ellison and certainly gets the vote of the longer priced individuals. She wasn't disgraced in a hot class 3 race at York where the winner, Dark Vision, has showed his exceptional ability this week. Dropping back two classes is a definite plus and Ben Robinson should be able to negate the 7lb she gives to all rivals.
With his ban for careless riding now complete Frankie Dettori comes in for the ride on PRECIOUS RAMOTSWE. With no ride in the first race there's no time to size up how the track is riding but the superstar jockey should find that no obstacle. The return to this trip should benefit as should the extra 3lb she has on rival God Given who beat her over a shorter distance in the Lancashire Oaks. The ground was rattling that day at Haydock and the (albeit slight) slower ground here should also be of benefit. God Given did beat the selection in that race and the two-length defeat was comfortable but the horse appeared to have the ground and trip to suit. There is a lot to like about Ryan Moore's mount and there'll be plenty who argue that he gave Precious Ramotswe a sound beating the last day but he is skinny at the prices. Another progeny of Nathaniel makes up the trio of interesting runners here. Pilaster was very impressive in victory at Kempton last time out and the form of her Chelmsford win marks her down as a serious contender. She's nicely weighted with the three-year-old allowance, stoutly bred with plenty of stamina on both sides but the question mark would be a lack of form on turf. She may bolt up but at 11/4 I am happy to stay with Gosden's group performer.
James Street takes a step back in class despite winning over 6f at Doncaster last time out. He was the hot favourite and duly obliged. Supporters will be hoping he can repeat the feat here and the 7lb penalty would surely be his only obstacle. However it is QUROB who gets the vote. Despite this being this son of Acclamation's first day at school he is exceptionally well bred and has a Gimcrack entry among his list of potential destinations. Jim Crowley comes here for the ride and surely this is the reason why he's at Nottingham and not Goodwood, despite the retainer to Hamdan Al Maktoum. It's a poor race with Lahessar blowing a favourite's chance at Redcar last time out and both Show The World and Lordsbridge boy showing nothing in their opening runs.
The Qatar Richmond Stakes for two-year-olds throws up a real puzzle. MARIE'S DIAMOND has a good draw from stall two and has Silvestre De Sousa on board for a crack at this. She's the most highly rated in the field on official ratings and will naturally try to get off from the front and make the most of the draw. Though she's bred to want further, the usual front-running style of the stable should negate the shorter trip. Konchek has good group two form on offer here and her second at Newmarket behind Advertise is certainly compelling for this. She ran well for a long way in the July Stakes at HQ and bar some barging may well have got closer to the winner. It's possible however, that she wants a return to 5f to be seen at her very best as there was a touch of being one paced in the final furlong the last day. Neverland Rock runs here for a trainer who has won six of the last 10 renewals of this race and the booking of Dettori is interesting. Sabre's form was somewhat checked by Soldier's Call's poor running in the Group 3 Molecomb but is still worth a market check and Land Force is a typical O'Brien improver.
URBAN ASPECT will undoubtedly go off a warm order in this maiden and it's not hard to see why. The 7lb penalty will be difficult to overcome but the manner of his victory at Chester and the way the form has worked out should see this son of Cityscape go very close. Indeed, the evens on offer at present will surely disappear by post time. Bin Makfi ran very well in a neck defeat at Carlisle last time out and repetition of that run should see him give the selection plenty to think about. Chippie Hill had a facile victory down at Yarmouth last time out but this should be harder. Tiara Gold hasn't been seen since coming third of six in a Beverley maiden last year and there's question marks over whether he's trained on.
Urban Fox produced a very performance at the Curragh last time out and that puts him in good fettle for this Group One. The ease at which he won and beat Forever Together was mightily impressive so any repeat of that would see him difficult to peg back. Unsurprisingly RHODODENDRON is stoutly bred by Galileo out of a Pivotal mare. His last run was disappointing but that was surely a blip and his undoubted class should see Ballydoyle land yet another Group One. Billesdon Brook produced one of the most exceptional in running wins in recent history when trading at 500 inside the final furlong before sweeping home to land a Group Three here last year and any sort of return to his 1000 Guineas run should see him right in the mix. Wild Illusion more than likely wants to prove himself a bit more in lesser company and Wilamania looks out of his depth. If you take the winner out of the Group One that Veracious ran in at Ascot then you have an animal that has ran very creditably at this level. The 3lb allowance and the assistance of Frankie could be massive. He's the big danger to the selection.
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