My Stable Eyecatchers: Horses to follow from Grant Copson
Grant Copson of The Final Flight Publications selects his eyecatchers from the last week and you can add them to your My Stable tracker by clicking on the horses' names below.
Vange - 2nd 2.10 Beverley, Tuesday
The Richard Fahey-trained Vange showed signs of inexperience on his debut last week, though he still shaped with plenty of promise when second to the more experienced and odds-on winner Deep Intrigue. Slowly away from the stalls, the son of Iffraaj didn’t get a smooth passage inside the final couple of furlongs, where Paul Hanagan had to switch him for a clear run, but he ran on strongly inside the final furlong. That debut effort left the impression that he will come on plenty and that he’s more than capable of landing a similar race in the next couple of weeks.
Rathbone – 3rd 5.05 York, Wednesday
There was good word for this juvenile colt prior to his debut on the Knavesmire on Wednesday and although the well-related youngster could only finish third, there was plenty to like about his first racecourse appearance. Given that Rathbone’s dam is an unraced half-sister to 6f two-year-old winners Showcasing (Group 2) and Camacho (Listed), there was no surprise to see Kevin Ryan start him off over the minimum trip. After being hampered upon leaving the stalls, he was still looking in contention at the business end of the race, before he hung under pressure and eventually finished a length behind the taking winner, Charming Kid. There is no doubt that it was just inexperience that saw Rathbone drift off a true line when under pressure and he will be much more streetwise next time out, where he should take plenty of stopping.
Stay Classy - 3rd 6.20 Doncaster, Saturday
The Richard Spencer team were responsible for the Group 2 Coventry Stakes winner, Rajasinghe, last season and it was one of his two-year-old fillies that caught my eye at Doncaster over the weekend. Stay Classy - a daughter of Camacho - moved well through the majority of the 5f contest and although she showed clear signs of inexperience, she kept on well under pressure to finish third. Her pedigree suggests that a step up to 6f will suit and it’s expected that Spencer will find this filly a suitable race to get her head in front at the next time of asking.
Sea Of Class - 1st 4.50 Newbury, Saturday
The first winner to feature here this season, though this beautifully-bred filly more than deserves her place after an authoritative display in the Listed Haras De Bouquetot Fillies' Trial Stakes at Newbury. After a smart debut when second at Newmarket over 1m (5/4fav), the step up to 10f was always going to suit this daughter of Sea The Stars and she moved through the race like a really high-class performer. However, it was the manner in which Sea Of Class cleared away from a useful field that was so impressive and in doing so she marked herself down as a Group 1 filly in the making. William Haggas and James Doyle continue to dominate the headlines with their newly formed partnership and it’s possible that the pair have a live Oaks chance now, though she does lack experience for such a high-pressure race that is less than two weeks away. Regardless of her next target, the remainder of her three-year-old career is exciting, and it’s fantastic to think she should get even better with age, assuming that we are lucky enough to watch her race on as a four-year-old.
Read more of Grant’s work in his latest publication, Following The Flat 2018, by ordering here…
You can order Following The Flat 2018 for £9.99, where if you enter the offer code sportinglife20 then you can get 20% off the RRP...
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