Simon Holt bids to follow up Thursday's 16/1 winner with a couple of selections on day two of Newmarket's July Festival.
OUTBOX may have lost his unbeaten record when just touched off by the smart French stayer Funny Kid in a Listed race at Chantilly last month, but Simon Crisford's handsome son of Frankel can regain the winning thread in Friday's bet365 Trophy Handicap at Newmarket.
Before that defeat, Andrea Atzeni's mount had won his first three career starts, really catching my eye at Leicester last September before beating Elegiac and Aspetar (both decent winners this season) at Newbury a month later.
At Chantilly, Outbox went down with all guns blazing to a progressive horse who won at Lingfield on all-weather finals day last year but, more recently, chased home the smart Nagano Gold (second in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot last month) at Longchamp in April.
With all due respect to last month's Duke Of Edinburgh Handicap runner-up Ben Vrackie, who now races over two furlongs further, the selection is a potential Group horse in a field of mostly exposed handicappers.
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Earlier, MAJESTIC DAWN can give Josephine Gordon a welcome high-profile winner in the opening bet365 Handicap.
The Paul Cole-trained colt drops back to a mile and a quarter here having failed to last home in the King George V Handicap (1m4f) at Royal Ascot where he took two lengths out of the field early in the home straight before being headed entering the final furlong.
I liked the way Majestic Dawn travelled that day and he is better than he showed when seventh (slowly away) in the London Gold Cup at Newbury in May and finishing behind Good Birthday (third and now 6lb worse off), The Trader (fifth and 2lb worse off), Korcho (eighth and 9lb worse off) and Solid Stone (ninth renewing on the same terms).
Moreover, the Cole team are in good form with three winners in recent days.
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