Newmarket pedigree preview ahead of Craven day including Wood Ditton contenders
Timeform's John Ingles highlights some interesting pedigrees in a couple of the races on the final day of Newmarket’s Craven meeting.
While the race that gives the Craven meeting its name, along with the Nell Gwyn Stakes and the Free Handicap, are the highlights for the three-year-olds at Newmarket’s pre-Guineas fixture, just as much part of the furniture is the Wood Ditton. Although just a maiden, it’s one of the best-known such races in the calendar thanks to being one of the few contests – in Britain at least – restricted to unraced three-year-olds.
Not all who’ve contested it over the years have been stars by any means, but each of the last five winners – no race last year, of course – have achieved Timeform annual ratings of at least 95. Pick of those was the most recent winner, UAE Jewel (rated 118), who was successful for Roger Varian and followed up in a Listed race at the Guineas meeting.
The best recent Wood Ditton in terms of depth was probably the 2016 edition won by Sky Kingdom for Jeremy Noseda. He went on to Group 3 success at Maisons-Laffitte later in the season, while behind him in third was Muntahaa, fourth in the St Leger later that year and a future winner of the Ebor for John Gosden, with David Menuisier’s popular grey Thundering Blue in fifth. Achieving a rating of 122, Thundering Blue is the top-rated horse to have made his debut in the Wood Ditton in the last five renewals.
The most notable ‘winner’ in the last 10 years, though, was Mukhadram in 2012, successful two years later in the Eclipse for William Haggas. He actually finished second on the day at Newmarket but was subsequently promoted when the first-past-the-post was disqualified. What is fairly evident from these past renewals is that, although the Wood Ditton is run over a mile, it is contested by horses whose future lies over longer trips, much longer in some cases.
Topping Timeform's predictive ratings in this year's Wood Ditton at 14:25 is Valiant Prince, who represents the Charlie Appleby yard which was successful with Night Circus three years ago and shares his sire Dubawi with the most recent winner UAE Jewel. Valiant Prince cost 200,000 guineas as a yearling and has two winning siblings, notably the smart Klassique, winner of the Group 3 Pinnacle Stakes at Haydock. His dam Chachamaidee was a smart mare (rated 118) over seven furlongs and a mile, winning seven races for Sir Henry Cecil, including the Lennox at Goodwood and the Matron at Leopardstown.
Roger Varian bids to make it two wins on the bounce with the already gelded Nagano, a Fastnet Rock half-brother to Nausha, who won the Musidora for the same connections two years ago. His unraced dam is closely related to Listen and Sequoyah, who were both Group 1-winning fillies for Ballydoyle as two-year-olds.
John and Thady Gosden have two well-bred entries, including Godolphin’s Ironside, also a gelding, who was a 500,000-guinea yearling. His sire Invincible Spirit was responsible for the aforementioned Night Circus while his dam was a useful mile and a half winner in France where she was third in a Listed race. Stablemate Peter The Great is a home-bred in the Oppenheimer colours, by New Approach out of a sister to 2000 Guineas winner Footstepsinthesand.
Also of note is the Andrew Balding-trained Kingsofthemidlands, the most expensive auction purchase in the line-up as he cost King Power Racing €600,000 at Deauville last summer. Although by Kingman, he’s another who can be expected to stay further than a mile in keeping with his Derby entry. His dam Spin, a daughter of Galileo, showed useful form at a up to a mile and a half for Aidan O’Brien and comes from a family that has produced a host of stakes winners.
Completing our shortlist is Caramelised for Richard Hannon. He’s a Dansili half-brother to three winners, including Mukhayyam, who was a useful handicapper at up to a mile and a half in his prime and runs at Ripon later in the afternoon. Their dam Caster Sugar was fairly useful, winning four times at up to eleven furlongs, and is a daughter of the dual Yorkshire Oaks winner Only Royale.
There are also some very well-bred colts in the mile and a quarter novice contest at 16:10 for horses who have not run more than once.
None more so than John Leeper, named after the father of his trainer Ed Dunlop. He’s by Frankel out of the high-class mare Snow Fairy, whose wins for the same stable included the Oaks and Irish Champion Stakes. Derby entry John Leeper will be much better suited by this trip than the seven furlongs over which he finished fourth at Doncaster on his only start last year.
Another Derby entry related to an Oaks winner is Scope, a winner for Ralph Beckett over a mile at Newbury in October. He’s by Teofilo out of a half-sister to the same connections’ Oaks winner Look Here. Godolphin’s Al Waqidi also has classic connections in his pedigree as his grandam Kazzia won the 1000 Guineas and Oaks. By Dubawi, he’ll be suited by the step up in trip from his maiden win at Wolverhampton last season.
Daramethos has already won at this trip for John Gosden at Chelmsford last year and will no doubt be stepped up to the Derby distance sooner rather than later. He holds an Epsom entry and is by Sea The Stars out of a smart Godolphin mare Dark Orchid who was herself out of a half-sister to the Prix du Jockey Club winner Hernando.
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