Spring bursts into life at Newmarket Craven Meeting

by Matt Brocklebank, Newmarket

“Hope springs eternal…”

Alexander Pope penned An Essay on Man some 40 years before the inauguration of the Craven Meeting at Newmarket in 1771, though one of the work’s most cited snippets would not have been out of place as the tagline to the opening fixture of the season at Flat racing’s headquarters.

Lacking the live music, charged atmosphere and general razzmatazz provided by other high-profile, early-season meetings at Chester and York, the Craven serves as a warm ‘welcome back’ to Flat purists, in relatively relaxed surroundings.

Despite Doncaster’s Lincoln fixture officially kicking things off two weeks earlier, John Gosden was clearly only half-joking when he quipped on At The Races last week that it felt like the Flat doesn’t really begin until they’ve passed the post in the Grand National.

As is invariably the case with one of the sport’s great pioneers and spokespeople, the man has a point, and there was evidence on the track here that he practices what he preaches, landing a swift double on the day with two horses who had both finished third on Town Moor at the start of the month.

Newmarket at this time of year never fails to deliver a strong sense of hope, positivity and dreams of what may unfold and, while Gosden was keen to keep a lid on things after winning the feature bet365 Feilden Stakes with Khalidi, there was no escaping the trainer’s pride in expertly preparing the colt to the minute for the day’s Classic trial.

“This is probably his Derby day and I fancied him to run well," Gosden observed.

“He finished third in a handicap at Doncaster at the start of the month and he’s quite diminutive in stature so we thought that’s enough of that - giving weight away to big, improving three-year-olds.

“We immediately thought a level weights race like this would be far more suitable and he’s shown he’s up to it.

“We won the race with Golden Horn a couple of years ago, who went on to do one or two exciting things, and we’re not expecting anything like that, but something at Chester might suit him.

"He's a real genuine, sweet horse. I think we should step him up in trip and avoid soft ground. I wouldn’t be afraid to step straight up to a mile and a half.”

The trainer followed up as Jewel House provided him with a third win in the last four renewals of the Alex Scott Maiden Stakes, a race Gosden holds close to his heart.

He said: “I’m very happy to win the race named after a great man, and a great friend of mine.

“The horses are in good fettle. Both my winners today did have a little run up at Donny and that’s helped them.

“I have to say, thankfully the weather hasn’t held us trainers back at all and you could have your horses as forward as you wanted them this year. In fact, the great problem has been having them too far ahead of yourself and the racing wasn’t starting until April 18.

“This win says an awful lot for the horse that beat him at Doncaster (Craven Stakes entry, Benbatl) and he’s probably one to look out for.

“He got the rail today, got the lead and was able to stack them and kick. He had the perfect position under Frankie, who gave him a clever ride. He’s quite good at riding clever races, you know!”

Beat The Bank (7/1) caused something of a turn-up when landing the EBF Stallions bet365 Conditions Stakes on his first run for Andrew Balding and Abudiencia Co Ltd, but when the exact identity of his knew owner was revealed it became apparent that a heroic, giant-killing should not have come as much of a shock.

“The owner (Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha) isn’t here today. He’s the chairman of Leicester City football club so it’s quite a big night for him, I'm told,” explained Balding.

It's the hope that kills you.