Nic Doggett provides an overview of the key things to note on Friday.
Three points of interest
Goodwood specialists to the fore
The Racing To School Reaches 250,000 Handicap (2.40) celebrates the work that the educational charity does to engage with and inspire young people to get interested in horse racing and it’s a race that has certainly connected with Gary Moore over the years, with two of the last five renewals going back to the Moores’ West Sussex stable at odds of 9/1 and 10/1.
With son Josh now officially on the licence, the yard saddles King’s Reign, a 1,500,000 guineas purchase as a yearling who joined the Moores from Charlie Appleby for a much more manageable 30,000 guineas in January. He’s from the family of the top-class winner up to 1½m Postponed and ran too badly to be true at Nottingham when last seen in November. He should stay at least 1¾m (dam a winner over this trip) and looks an interesting contender for a yard that has a +£78.03 level stakes profit at the course over the past five seasons. Stablemate Aggagio won this race back in 2022; he’s not been prolific since and looks attractively handicapped as a result, but his best form has come on much softer ground.
The race is very tightly knit on Timeform’s weight-adjusted ratings, with just 4 lb separating the 10 runners who have them. Aggagio is one of four in the field with the Timeform ‘horses for courses’ flag – the in-form Manxman, Diamond Bay and Vino Victrix are the others – while Trooper Bisdee represents last year’s winning connections and looks the typical slow-burning Sir Mark Prescott type who will improve again as a five-year-old.
Along with recent C&D winner Mr Hampstead, Almuhit, who was sent off favourite for a valuable handicap hurdle at the Punchestown Festival last month, is yet another to consider in what looks an interesting staying handicap, but history tells us that you ignore the Moore family in this race at your peril.
Family affair in the Festival Stakes
Coincidentally, King’s Reign’s half-brother Silver Knott runs in the BetGoodwin Festival Stakes (3.50) later on the card. Charlie Appleby won this listed race in 2014 with French Navy and repeated the dose with King of Conquest two years ago, and this in-form five-year-old has leading claims despite not being at his best when an odds-on failure in the Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket at the start of May.
Liberty Lane gets the nod from the Timeform verdict writers following his 3½ lengths third to The Foxes in the Group 2 Huxley Stakes at Chester last time, where he was not knocked about late on having been ridden more patiently than usual. He’s 2 lb clear of hold-up performer Cash on Timeform’s weight-adjusted ratings and looks more likely to give his running here as he should be ridden closer to the pace which could be set by Silver Knott.
Course winner Meydaan is respected with a recent run under his belt, but I’m more interested in Peace Man. He looked a horse going places when recording a hat-trick of handicap wins in early-2023, and ran well in three starts last season without getting his head in front. His best effort came on his second start, and that could be the case again this term as he looked a little rusty when six lengths last of seven to Al Aasy (at 16/1) in the Group 3 Gordon Richards Stakes at Sandown last month.
That form is working out well (fifth See The Fire has won a fillies’ Group 2 since, while the winner Al Aasy didn’t have the race run to suit when fourth at Newbury last time), and the John & Thady Gosden-trained six-year-old is fancied to pick up an overdue fourth career success.
Obvious chance on ratings for Haggas mare
There’s also listed action at Haydock on Friday, with the Women In Racing/British EBF Cecil Frail Listed Stakes at 3.00 highlighting the work of a network of professionals who aim to enhance the profile and development of women in racing.
The Cheveley Park-owned Unequal Love has outstanding claims on Timeform’s weight-adjusted ratings, the William Haggas-trained mare 6 lb clear of her closest market rival Frost At Dawn (who she was well behind last time) thanks to a portfolio of form that includes a win (over seven furlongs) at the track and a number of placed efforts in Group company, including in last season’s Betfair Sprint Cup where she was beaten less than a length behind Montassib.
Since fitted with a visor, Frost At Dawn has found just one too strong in this company the last twice and she may have to settle for a third silver medal, with the unexposed, progressive three-year-olds Rogue Sensation and French Sand taken to fight out minor honours with their 9 lb weight-for-age allowance.
Meanwhile, the market should help guide to the chance of the former Johnny Murtagh-trained filly Prime Art who has her second start for Jane Chapple-Hyam. She won the Group 3 Firth of Clyde Stakes at Ayr in late-2023 and has only made one start since – a promising fifth at York last July – so shouldn't be discounted despite her yard having only had one winner from 22 runners at Haydock in the last five seasons.
In contrast, Haggas – who currently has the Timeform ‘hot trainer’ flag - has a 25% strike-rate and a level stakes profit of +£25.88, and Unequal Love is expected to enhance it further.
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