Timeform provide an overview of the key things to note on Friday.
Three-year-olds have great record in Ascot classified event
Three-year-olds have won five of the last six renewals of the Colliers Business Rates Experts Classified Stakes (15:00) and the John & Thady Gosden-trained Cockade looks the pick in this year’s renewal.
He is from a cracking family the yard knows well– out of a useful mare who is a half-sister to very smart Gold Cup winner Courage Mon Ami – and he shaped well on debut at Kempton in what proved to be a very strong race.
Cockade built on that promise as expected when making a winning return at Windsor in June, displaying a smart turn of foot to settle matters when asked for his effort around two furlongs out.
He was all the rage in the betting under a penalty at Newmarket 12 days later, but he still looked a work in progress on that occasion, hanging badly to his left when coming under pressure.
It’s also possible he didn’t handle the track, but he’s been freshened up since, and he’s well worth another chance to prove himself a smart prospect, especially given he’s more upside to most in this field – he’s the only one with the Timeform ‘small p’ attached to his rating.
An excellent bit of placing from Haggas
William Haggas is know for placing his horses well and it looks another bit of fine work with Infraad in the BetMGM Noel Murless Stakes (15:35).
He looked potentially smart when routing his field in a novice event at Pontefract earlier in the year and, though he failed to land the odds on handicap debut at Chester next time, he wasn’t seen to best effect.
He hasn’t looked back since, displaying a cracking attitude to edge out another well-handicapped rival at Goodwood in July, and improving another chunk when following up in the Melrose at York last time.
Rather predictably, he was well suited by the step up to this sort of trip, and he was fancied for the St Leger in the immediate aftermath. Connections decided to bypass that route, but this enthusiastic, long-striding colt remains with plenty of potential and he should prove hard to beat in this field.
Pilu one to keep on side
The BetMGM Handicap (16:10) looks a competitive, big-field sprint, but Pilu arrives on the up and he still appeals as being well handicapped.
He won his first two starts as a two-year-old last season and he shaped well in some competitive three-year-old handicaps earlier this season, his only below-par effort coming when dropped to five furlongs at Goodwood in July.
However, he’s been liberated by a switch to open handicaps of late, resuming winning ways by a narrow margin at Newmarket two starts back, and following up with a bit up his sleeve at Yarmouth recently.
He confirmed himself a progressive sprinter that day, never far away from the pace and settling the race in a matter of strides as he pulled away from the larger group over a furlong out, beating the reopposing Another Abbot by a length.
A subsequent 3lb rise for that win looks pretty lenient for a horse with his profile and there’s every chance he can complete a hat-trick.
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