John Ingles provides an overview of the key things to note on Monday.
Hat-trick bid for Ecclefechan
Until a few weeks ago, John Ryan’s Ecclefechan was still a maiden after 15 starts but thanks to a step up in trip, his fortunes have taken a marked turn for the better as he’s now seeking a hat-trick in Windsor’s mile handicap (15:42).
Ecclefechan hadn’t raced beyond seven furlongs until recently, even having a couple of starts over five furlongs in the summer, but his dam gained her sole win over a mile and her son is evidently suited by that trip too. He got off the mark over today’s course and distance with a battling neck win over the in-form filly Buckland Belle (a winner since at Bath) and six days later followed up under a penalty in an apprentice race at Yarmouth.
He did well in the circumstances at Yarmouth as he had to come from last in a steadily-run race but quickened up in good style to win going away by two and a half lengths from Piazza. As that was an apprentice race, Ecclefechan escapes a penalty which means he’s actually racing off a 2 lb lower mark here. That obviously makes him look very well treated in his hat-trick bid, as he comes out 8 lb clear in the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings.
Return of exciting Raaheeb at Windsor
It’s rare to get a Group 3 contest on a Monday, but Windsor have moved their big race of the Flat season, the Winter Hill Stakes (16:15), which used to be run in late-August. They’ve also tweaked the conditions, restricting the race to three-year-olds. Formerly an all-aged contest, the only three-year-old winner since 2015 had been Sir Michael Stoute’s Passenger in 2023.
This year’s renewal doesn’t look any the poorer without older horses as it’s an intriguing contest featuring several with the potential to do better. They include a couple who earned the ‘Horse In Focus’ flag last time, namely Maho Bay who made an impressive start to his campaign and was fifth in the Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot when last seen, and Crown of Fire who steps up in grade after winning a handicap at Goodwood.
But it’s hard to side against Owen Burrows’ Champion Stakes entry Raaheeb who looks to have the most potential of these. The brother to Baaeed and Hukum began his career in hugely promising fashion, notably when making it two out of two on his return in the Classic Trial at Sandown which he won in clear-cut fashion with a good turn of foot. Considered too immature to contest the Derby, he waited for the Irish Derby instead, starting second favourite, but didn’t see out the longer trip in finishing only fourth behind Benvenuto Cellini. But Raaheeb remains one to be positive about and should still have progress to make. He heads the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings here and it looks a good opportunity for him to get back on the up.
Paul’s Dream can beat the boys at Galway
Galway’s jumping card features an interesting conditions race, the Deacy Gilligan Hurdle (17:09), which has attracted some smart jumpers from the top yards. They are quite a mixed bag, though, some of them having run over fences last time, such as Willie Mullins’ Blood Destiny, an easy winner at the track’s Festival a month ago, while they also include Gordon Elliott’s Cesarewitch entry Samui.
In what isn’t the easiest race to assess, it could pay to side with the only mare in the field, Paul’s Dream, who is proving a progressive hurdler this year for Tony Mullins. She actually ran on the Flat last time, finishing third in a maiden at Tramore on her first start on the level, but is better judged on her hurdling exploits. She ran a career best when winning a mares’ handicap at Ballinrobe in May and improved a fair bit further when following up under a fine front-running ride from Harry Cobden at Kilbeggan in July.
On her latest run over hurdles, Paul’s Dream was a good third in a big field at the Galway Festival, a bad mistake at the last arguably preventing her from finishing a bit closer in a race won by Fiveofive. She earned the ‘Horse In Focus’ flag from that run and can land a third win of the campaign here, with Grann’s Boy, winner of a listed handicap at the same meeting, looking her main danger.
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