Tony McFadden of Timeform provides an overview of the key things to note on Saturday.
Three points of interest
Burrows' record boosts confidence in Anmaat
Anmaat hasn't been seen since narrowly winning the Prix d'Ispahan at Longchamp in May of last year but there are a couple of reasons that suggest he may not be too inconvenienced by the long layoff in the Rose of Lancaster Stakes (15:00) at Haydock.
Firstly, Anmaat has an excellent record on his seasonal reappearance as he won a Lingfield novice in 2021, the ultra-competitive John Smith's Cup in 2022 and was runner-up to Adayar in the rearranged Gordon Richards Stakes at Newmarket last year.
Secondly, his trainer, Owen Burrows, has done well with the select bunch of horses he has run after more than a year on the sidelines. Of the 12 horses meeting that criteria, Burrows has had three winners and three seconds.
Anmaat's best performance came when a dominant winner of this race two years ago, but even a repeat of the sort of form he showed last season, when chasing home Adayar and then coming out on top in a busy finish to the Prix d'Ispahan, would make him tough to beat. Rated on last season's form, he is 5 lb clear at the head of Timeform's weight-adjusted ratings.
Does O'Brien have another star filly on his hands?
In a rather unusual state of affairs, the highest-rated two-year-old so far this season is a filly rather than a colt; indeed, the top two in the pecking order are fillies and are both trained by Aidan O'Brien
Fairy Godmother (112p) shot to the top of the pile when overcoming trouble in running to win the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot, but her stay at the top was brief as just a day later Bedtime Story (116p) put up an even better performance to win the Chesham Stakes by the scarcely believable margin of nine and a half lengths.
Those two are the headline acts but there's plenty of strength in depth as O'Brien is operating at a 42% strike rate with his juvenile fillies this year (prior to racing on Friday evening). There are two good prospects on show on Saturday as Albany third Heavens Gate contests the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes (16:35) at the Curragh, while Lake Victoria runs in the Group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes at Newmarket (15:40).
It seems significant that Lake Victoria started out in a fillies' maiden at the Curragh that was also used as a stepping stone for the likes of Love, Tuesday, Rhododendron and Alice Springs. The form Lake Victoria showed in narrowly beating an impressive subsequent winner is some way removed from what Mountain Breeze showed in the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes - the Godolphin filly is 9 lb clear on ratings - but there's little doubt she's open to significant improvement and is seemingly held in high regard by her trainer.
Solomon a strong contender for in-form Haggas team
William Haggas has his team in excellent order and since the start of August (and prior to Friday evening) he has had ten winners from only 20 representatives. Nine of those winners have come since last Saturday.
It will be a busy day for Haggas on Saturday as he has ten runners at three venues, including Haydock where, perhaps surprisingly given the distance from his base, he is comfortably the leading trainer at the course since the start of 2019.
Haggas has had 52 winners at Haydock at an impressive strike rate in excess of 25% in that period, while Ralph Beckett has the next highest of tally of 31 winners (at a near-24% strike rate).
Perhaps Haggas' best chance of a winner at Haydock on Saturday is Kilt in the opening mile handicap (14:25) as he's a lightly-raced and well-bred sort who has been gelded ahead of going handicapping from a fair-looking mark.
Haggas' best chance on the day, however, looks to be Solomon who is 10 lb clear on Timeform's ratings in the Shergar Cup Classic (15:55). This half-brother to Soulcombe - who ended up finishing runner-up in the Melbourne Cup after starting out for this yard - proved well ahead of his mark when bolting up at Haydock last Sunday. He escapes a penalty for that three-and-three-quarter-length success so stands out on Timeform's ratings here.
Tip of the Day
Anmaat - 15:00 Haydock
Flags: Horses For Courses, Hot Trainer, Top-Rated
Anmaat has a long layoff to overcome but he has a good record when fresh and his in-form trainer, Owen Burrows, also does well with horses coming back from a long absence. Anmaat showed his effectiveness over this course and distance when a four-length winner of this race two years ago, putting up a performance which identified him as a high-class racehorse. He wasn't quite at that level in two starts last season, though he did still win the Group 1 Prix d'Ispahan at Longchamp and doesn't have to carry a penalty for that success. Even rated on last year's form he has a 5 lb edge on Timeform's ratings.
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