John Ingles provides an overview of the key things to note on Saturday.
Alcarath’s Epsom form catches eye
There are two heritage handicaps on a bumper nine-race card at Newmarket, including the Suffolk Stakes (14:20), a ‘mini-Cambridgeshire’ run over the same nine furlongs as the big autumn handicap but without the massive field that usually lines up for that contest.
Towards the foot of the weights, Alan King's lightly-raced four-year-old Alcarath takes the eye, getting in on a BHA mark of 89 which makes him look well treated judged on the form of his win in a novice at Epsom last September. While his winning margin flattered him slightly, he impressed with the way he came clear of the favourite Gamrai who is a progressive gelding himself. In fact, the runner-up made a successful reappearance in the Rosebery Handicap at Kempton, looking potentially smart, and looks the one to beat in the mile and a half handicap later on the card where he’s now racing off a BHA mark of 97.
While Alcarath was a beaten favourite on his handicap debut at Redcar on his final start last year, he looks well worth another chance to show that he’s on a good mark, therefore, heading the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings with the ‘p’ to indicate he’s open to further improvement.
Rumstar can repeat in Palace House
Last decade Sole Power and Mabs Cross were able to win back-to-back renewals of Newmarket’s Palace House Stakes (14:55) and Rumstar looks capable of making a bold bid for a repeat success in the Group 3 contest which he won with an improved effort on his reappearance twelve months ago.
That wasn’t Rumstar’s first win over five furlongs at Newmarket, either, as he had landed the Cornwallis Stakes there as a two-year-old. He also put up another smart effort later last season which was at least as good, beating the Palace House runner-up She’s Quality on worse terms in another Group 3 at Sandown. While Rumstar didn’t end last season as well as he began it, he had excuses, encountering soft ground at Newbury and then being poorly drawn in the Prix de l’Abbaye which left him with little chance of getting involved.
This is a strong renewal of the Palace House, with last year’s Nunthorpe (in which Rumstar was fifth) and Abbaye winner Asfoora also in the field, but she looks vulnerable under a 7 lb penalty and the race-fit Quinault, third in the Abernant Stakes here last time, could be Rumstar’s biggest threat. As well as heading the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings, Rumstar’s stable is in form with Jonathan Portman having the 'Hot Trainer' flag.
Godolphin going for another 2000 Guineas win
Aidan O’Brien has trained a record ten winners of the 2000 Guineas (15:35), but his last success came in 2019 with Magna Grecia who was Ballydoyle’s third winner on the bounce. Since then, Charlie Appleby, who has the ‘Hot Trainer’ flag, has become the dominant force in the first of the classics, winning three of the last four renewals thanks to Coroebus, Notable Speech and Ruling Court.
Appleby is represented by two leading contenders this year in Distant Storm and King’s Trail, both progressive colts, with preference for the former who will be bidding to provide William Buick with a third consecutive win in the race. Distant Storm’s two wins last year came on the two different Newmarket courses, and he looked potentially out of the top drawer in the Somerville Tattersall Stakes last September, producing a telling turn of foot to quicken clear and win by just under five lengths.
Distant Storm couldn’t reproduce the same burst in the Dewhurst Stakes later in the autumn but still ran very well in third behind the ill-fated Gewan and Gstaad who is O’Brien’s sole Guineas representative this year. However, he remains a top prospect with the step up to a mile expected to suit. Gstaad looks one of his main threats again, though unbeaten Royal Lodge Stakes winner Bow Echo could make it a one-two for sons of Night of Thunder who was a 2000 Guineas winner himself.
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