John Ingles provides an overview of the key things to note on Thursday.
Three points of interest
Kaleido has scope for better this year
Newmarket has concentrated the best races of the Craven meeting on the televised first two days of the fixure, but that’s not to say Thursday’s card won’t throw up some interesting horses for the rest of the season. The Alex Scott Maiden (13:50) over seven furlongs is a well-established contest which often goes to a good horse, including last year’s winner, Frankel’s smart half-brother Kikkuli, who went close in the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot.
The Gosden stable has won this three times since 2015 and is doubly represented in this year’s race, including with Oisin Murphy’s mount Kaleido, a full brother to the stable’s top-class horse Mishriff. The latter’s wins included the Prix du Jockey Club, Saudi Cup, Dubai Sheema Classic and Juddmonte International so seven furlongs might prove on the short side for Kaleido before much longer, but connections evidently feel he has the speed to be starting back over this trip. At any rate, he’s got plenty of bases covered distance-wise judging from future entries in the 2000 Guineas, Dante and Derby.
Kaleido looks the one to beat after a very promising debut on soft ground at Doncaster last October. Well backed, he fared best of the newcomers in chasing home Godolphin’s Music of Time, staying on to finish a length and a quarter behind the favourite whilst pulling clear of the remainder. Kaleido will be the first of the principals from that race to turn out again, though one of the also-rans has already been successful.
Course specialist Fortamour can win Ripon sprint for third time
Ripon’s Armstrong Memorial Handicap (15:42) welcomes back some familiar names of the Northern sprint handicap scene among the 14 runners, half of whom are aged seven or older. Senior runner is Dakota Gold who heads the weights and is back for more at the age of eleven with a career record of 16 wins from 71 starts, including Ripon’s big sprint back in 2019, the Great St Wilfrid.
Others in the line-up who can boast some big sprint handicap wins in the past include Stewards’ Cup winner Aberama Gold, Mr Wagyu, winner of the consolation race for that event, and Ayr Silver Cup winner Wobwobwob.
Wobwobwob has gone well fresh in the past and resumes on a handy-looking mark but it’s hard to ignore the record of another veteran, Ben Haslam’s nine-year-old Fortamour, who is going for his third win in this contest in four years. His last six wins have all come over this course and distance, in fact, with his victories in this race coming on heavy ground in both 2022 and 2024, having finished fourth in 2023. Fortamour doesn’t need testing conditions, though, as his latest course win came on firm ground last August under Paul Mulrennan who is back in the saddle today. He looks a likely player again in a wide-open contest.
Metkayina to build on Festival fifth back at Cheltenham
Day two of Cheltenham’s April meeting is dedicated to fillies and mares with more than £20,000 on offer to the winner in most of the races. The only black type up for grabs is in the listed novices’ hurdle (15:55) where four of the runners all met in last month’s more competitive Dawn Run Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival.
Noel Williams’ Metkayina was a 50/1-shot that day but she outran her odds with a fine effort in fifth behind winner Air of Entitlement. Her effort can be upgraded too as she was one of those inconvenienced by a shambolic start, but at the business end she kept on well, shaping as though ready for a return to today’s extra half-mile, her dam having won at further still. Metkayina won at Lingfield earlier in the season, beating Diva Luna who finished a couple of places in front of her at Cheltenham.
Metkayina is re-opposed from last time by Jubilee Alpha (eighth), Kitty Foyle (thirteenth) and Bluey (pulled up), with the first-named of those another respected over this longer trip but Metkayina, who heads the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings, could be given most to do by Willie Mullins’ challenger Sainte Tartare and La Pinsonniere who was runner-up in the EBF Mares’ Final at Newbury for Nicky Henderson.
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