In the first of two instalments this week, the Trackside team round up their two and three-year-olds to follow on the back of the Sky Bet Ebor Festival.
River Spey (Ed Walker)
August 20 - Sky Bet Nursery Handicap
The first thing said as the horses crossed the line here was - ‘surely River Spey has to win next time’ - and so the Ed Walker-trained colt finds himself as the first horse to follow out of the York Ebor Festival.
The son of Sergei Prokofiev caught the eye when sighted at Goodwood last time, finishing a strong third in a six-furlong maiden. He’s got a bit of size and a bit of quality - all adding up to a sure-fire juvenile winner - yet it doesn’t seem to be falling right for River Spey just yet.
He didn’t have a clear run at Goodwood and the same occurred at York: it’s got to be a matter of time before this gelding gets his head in front, especially given his easy nature and dour attitude in the closing stages.
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Estrange (David O’Meara)
August 21 - Yorkshire Oaks
We’d put up Estrange against Minnie Hauk in the paddock - no offence Minnie, but it was a struggle to see how the O’Meara team could have made Estrange any fitter for her Group 1 debut.
There was a moment at the three-furlong marker where it seemed that the flying grey filly was going to live up to her lofty reputation by taking down the dual Oaks winner, but the officially ‘good to firm’ ground appeared to take its toll and Estrange was all legs when asked to accelerate.
It was a surprise to even see her line up in fast conditions and her action strongly indicated that connections' feelings that she would prefer softer ground were justified.
It’s difficult to find fault with the performance of Minnie Hauk, but we’d be quietly hopeful that Estrange could match or turn around the form with her new rival on a hopefully slower autumn surface. The 33/1 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power) looks very appealing each-way in the Arc.
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Discover Sporting Life Plus BenefitsInishbeg (Kevin Ryan)
August 22 - British Stallion Studs EBF Convivial Maiden Stakes
The Convivial Stakes had a lovely mixture of all shapes and sizes, with the finely-tuned Frescobaldi proving best - you were warned in the live feed...!
Yet it was Kevin Ryan’s debutante Inishbeg who immediately went in the notebook as a colt with a bright future. Well-balanced and straightforward, the son of Ghaiyyath shaped with relative promise, making headway with two furlongs to run before weakening in the closing stages to finish eighth.
It may not have been the most auspicious of debuts, but the colt looked likely to improve for fitness and he’s nicely related - a half-brother to Black Type performers Volterra and Guilded. A well-beaten eighth might mean Inishbeg is an appealing price next time and we have little doubt that we’ll see a sharper model.
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Discover Sporting Life Plus BenefitsRevival Power (Tim Easterby)
August 23 - Listed Julia Graves Stakes
It’s getting to that stage of the year where you’re starting to look at two-year-olds as exciting horses for next season, and Revival Power falls firmly into that category.
Despite having three runs already under her belt, the smart chestnut filly remained inexperienced in the preliminaries and was well-managed by the Easterby team, leaving her till last minute for the parade ring and swiftly getting David Allan aboard.
She was partially led to post by Allan, before making all and battling gamely back when getting a minor bump from Military Code in the closing stages.
Tim Easterby knows how to manage this family, given he also handled the career of full-sister Winter Power, winner of the Nunthorpe Stakes and this filly looks capable of following in the same footsteps for top-level sprinting success.
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