19:05 Newcastle

Friday 28 June 2019

All17:3018:0018:3519:0519:4020:1520:50

Betfair Casino Hoppings Fillies' Stakes (Group 3)

Off time: 19:10 | Winning time: 2m 12.57s

(3)

Dancing Brave Bear⁶⁹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-5| J: S W Kelly| T: E F Vaughan| OR: 93

33/1

Dual Polytrack winner (7f-1m); her best form came when beaten just 1L by Give And Take in the 2018 Group 3 Musidora Stakes at York (1m2f, good to firm); not so convincing since (in very competitive races).

Form: 1/1296-7

(9)

Nyaleti⁹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-5| J: P J McDonald| T: C & M Johnston| OR: 105

11/1

Ready 4¼L winner of the Group 2 German 1000 Guineas at Dusseldorf (1m, good) in May 2018; winless since, taking in trips to Arlington, Keenland, Capannelle and Royal Ascot; beaten 1L in the Group 2 Dahlia Stakes (1m1f) at Newmarket in May; stamina?

Form: 32-2487

(6)

Queen of Time^p²⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 9-5| J: B A Curtis| T: H Candy| OR: 94

25/1

Without a win since landing a 1m Cl4 fillies' handicap at Goodwood in May 2017. That said, in her defence she's contested plenty of top-quality races since; beaten just over 2½L by Sun Maiden in the Listed Nottinghamshire Oaks (1m2f, good) latest.

Form: 38-9553

(4)

Rasima^p1²⁶

Age: 4| Weight: 9-5| J: David Egan| T: R Varian| OR: 98

11/1

2018 runner-up; won the Listed Fleur De Lys Fillies' Stakes by 1¼L at Lingfield (1m) in November, beating last week's Duke Of Cambridge Stakes winner Move Swiftly; very poor since, and has masses to find with Sun Maiden; cheekpieces now applied.

Form: 251-056

(2)

Shenanigans⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 9-5| J: Andrea Atzeni| T: R Varian| OR: 96| C| D

4/1

7f maiden winner here (Nov 2016); has shown rock-solid Listed form so far this season, beating Exhort by 1¾L in Ayr's Rothesay Stakes (1m2f, good to firm); 33/1 when finishing ninth of 17 (behind Nyaleti) in last week's Duke of Cambridge Stakes.

Form: 852-419

(1)

Sun Maiden²⁶

Age: 4| Weight: 9-5| J: Jim Crowley| T: Sir Michael Stoute| OR: 100| D

11/8

Came out best of these to contest the Group 2 Middleton Stakes at York (1m2f) when beaten in excess of 4½L (third) by Lah Ti Dar; has comfortably landed the odds in the Listed Nottinghamshire Oaks (1m2f, good) since; a progressive 4yo filly.

Form: 3436-31

(7)

Glance²⁶

Age: 3| Weight: 8-7| J: Harry Bentley| T: R M Beckett| OR: 100

4/1

Sole win came in a 7f Goodwood novice last September, but she's demonstrated she's better than that bare form; keeping on third to Obligate in the Group 2 Prix de Sandringham at Chantilly (1m, good) earlier this month; should stay 1m2f on pedigree.

Form: 0142-33

(8)

Rainbow Heart⁶⁹

Age: 3| Weight: 8-7| J: P Hanagan| T: W J Haggas| OR: 95

11/1

7f Newmarket novice winner (good) on second career start; things didn't go according to plan on seasonal reappearance at Kempton (1m), pulling hard both prior to and during the race; faces a very tough task up in trip against such lofty opponents.

Form: 31-3

Non-Runners

(5)

Blue Gardenia²⁸

Weight: 8-7| Age: 3

T: D O'Meara J: Shane Gray

Forecasts

Sun Maiden (11/8), Shenanigans (4/1), Glance (4/1), Nyaleti (11/1), Rasima (11/1), Rainbow Heart (11/1), Blue Gardenia (14/1), Queen of Time (25/1), Dancing Brave Bear (33/1)

The globetrotter Nyaleti is top-rated of the nine declared runners, and she finished a couple of places ahead of Shenanigans in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot last week. Rasima finished runner-up to Smart Call in this contest 12 months ago, but has been badly out of form since and the application of cheekpieces hardly instils much confidence. Of the younger horses, the improving Glance is probably the pick (should stay on pedigree), but improving at a faster rate of knots is the 4yo filly SUN MAIDEN who left a number of today's rivals firmly in her wake when comfortably plundering the Nottinghamshire Oaks earlier this month.