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Ahead of the Super Sprint card on Saturday, Newbury host a competitive day of racing on Friday which includes the 6f Listed Rose Bowl Stakes.
The impressive twelve length Ripon debut winner Asadna has been the subject of media attention following his high-profile move from the George Boughey yard to Alice Haynes, following a disappointing run in the Group 2 Coventry Stakes. The Mehmas colt produced a very professional performance at Ripon when drawing clear over six furlongs and was well-supported for the Ascot Group 2. He raced up the centre of the course and was never really involved, weakening in the final furlong to finish ninth behind River Tiber. This appears the ideal opportunity for the colt to get back to winning ways for his new trainer.
Ralph Beckett's Palmar Bay was a strong second on debut at Windsor and demonstrated improvement in his subsequent victory at Salisbury in May. He remained prominent throughout the race and took the lead in the closing stages to score by a neck. The form of this contest received a considerable boost when the second-placed horse Jasour won the Group 2 July Stakes at Newmarket last week. Based on the Salisbury victory, Palmar Boy is probably the best-priced option in the field at 5/1.
Although Shagraan was well-beaten on debut at Haydock behind the Camden Colt, he made considerable progress on his second start when scoring by nearly four lengths in a six furlong Windsor novice stakes. He fought for the lead in the early stages and managed to dominate from the furlong marker, drawing clear of the rest of the field. A step up would be required for the Sioux Nation colt to be competitive with the top two in the market, but his Windsor success indicates further progress is to come.
Of the remainder, Action Point has been dismissed by the market following his fifteenth in the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot, but the Blue Point colt was drawn on the wrong side of the track. He won on the all-weather at Kempton on debut and finished a good second behind Maximum Impact at Ascot subsequently, so it may be unfair to judge him on the Royal Ascot flop. The Archie Watson team continue to do well with their juveniles, despite a lower overall strike rate (11% from last fourteen days), and the step up to six furlongs could spark improvement.
Debut winner Kinnigoli Kid is probably worth a small mention for the Marco Botti team as the least experienced runner in the field. He did very little wrong at Windsor when scoring by three-quarters of a length but did drift left in the closing stages. He has Neil Callan aboard again and the No Nay Never colt is entitled to improve.
WIN: PALMAR BOY (5/1)
PLACE: ACTION POINT (16/1)