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Breton Rock will face seven strong rivals when he bids to repeat last year’s triumph in the Group 3 Betway Criterion Stakes, a £60,000 contest run over seven furlongs of Newmarket’s Adnams July Course on Saturday, 1st July.

The old man of the party at the age of seven, Breton Rock has been a fantastic servant to Newmarket trainer David Simcock and need only finish in the first five here to take his career earnings through the £400,000 barrier.

This race was contested in monsoon-like conditions 12 months ago, so the recent rain should be in his favour. And his excellent third to Ribchester in last month’s Group 1 Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes showed that he retains all his ability, although he subsequently managed no better than fifth (albeit beaten just a length and a half) when favourite for the Group 3 Betway John Of Gaunt Stakes at Haydock Park.

He is up against some stiff opposition, including three Pattern Race winners and two more horses with solid form at above Group 3 level. Leading the charge is Home Of The Brave, successful in last year’s Group 3 Jury Stakes and also on the mark on his only run this season, in the Listed King Richard III Stakes at Leicester.

Other top candidates are Thikriyaat, winner of the Group 3 Thoroughbred Stakes last July, and Richard Pankhurst, who ten months ago landed the Group 2 Hungerford Stakes.

Ibn Malik also merits respect on his first start for almost a year as he has twice finished runner-up in Group 2 company and won first time out in both 2015 and 2016, while Jungle Cat will be right in the mix if he can reproduce the form that saw him finish fourth in the last two renewals of the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai.

The line-up is completed by the recent handicap winner on Newmarket’s Rowley Mile, Ifwecan, and a solitary three-year-old, Winning Ways, successful in a valuable handicap at Ascot last month.

David Simcock, trainer of Breton Rock, said:

“Breton Rock is in very, very good order and I was really pleased with his run at Haydock under a penalty as the five pounds extra he had to carry near enough cost him the race.”

“He’s exactly what it says on the tin and invariably runs right up to his mark, but is always vulnerable to a horse on the improve.”

“He is a seven furlong specialist and this race fits the bill nicely as a mid-season target, though it certainly looks highly competitive.”

“He doesn’t need to have soft ground but he handles extreme conditions better than most, so a little bit more rain to change the ground to ‘soft’ would be perfect for him.”

“He’s been in my yard since the day dot and, just like Sheikhzayedroad, when they’ve been around that long they become a bit special. It’s not so much about the prize money that he’s won, it’s more about the days out that he has given his owner – he was only a £20,000 yearling and yet he’s run in all sorts of top races.”

Alan Alger, PR Manager, Betway, said:

“The forecast looks to be in soft ground-loving Breton Rock’s favour and he’s 3/1 from 4/1 after today’s declarations.”

“Home Of The Brave joins him at the head of the betting and has some of the strongest form of the eight runners, while Thikriyaat has run well on soft ground before and is proving popular at 4/1.”

The sponsor's latest prices on the Betway Criterion Stakes, run over seven furlongs of Newmarket’s Adnams July Course on Saturday, 1st July are as follows:

3 Breton Rock, Home Of The Brave, 4 Thikriyaat, 13/2 Richard Pankhurst, 8 Jungle Cat, 9 Ibn Malik, 16 Winning Ways, 25 Ifwecan.