3 minute read
Newmarket Eyecatchers
As the three-day Craven meeting drew to a close, we look back at some horses that caught our eye over the course of the meeting.
Richard Hannon's filly finished third in the Class 2 EPF Conditions Stakes over 7f in the opening race at Newmarket on Tuesday and will certainly have gone into plenty of notebooks. The three-year-old daughter of Dandy Man travelled supremely well and mate up good late ground from the rear of the field when staying on in the closing stages. With the runner-up having an official rating of 94 the form looks solid enough and she'd have to be of interest in handicap company over 7f this season.
The Gosden-trained market leader Covey looked like a smart prospect when landing the Alex Scott Maiden Stakes over 7f at racings headquarters on Tuesday. However, it should be Molaqab that goes into the notebooks. William Haggas' runner still looked in need of the experience when plugging on into fourth and shaped as though a stiffer test of stamina would suit in handicaps for future racing.
The Pat Smullen Memorial British EBF Novice Stakes went the way of Blue Storm, but it was hard not to be impressed with the runner-up, Cuban Thunder. AMO Racing has made a sparkling start to the season and the son of Profitable looks like a sure-fire future winner after an eye-catching debut. Having been slowly away the colt made up plenty of ground in the closing stages despite running greenly throughout and it's easy to see him learning bundles from that initial experience.
Jack Channon has made a promising start to his training career and Ferrous should be up to winning races off his current mark. The unexposed three-year-old may have only finished sixth on his handicap debut at Newmarket on Thursday but shaped miles better than the bare result. You'd have been hard-pressed to say that Ferrous would have finished out the first three at the two-furlong marker given how supremely well he travelled. However, he looked to get unbalanced as the field entered the dip and a return to a flatter track over the same 6f trip can reap rewards.
