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Newbury stage an eight-race card on Saturday and it all looks competitive stuff, but there's no doubting the highlight, with this year's renewal of the Group one Juddmonte Lockinge Stakes providing top-class action.
Creachadoir developed into a high-class performer in his three-year-old campaign, winning three Group events and also being placed in Group one company, his season culminating with a narrow defeat in the Hong Kong Mile. Creachadoir was slightly disappointing when reappearing in Dubai in March, but he didn't appear fully wound up that day, and this trip on firmish ground is ideal conditions.
Majestic Roi ran in the same race in Dubai, also disappointing, but she's another that comes into the reckoning if in the sort of form that saw her land the Sun Chariot at Newmarket last backend, beating Nannina by three-quarters of a length. Mick Channon's filly was an impressive winner of the Fred Darling on her only previous visit to Newbury and has shown her best form on top of the ground.
Tariq took a while to come to himself but did so with a hat-trick of Pattern victories in mid-summer last term. He's lighter raced than most of these, but so far his best form has come at 7f, and the trip would be a major concern.
Ballydoyle's runners always merit respect but their representative, Haradasun, is quite difficult to weigh up on his first start since arriving from Australia. A five-year-old horse, he won six of his sixteen races in his native country, including a couple of Group ones, and it's feasible that Aidan O'Brien could well find improvement.
Cesare confirmed that he's returned as good as ever with a ready success in a listed event at Ascot last month, cruising to lead in the final furlong and never needing to be off the bridle as he beat Don't Panic by a length. James Fanshawe's gelding has often fallen short at the highest level, however, and does have a little bit to find on the figures.
Henry Cecil deserves plenty of credit for the achievements of Phoenix Tower, who has reportedly had his problems but returned better than ever to maintain his unbeaten record with victory in the Earl of Sefton at Newmarket's craven meeting. He's been given a few weeks to recover from that, and is the one amongst these that still has some untapped potential, and the way he travels suggests the drop back in trip shouldn't concern.