We have another fantastic day of racing ahead of us at Newbury. The ground was lovely there yesterday and should be just on the top side of good today. There is finally some rain in the forecast with a lot of rain forecast typically over the May Bank Holiday weekend! We could really use some rain here in Newmarket and the Water Gallop has been getting a hammering recently. The groundsman on the heath will be very relieved if the forecast rain appears.
I was really happy with the way Qaaraat travelled yesterday and he got a little tired late in the race having raced prominently into the headwind. He was not knocked around when he was not going to win and will have learnt a lot from this. He behaved very well in the preliminaries and I hope he is a horse with a future. Zamjar outran his odds when coming fifth in a red hot 7f handicap later on the card at Newbury, he travelled well throughout the race and kept on in the final furlong. I would hope we can find a race for him where he can be very competitive next time.
We have three runners today at Newbury and Nottingham. Amazing Red makes his return to a racecourse after nearly a year off the track. He is a horse we have always held in high regard and I hope he can run well today and give us plenty to look forward to in the future. I would expect him to improve on this seasonal debut as he can be a little fresh but he could be fairly handicapped off of a mark of 90. Signe is beautifully bred and has won on both her starts, her bare form is nothing to get carried away about but her Trainer is to be respected and she could take a big step forward on what we have seen so far. One of the form dangers Threat Assessed is a non-runner but Under Attack could be dangerous if he proves more tractable this year and with a good Winter on their backs there is scope for another one of his rivals to improve but a lot look more exposed than us currently.
King Kevin is a son of Holy Roman Emperor and there are plenty of winners in his pedigree. He can be a little lazy at home and I would expect him to improve a fair deal for his debut run. It looks a good Maiden with Crystal Ocean showing a good level of ability on debut and Okool had a nightmare passage at Newmarket when behind Eminent! All of the Godolphin horses must be respected currently and Forever Song is incredibly well-bred. It will be a race that a good deal of winners emerge from and I just hope that he can show us he has some ability. Zamadance is a horse we are still learning about and this is his first run for me. He goes nicely at home and shapes as if he could be on a fair mark but we are uncertain as to what his optimum trip is. As it’s his first run of the year he may be fresh but a big field will help him relax and he is well drawn. It is a competitive race but if all goes to plan I would expect him to run well.