Red Verdon
Good morning from Newmarket! La Grange Stables is set for an extremely busy day, with nine declared runners at six different meetings. Are you ready for this marathon essay!? As is always the case, all the races are tough, competitive and hard to win, but we hope that most of our runners can give a good account.
Why not start with our headline act? Red Verdon is the highest rated horse in the yard, and takes what probably will be his final steps on a racecourse in preparation for his well-documented Australian adventure in the Lonsdale Cup at 2.20 at York. This is a race all about one horse of course, with Stradivarius seeking a huge bonus after his superb exploits throughout the season. He is clearly the best horse in the race, and we don’t travel with much expectation of beating him. However, Red is a horse that needs regular racing, so we were left with a bit of a poser in choosing his final run before going down under. Do we wait for the September Stakes and possibly take on Enable, rated 128, or take on Stradivarius today, rated 118? Neither is overly appealing as both horses are of such exceptional quality, but take Stradivarius out of today’s contest and we fit into it quite well. We have the utmost respect for all of our rivals, but if Red remains in the same form as he has been for most of the year, we hope he might be able to pick up some prize money. He remains unexposed at staying trips, and despite being out of a Choisir mare, there is a fair amount of stamina in the pedigree. He looked to stay perfectly well when second in the Gr.3 Henry II Stakes earlier in the season, and this looks an appropriate opportunity for him to take his next step at staying trips. He has never been to York, but I would like to think it is a track that will suit. Jim Crowley rides and we go in hope!
Most of our horses are flying solo to their meetings today, but at Newmarket I will saddle three runners. In the seven-furlong fillies’ novice at 2.05, Light of India and Rainbow Spirit both get their careers underway. Light of India, who will be ridden by Fran Berry, is a Sepoy filly out of a mare that won for us on her second start as a two-year-old, whilst Rainbow Spirit, who will be ridden by Dan Muscutt, is a Charm Spirit filly whose siblings include the dual Listed winner Navajo Chief. Both should improve significantly for the run.
My other Newmarket representative is Maqaader, a member of the first crop of Eclipse winner Mukhadram, who lines up in the seven furlong novice for colts and geldings at 3.15. He was eighth at this track on debut, showing a glimmer of promise but disappointing us a little. There are some extremely exciting prospects in this race, but I nonetheless hope you will see a decent and improved performance from our horse. Dane O’Neill is in the plate.
At Goodwood this evening we launch the career of another of our juveniles, namely Global Myth in the mile novice at 5.35. This horse has been a little slow to come to hand, and his pedigree takes some reading. Although a Scat Daddy out of an Exceed And Excel mare, his full-sister Lemoncetta won over a mile and a half, though another full sister Little Voice was an out and out speedster. Work that out! We are starting at a mile and hoping for the best. I am delighted to say that Brett Doyle, who rode many winners for me a number of years ago, takes the ride. Our second Goodwood runner is Dagueneau in the two mile handicap at 7.05. He won nicely at Beverley eight days ago, and is now running under a six pound penalty, but the mark actually just represents his new rating of 79. The Beverley race fell apart and probably didn’t take much winning, but we have an improving young stayer on our hands. This race is no cake walk, but I expect him to be competitive. David Probert is booked to ride.
At Salisbury in the 6.25 Hallalulu bids to follow up her recent Nottingham win in the mile nursery under Charlie Bishop. She was tenacious in the finish that day, and will enjoy the stiff climb to the line at Salisbury this evening. What might make life more troublesome is a competitive race and seven pound higher mark, but I still hope she is on a mark from which she can compete and might not be far away. At Ffos Las in the 5.00, three-time AW winner Sanam has his first outing on turf, at the age of four. The ground is officially good to soft, which ought to be fine, and the mile and six furlong trip looks about right. His winning run came to an end last time out, but a truer run race on a track such as this should play to his strengths. He goes with an each way chance under Martin Harley. The only other horse I haven’t mentioned on a marathon day is Alhram, who goes in the mile and five novice at Chelmsford at 6.15. He showed very little on debut and is crying out for a step up in distance. Hopefully Luke Morris can unearth a little bit more from this late developing horse.
A busy day all round then, with one or two half chances. Dagueneau and Hallalulu represent our two most obvious opportunities, whilst I am looking forward to seeing how Sanam runs on turf. Any day in which Red Verdon runs is a cause for excitement too of course, and it will be interesting to see how he compares to a crack operator such as Stradivarius over today’s trip. The main objective of course is for all horses and riders to come back safe and sound. Enjoy the sport. Ed.