WE enjoyed a great week at Newmarket for the July Festival where the horses all performed extremely well including, of course, Snow Lantern who was brilliant in the Falmouth Stakes. She now has plenty of options including the Prix Rothschild at Deauville but in all likelihood she’ll probably head to Goodwood for a crack at either the Nassau or Sussex.

To be honest nothing has been decided and while she is winning at a mile it makes sense to keep her at that trip but Poetic Flare is a very good horse and I’m not jumping at the chance to take him on so we may look at stepping her up and running in the Fillies’ race instead over 1m2f. Her dam was beaten in it on her only start beyond a mile so we do have that in the back of our mind but the way she finished in the Falmouth would suggest she shouldn’t have a problem with the extra two furlongs but we still have a couple of weeks to decide and I’ll let everyone know once we’ve made a decision.

It was great to see Lusail win the July Stakes and follow in his father’s hoof prints. He is an extremely uncomplicated horse who just about gets the job done at home without doing anything flashy but saves everything for the track and he’ll run in either the Vintage Stakes (over seven) or stick to six in the Richmond.

Motakhayyel was brilliant in the Bunbury Cup because we all know how hard it is to pull off one win in that sort of race let alone do it for two consecutive years and he got a hike of 9lbs so is now up to 118. He’s got an entry in the International at Ascot next week and he’s not entered in the Unibet Golden Mile so we may even go back to looking at Pattern races if we have to.

 

NEWBURY

1:15

Life’s A Beach

I don’t think everything went right for him at Newmarket last time where he bumped into a very smart horse ridden by Sean Levey and I think he’s a little bit better than what he’s shown so far. This is a very good Newbury Novice but hopefully he can continue improving and run well.

Petrila

He’s got to step up on what he showed on debut at Leicester, and I think he can, but this does look a very good race and he’ll need to improve markedly.

Tropez Power

He improved for his first run to put up a good show at Haydock last time but just got tired, so the drop back in trip should suit and he’ll handle the ground so goes there with a very realistic chance.

Unibet's 15 To Go Free Bet Offer is live today

 

3:00 G3 Hackwood Stakes

Happy Romance (Sean Levey)

I was absolutely delighted with her run at Sandown last time when she finished really well so the step back up to six furlongs is a massive plus and we know how much she loves this course having won the Super Sprint here last year. She’s been in great form at home and the ground will be fine so she has every chance in my book.

 

3:40 Super Sprint

Gubbass (Sean Levey)

He won very impressively at Leicester in a race that has worked out pretty well and he is a colt we’ve always thought a great deal of. This is the Super Sprint so anything can happen but his work has been very good and I expect an extremely bold show.

Zoltan Star (Tom Marquand)

I’m amazed he’s still a Maiden but he’s a horse who has plenty of ability if things go his way and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him run well in a contest like this with lots of runners where he’s likely to get carried into the race and I expect him to finish well.

Symphony Perfect (Hayley Turner)

She is a very tough filly with a great attitude who won well at Bath last time and I think that will have done her confidence a lot of good. The hurly burly of this race will suit her running style and Hayley knows her well having been on board at Bath and she goes there with solid each way credentials.

Desert (Andrea Atzeni)

She is a very well bred filly who was quite keen at Newmarket last time so the drop back to five furlongs and the fast pace should really suit and I think she’s improving all of the time. She’s a big price but I definitely think she’ll out run her odds and I wouldn’t put anybody off backing her each way.

Raging (William Buick)

He made a very bright start to his career but ran very lacklustre in the Woodcote at Epsom last time and wasn’t really concentrating on the job so we gelded him and he seems to be much more focused again which is a good thing because he’s got a lot of talent, and if you put Epsom behind him he’s not without a chance in this.

Banner Moonshine (Sam Hitchcott)

She has to improve quite a lot, although I don’t think she liked the ground at Goodwood last time, and she is learning with every run  but she’ll need to step up considerably to take a hand here.

 Unibet's 15 To Go Free Bet Offer is live today

 

4:10

Arafi (Sean Levey)

She ran a great race at Ascot last week where she really appreciated the better ground and step back up to a mile and there’s definitely a decent handicap in her. She’s a filly with a lot of ability who should be more than capable of making her presence felt in what looks a very suitable race for her.

 

5:20

Mr Tyrrell (Andrea Atzeni)

It was nice to see him win again at Windsor last time and we’ve kept him nice and fresh at home since. This is a very competitive little race, however, and he has joint top weight but he’s been in great shape so is sure to run another good race.

 

NEWMARKET

1:40

Isemel

I thought she’d run a little better than she did on debut but she was very slow leaving the stalls and ran extremely green throughout, but she’ll have learnt plenty from it and on homework she’s not without a chance here if she can step up on her first run, but of course on what you saw last time, she needs to.

 

2:15

Theotherside

She is a very tough little filly who always tries her best and wasn’t disgraced last time. She’s gradually coming down the weights and what you see is what you get so she’ll run her usual race.

 

2:55

Beat Le Bon

He’s been kept pretty busy this year but handles his racing very well and has been in particularly good form all the way through including in the Hunt Cup last time. You’d like to think this race is a little easier than that but having had a quick look at the field it still looks extremely competitive, but he’s been in great form at home and we are making good use of his jockey’s 3lbs claim so hopefully he’ll go very close.    

  

5:15

Typhoon Ten

He is extremely consistent and wasn’t beaten far at Leicester last time so is in really good form and if you take into account Thore’s 3lb claim he’s actually back off a winning mark and it would be great to see him get his head back in front because he posted some very consistent efforts in defeat.