Newmarket Saturday Preview - 01/05/21

The first race of the 2000 Guineas meeting is the Class 2 Handicap over six furlongs and Uncle Jumbo for Kevin Ryan could have a big say.

The three year old is a full brother to smart sprinter Major Jumbo and on debut last year showed that ability when getting off the mark at Doncaster over 6f.

He then finished a smart fourth of 19 in the Premier Yearling Stakes at York's Ebor meeting and backed that up at Doncaster with a nice third behind two smart youngsters.

The gelding finished last season with a weak performance on soft ground in the Two Year Old Listed event at Redcar, with quick conditions the key to this horse.

He returned a year old at Newcastle in February, using the event as a pipe cleaner, before heading to Pontefract in April where he had a horrible passage and still managed to gain fourth.

Both of those runs should have put him spot in for this event and if getting a clear run in conditions he likes, his ability suggests that he should have no excuses.

The Suffolk Stakes over 1m1f comes next and with a big field heading to post we have picked out two runners, both at each way prices.

The first is the Mark Johnston trained and Shadwell owned Maydanny, who has shown glimpses of star ability and hopefully this season can stay consistent.

The five year old is lightly raced for his age being seen eight times during his career to date, racing between a miles and 10 furlongs.

Having started his career as a three year old, he finished second on both his first two starts and then got off the mark at the third time of asking over a mile at Yarmouth on rapid ground on his first start as a four year old a year later.

He then went to Royal Ascot in the silver Royal Hunt Cup and was a decent seventh of 22 runners, but could not back it up at Newmarket in July when tailed off in a mile handicap.

Johnston decided to step him up in trip at Glorious Goodwood and on his first start at 1m2f he gave a career best outing to land a good handicap by an ever growing five lengths.

He struggled in both his events after that and now having time to freshen up and back to a mark of 100, he can show how good he really is.

Needs to bounce back, with the trainer in smart form.

The second selection in the race at a bigger price is the Hughie Morrison trained Starcat, who is another runner on a bounce back mission having been poor at the back end of last season.

In his early career he showed big potential when winning at Kempton on debut over a mile and off the back of that headed into the Group One 2000 Guineas and finished a fair seventh in a tough field.

Dropped back into a handicap at Royal Ascot he seemed to not handle the big fielded event and it seemed to have a knock on effect when running below par at Glorious Goodwood after that.

He gave a much better run on his second to last start when a close fourth at Doncaster in a Class 2 Handicap when stepped up to 1m2f.

However, his hit and miss form came back to haunt him on his last run when only beating two home and hopefully now the gelding operation will have helped him.

He obviously has star ability and this season just needs to put it all together and we are banking on this happening on his first try at 9f.

The first big event of the day is the Group Three Palace House Stakes over five furlongs and the Charlie Appleby trained Lazuli looks the most obvious winner of the race.

The four year old son of Dubawi has won four of his nine events to date and has also gone on to place in two more events, with his speed at five furlongs making him a force to be reckoned with.

Having won his first two events as a juvenile over six furlongs, he was seen once more in a Group Three event over five and learnt a lot for the experience.

Back for another season he finished a good second in a handicap before getting back to winning ways at Sandown in the Listed Scurry Stakes over 5f.

He was then tried in the Coral Charge and Prix Moonlight Cloud at Sandown and Deauville and just found a few sprinters to good, but still ran credibly.

Back in England he landed his biggest scalp to date when landing a smart Group Three at Newbury in September on good ground.

Given some time off after that, he returned for the first time this year in January when third in a valuable handicap at Meydan, only being seen off by the progressive Equilateral and Mutaraffa.

That looks some stand out form and having had a recent run it could play to his strengths.

The Group Two Jockey Club Stakes looks an extremely classy event over 1m4f with the return of the smart Pyledriver and it also features the 2019 St Leger second Sir Ron Priestly.

However, the horse we are siding with is the William Haggas trained Al Zaraqaan who is stepping up a fair bit in class, but looks to be the most progressive in the field.

The son of Golden Horn heads into the event looking for a five timer having landed his last four events in taking style and although facing his toughest test to date, he looks to be very progressive and should take it in his stride.

Having bombed out on debut at Newmarket back in 2019, he was given some time off and returned in June of last year at Doncaster.

Stepping up to 1m2f he was a superb winner on quick ground in a Novice Stakes and he then backed that up next time out at Kempton when a very short price over 1m3f.

He entered his first handicap event in December at Lingfield off a mark of 90 and beat a decent field by a length, with the second going on to win at the same track next time out.

The colt went up 5lb for that to a mark of 95 and still had an abundance in hand when winning a decent handicap with ease in March.

That was a very taking performance with the way he quickened away from the field in the final stages being electric and this now looks a perfect opportunity to see how good he is.

The feature event on the day is the Group One 2000 Guineas and it sees the first Classic of the season, with 15 runners heading to post we have two strong selections.

The first is the Aidan O'Brien trained Wembley, who is the choice of number one rider for the yard Ryan Moore.

The three year old was seen more frequently than most of the runners heading into the race and he has been fairly consistent to date in his six runs, winning once and placing in all of his other five starts.

Having got off the mark three starts ago at Roscommon it looks as though soft or heavy ground could be the best surface for this colt.

However, he has been versatile running well on good ground aswell having finished second behind Thunder Moon two starts ago in the Group One National Stakes at The Curragh and last time out gave another career best in the Dewhurst Stakes when a narrow second to stablemate St Mark's Basilica.

He has shown that he handles Newmarket well and will benefit for the extra furlong in the Guineas, we think he is a big each way player with Galileo having a superb record as a sire in the race and he is the only runner in the race from that sire.

At a bigger price, but offering a similar level of ability from the same yard is Battleground for Aidan O'Brien, who has been primed for this event since last season.

The son of War Front has not really put a foot wrong during his career, finishing fifth on debut where he learnt a lot for the experience, but since then going on to be a very smart horse.

After that race he went unbeaten in two smart races, taking the Listed Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot and then landing the Group Two Vintage Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.

Having some time off the track with O'Brien being patient with him, he was next seen again in November at Keeneland for the Grade Two Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

He went on to finish a superb second behind a runaway US winner and having been finely tuned for this event and not overworked, he could have a big say.

Next up is the six furlong Handicap and Great Ambassador for trainer Ed Walker looks to be the one to bet having come back this season and got off the mark in fine style.

Having been fairly consistent as a juvenile, winning at Chelmsford on his final start in 2019, as a three year old he struggled slightly in tough events like the Britannia Stakes and another hot handicap over the same C&D.

On his final start last year in October, back at the scene of his sole win he got back to form when a narrow second behind the smart Light And Dark.

Back as a four year old he was dropped down in trip to 6f for the first time in his career and it suited really well with him winning really nicely at Kempton.

Staying at that trip for this event is a positive and now finding his perfect distance, it might unlock more from him.

The penultimate event of the afternoon is the Listed Newmarket Stakes over 1m2f and Secret Protector for Charlie Appleby will tough to beat off the back of his debut run.

The three year old was an $800,000 purchase as a yearling by Godolphin and made his debut in September at Kempton over seven furlongs and finished a good third behind Rich Waters and Megallan, with the latter franking the form in a good race.

The son of War Front got off the mark on his second time of asking again at Kempton over seven furlongs when going on to dominate a good field.

Being given a small break, he was given his turf debut on good ground over 9.5 furlongs at Meydan in a Conditions event and he absolutely bolted up.

Under similar conditions he came back for his seasonal debut as a three year old and he finished a staying on second behind stablemate Highland Avenue.

That looks exceptional form and if improving again for his first run might be difficult to beat.

Crossford for the inform Charles Hills has a big chance at 7/2, having shown clear ability on his four starts to date and his seasonal debut last time out showed clear progression.

The three year old made his debut at Doncaster in the same race as John Leeper, finishing third behind a next time out winner.

He then went to Newmarket over seven furlongs and again finished third behind a useful horse for John Gosden.

The son of Dawn Approach finally got off the mark in Novice Stakes at Newcastle in October getting the better of Cardouan, who has since franked the form.

Having his first run of the year, he raced over course and distance on the Rowley Mile and finished a good second behind the smart Bullace.

Again, this is another tough assignment for him but having handled the track well last time out, if improving he is a big player.

Charles Hills is in some serious form at the start this season with five winners from his last 28 runners which sees him pose a 18% strike rate.