Markab to give Newbury punters' a lift
There are a several top quality races on Newbury’s card on July 17, the first of which is the Group Three Shadwell Stakes at 2.15pm. Nine runners are set to go to post for this six-furlong sprint, and the likely favourite here is Markab, a seven-year-old gelding trained by Henry Candy. He has always looked a good horse in the making and last season ran in some of the top sprint handicaps, which included a victory in the Great St Wilfred Handicap at Ripon. In his three runs this year, he has looked even better winning a decent conditions race at Thirsk on his seasonal reappearance, beating Damien by a neck.
He followed that with a much better performance in the Group Three Greenlands Stakes at The Curragh, where he made all the running to beat Snaefell by a very comfortable two lengths. That was a terrific effort in itself but he has since gone on to record a personal best in the Group One Kings Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot. This was his first attempt at the minimum distance of five furlongs and having been prominent throughout, he stayed on well to finish second to Equiano.
The drop back in trip probably worked against him as he was unable to dominate from the front, and he returns to his favoured trip of six furlongs here. In fact, his record over this distance on good to firm ground reads three wins from five attempts so with conditions set to suit, he looks certain to take the world a beating.
High Standing will attempt to rival Markab
High Standing is likely to be the main market rival to Markab, and he is undoubtedly a talented individual at his best. Trained by William Haggas, this five-year-old gelding won this same event last season, beating Prime Defender by just over a length. So far this term, he has had just the two starts, making a winning reappearance in the Listed Achilles Stakes at Haydock. He looked a little on edge that day and proved quite unruly in the stalls. Held up, he made steady progress to take up the running well inside the final furlong and stayed on in good style to beat Rose Blossom by half a length.
His subsequent run was somewhat disappointing though, even allowing for the fact that it came in the Group One Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot. Always out the back, he could never get in a blow and eventually finished well-beaten behind Starspangledbanner. On further investigation, his overall profile suggests his best performances come with a bit of give in the ground, something that he is unlikely to get here. With conditions against him, and combined with the fact that he is not at the top of his game, he must be worth opposing here and has to be considered in the lay market.
Regal Parade
Regal Parade finished just in front of High Standing at Royal Ascot, and although the Dandy Nicholls trained runner has been disappointing in his two outings this season, he would have an excellent chance on his very best form. On his final start of last year, he won the Group One Betfred Sprint Cup at Haydock, which was an outstanding effort. Held up in the early stages, he swooped late to beat the James Noseda trained Fleeting Spirit by half a length. If Regal Parade can recapture that level of form then he would be a danger to all.
Angel's Pursuit
The only three-year-old in the race is Angel’s Pursuit, who hails from the all-conquering Richard Hannon yard. A son of Pastoral Pursuits, he made a winning reappearance over this course and distance back in May when proving half a length too good for Society Rock in a listed contest. However, he is yet to show he is up to this class and would need to improve on his third place finish behind Sir Gerry at Salisbury last time to pose a threat to Markab.
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