STIMULATION CAN SET PULSES RACING AT NEWBURY:
The Hughie Morrison-trained Stimulation looks to be approaching peak form just at the right time in order to land Newbury’s Shadwell Beech House Stud Stakes at 3.55pm on Saturday.
He has already proved in the past that he is a top class performer, winning the Challenge Stakes at Newmarket as a three-year-old. Now aged five, he began the season with a respectable effort in the Lockinge Stakes over a distance of one mile at this venue. Having led for much of the race, his lack of a recent run began to tell in the closing stages, eventually weakening into sixth, behind the mightily impressive Paco Boy.
Stripping much fitter next time, he ran a race full of promise in the Group One Prince Of Wales Stakes at Royal Ascot. Having been prominent throughout, he was a little short of room when the pace quickened two furlongs from home but stayed on well to finish fourth to Byword. The runner-up that day was the Henry Cecil trained Twice Over, who has since gone on to win the Coral Eclipse at Sandown, and Byword is a quite outstanding individual. There is nothing of the calibre of those two horses here and therefore Stimulation must have an excellent chance of getting back into the winner’s enclosure. The Morrison stable also appear to be in good nick at present, having had four winners in the past fortnight.
Prince Siegfriend lurking
The main danger to Stimulation could well be the Saeed Bin Suroor-trained Prince Siegfried. The four-year-old Royal Applause gelding made his seasonal reappearance in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown where he ran well to finish a slightly unlucky fourth to Stotsfold. He attempted to gain revenge on that rival when returning to Sandown for the Listed Gala Stakes. Leading at the two-furlong marker, he looked sure to score until Stotsfold came with a wet sail to snatch victory on the line. With just the two runs so far this season, there may well be further improvement in him and the stable did win this race last season.
Kingdom of Fife
Kingdom Of Fife is a top class handicapper, trained by Sir Michael Stoute. He does however look one of those types who at present, is too high in the weights for handicaps, but is not quite good enough to win at a higher level. This certainly appeared to be the case in the Wolferton Handicap at Royal Ascot last time. Having travelled well for much of the race, he took up the running a furlong from home, but was almost immediately passed by a couple of better-handicapped horses in Rainbow Peak and Kings Gambit. It was still a good run though to finish third but he could certainly do with some respite from the handicapper.
Summit Surge
The Luca Cumani trained Summit Surge is interesting in that he has spent all of this year racing in Dubai and Italy. He put in a career best performance last time out at San Siro, when finishing runner-up to the Michael Jarvis trained Pressing in a Group Two event. With his lack of form on British soil, it is quite difficult to know just how good he is, which makes this race even more intriguing. One thing that could be against him though is the distance. He has never won beyond a mile, so the extra two furlongs here has to be a concern, having finished well beaten on his only previous attempt at this trip. Also slightly worrying is the current form of the stable. Having had such a good start to the season, they seem to have gone a little quiet of late, having had just the one winner from their last 20 runners.
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