Timepiece looks set for Oaks Trial
The frustration over Jacqueline Quest’s demotion in Sunday’s 1000 Guineas probably still burns quietly within Henry Cecil but the pursuit of a 25th British Classic winner continues.
The Oaks has been Cecil’s most successful Classic and his chances of a ninth winner would be enhanced by a good performance from Timepiece in the totesportcasino.com Oaks Trial at Lingfield Park.
There was a chance that Timepiece herself could have run in the Guineas but that was shelved when she finished only fourth in the Feilden Stakes, over nine furlongs, at Newmarket last month. She could not match the pace of the winner, Rumoush, but was checked in her run more than once in the final furlong.
Sometimes horse that appear unlucky in running prove to be nothing more than not good enough in subsequent runs but Timepiece deserves another chance. Her breeding – by Zamindar out of a Sadler’s Wells filly – suggests that the step up in distance can only be to her advantage and she should be too good for this field, of whom Ceilidh House, a four-length maiden Nottingham last autumn, looks the most potent threat.
There is no Aidan O’Brien runner in the race but the trainer continues his sifting process through the long list of Derby entries when he runs two in the Group Three totesport.com Derby Trial. However, given present form of his runners in Pattern races, neither Don Carlos nor Captain James Cook gets the vote. Cecil runs Bullet Train, who looks sure to come on for his run at Newbury last month – where he was a half-length second to Myplacelater.
However, that form took a slight knock with the winner’s run at Chester on Tuesday and the preference is for Sir Michael Stoute’s Desert Myth. He was withdrawn from the Dee Stakes, because of the rain-affected ground, but should find the going to his liking at Lingfield.
Desert Myth is taking a step up in class from his maiden win at Newmarket last month but, as the next four home have all won since, it appears to be a move of which he is more than capable making successfully.
Alain de Royer-Dupre brought Sabana Perdida to win the totesport Chartwell Fillies’ Stakes two years ago and can repeat that with Reggane. She finished only mid-field in her last two runs in France, but both of those were on soft ground and her form is better viewed through her two-length defeat by Ghanaati in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot last year. The drop in distance is a slight concern but Reggane has upwards of 7lbs in hand over her rivals on official ratings and that should be enough to tip the balance in her favour.
Trying to find a horse with enough to tip the balance in his favour is slightly less easy in the totesport Victoria Cup at Ascot. The draw at Ascot has been something of a moveable feast since the course reopened four years ago but the far-side numbers appear to have the advantage. That works against course-and-distance winner Castles In The Air, who won at Pontefract last month, but does favour Mabait, from stall 16, whose recent results suggest that Luca Cumani has got another horse to go to war with. His runners have not quite hit the target this week but he had a 31% strike-rate for April and a 24% strike-rate with his handicap runners this year.
Mabait has gone up 24lbs in the handicap for his four wins since taking a handicap at Wolverhampton in September however he did not appear to be reaching the borders of his improvement when he beat a competitive field by three-and-a-quarter lengths at Sandown Park two weeks ago and the form of that race was franked when the runner-up, Tartan Gigha, won at Newmarket last Saturday.
The 2009/10 jumps season may have drawn to a close a fortnight ago but the first highlight of the present campaign is the totesport.com Swinton Handicap Hurdle at Haydock Park. Overturn ended last season by winning his final three starts however, he has paid for that with a 38lb hike in the weights.
At the other end of the scale is the Paul Nicholls-trained Toubab who looks appealing on what is his handicap debut. He was not disgraced when second to subsequent Triumph Hurdle winner Soldatino at Kempton in February and the booking of Paul Townend, the star rider of the recent Punchestown Festival, looks significant.
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