Vanguard Dream to put his rivals to sleep at Newbury
There will be an extra reason to celebrate if Richard Hannon can win The Sir Gerald Whent Memorial Nursery today at Newbury, not only will it be his 108th two-year-old victory of the season it will come in a race that is in the name of one of his former owners.
The current leader of the trainers Championship saddles two for today’s feature race on the card, but Vanguard Dream looks to be the one with serious claims rather than the well-exposed Welsh Dancer. The selection is unbeaten so far in two starts, and subsequently comes into the race with a rating of 89, carrying top weight. He has made all in both his races to date and looks as though he could once again get a soft lead in a field where a lot of the runners’ look very exposed. Hannon has said that any more rain would have hindered Vanguard Dream’s chances, so a dry night in Newbury has seemingly boosted his claims. The main danger should come from Unex El Greco, who won his maiden very easily and is hard to assess on his nursery debut.
On a tricky looking card winning favourites are hard to find, but the stand-out runner looks to be another Hannon two-year-old Aristeia in the E B F Broadbase UK Maiden Stakes, who should relish the drop back to six furlongs.
With autumn conditions now hitting racecourses hard, a change to softer ground can bring out a marked improvement in horses who have been struggling to find form on firmer ground in the summer. Tilsworth Glenboy, who bolted to victory last time out at Yarmouth on soft ground following mediocre efforts off the same mark on quicker surfaces, falls into that category in the Newvoicemedia Handicap and can run a big race.
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