By Richard Smith
The start of the National Hunt season may be just around the corner but there is still some great action to look forward to on the flat, including on Friday as Newmarket plays host to their brilliant Future Champions Day. It has been a terrific summer at HQ so far and there is more to come with the juvenile horses taking centre stage on Friday afternoon live in front of the Channel 4 cameras.
The rain has been falling across the country this week which will ensure the ground is testing on Friday but that hasn’t stopped a strong list of runners being entered up for an important day of sport. As we have already mentioned it is all about the two-year-olds on Friday with three Group One races for the juvenile horses the clear highlights on the card.
The Middle Park Stakes is always one of the best races for the juvenile colts and we look to have another stellar field for this look into the future. Some excellent horses have won this race down the years and it will be fascinating to see who which horse will add their name to that roll of honour on Friday. All eyes are likely to be on the extremely exciting Ivawood who is already the ante-post favourite for the 2000 Guineas next season and is one of the hottest young horses in the sport currently. The Richard Hannon trained horse has won all three of his starts with the minimum of fuss and although he will be encountering cut in the ground for the first time, plenty expect Ivawood to confirm himself as a star of the future in the Middle Park on Friday.
The Dewhurst Stakes is looks a little bit more wide open from a betting point of view with two-year-old fillies and colts set to meet over the seven furlong trip at HQ. The Dewhurst has been won by, among others, Frankel and Dawn Approach in recent years which highlights it as a trial for the 2000 guineas while recent Derby winners like New Approach in 2007 and Sir Percy in 2005 also won this race as juveniles.
There have been some top class recent winners and there is a strong field engaged here in a bid to follow in their hoof steps, including the Aidan O’Brien trained Smugglers Cove who has won two of his three starts so far for Ballydoyle. Richard Hannon un-surprisingly has another strong contender in this one with the Sheikh Hamdan owned Estidhkaar also well backed in the market and is likely to start the favourite after his recent Champagne Stakes success for connections.
The third Group 1 on the card on Friday is the Dubai Fillies Mile and this looks like another strong field to look forward to. Eddie Lynam and connections have supplemented the exciting Agnes Stewart for the race and she was last seen winning the May Hill Stakes in Group 2 Company and looks ready for the step up here. She is a general 20/1 shot for the Oaks at Epsom next year and may want further in time while Lucida is a potential challenge for her on Friday who may have a little more speed on her side. The Godolphin filly won the Shadwell Rockfel Stakes on the Rowley Mile last time out for Jim Bolger and she is expected to run well on Friday before being aimed at the 1000 Guineas in May, for which she is currently a 10/1 shot for.
Aside from the Group 1 races on the card on Friday, there are some excellent support races for punters to sink their teeth into. The Group 2 Challenge Stakes over 7f is of particular interest. This race is open to horses aged three and over and the interesting one here could be the Freddy Head trained Thawaany who looks set to make the trip over France. Olivier Peslier will be on-board this likeable sort who was last seen finishing a close up second in the Group 1 Prix Maurice De Gheest at Deauville and will have no problem with some cut in the ground.
In truth though, the majority of the attention will fall on the younger horses on Friday and that alone ensures that this day will always be a popular one for racing fans. In particular, all eyes will be on the likes of Ivawood and Estidhkaar who many expect to be superstars next season and with both putting their reputations on the line in competitive Group 1 races on Friday, it should be a brilliant and informative day of sport in Suffolk.
