By Charlie McCann
The horses were declared for today’s flat cards on Sunday on fast ground and we are likely to see a raft of non-runners after the rain of Monday which is sure to have eased underfoot conditions ahead of today’s racing.
One horse who should not be inconvenienced if the ground is on the soft side at Leicester is Intimation (2.10) a daughter of Dubawi out of a Pivotal mare who makes her racecourse debut for Sir Michael Stoute and Ryan Moore in the opener. Stoute has saddled the winner of the corresponding race twice in the last decade and this beautifully bred filly must go close especially if the market speaks in her favour.
In the second division Stoute saddles Sympathy (2.40) who took her chance in a hot Conditions event at Salisbury on debut and a repeat would make her very hard to beat. The beautifully bred stablemate Sea Scent is one of a number of interesting newcomers with Hayba also taking the eye on breeding having cost Qatar Racing 450,000 Guineas earlier in the year.
There is a terrific 12f Handicap for the classic generation with all ten runners having finished in the frame last time out. The lightly raced Knife Point is clearly progressive but Authorized Too (3.10) can put behind a poor run on the all-weather last time with trainer William Haggas applying cheek-pieces for the first time.
Both Richard Hughes (Brighton) and Ryan Moore travel to Kempton Park this evening. At the time of writing Moore leads Hughes in the Jockey’s Title race by one but the former is due to spend much of the next month on his travels and Hughes is likely to retain his crown when the season draws to a close at Doncaster next month.
Yarrow is a half-sister to eight winners including Golan and Tartan Bearer and is a fascinating debutante for Stoute in the opening Mile Fillies’ Maiden but Forte (5.35) is also bred in the purple but has racecourse experience and that gives her the nod. The selection pulled too hard over 7f here last month but this sister to Oaks winner Talent looked to have inherited plenty of ability and will be hard to beat if proving more amenable to restraint.
John Caesar (6.05) showed his first signs of ability when staying on steadily from a poor draw over C&D last time. Form figures of 666 might not be everyone’s cup of tea but the booking of Ryan Moore suggests connections are expecting a bold show from the lightly-raced colt.
I’m not convinced a handicap mark of 80 has done Galuppi (7.35) any favours for Luca Cumani but he looks to have found a decent opportunity for this son of Galileo in the 12f Maiden. The 5-month absence from the track is a slight cause for concern but the Newmarket handler has his string in good health and this looks like being another winner on the board for Ryan Moore.
King Calypso (8.05) is unbeaten on the all-weather and can defy a 10lb rise for his win over a furlong shorter here last month on his penultimate start. The gelding obviously gets on well with apprentice Cam Hardie and they only went down by half a length at Goodwood last time from a 1lb lower mark. The progressive gelding has an excellent draw in three and can take this step up in grade in his stride.
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