Newmarket & York – Saturday 29th July
Whilst the focus for this Saturday’s racing is at Ascot, there is also some excellent racing at York and Newmarket to support the King George card. Our team of Racing experts have looked through the other cards and identified a couple of selections away from Ascot for Saturday afternoon.
3:15 York – SkyBet York Stakes (Group 2)
MY PROSPERO
Whilst this looks to be a relatively strong renewal of this race, it is still very hard to get away from the top rated My Prospero. William Haggas hasn’t won this race since Mukhadram triumphed in 2013, but he has his best chance since then with his 4-year-old son of Iffraaj. He was a winner at this level in July last year when he landed the Prix Eugene Adam at Saint-Cloud, and this will represent his first run out of Group 1 company since. He was within a length of Bay Bridge in the Champion Stakes at Ascot last October and his subsequent runs in both the Lockinge and the Prince of Wales’s Stakes are perfectly creditable, especially when compared to those of his rivals here. Whilst there are some potential improvers in this field and the returning Alflaila is an intriguing runner, My Prospero is a proven winner at this level. In a race with no obvious pace angle, Tom Marquand may well have to make his own running but that shouldn’t be any cause for concern as he did the same thing when winning at Saint-Cloud last season. With proven form in the book, he may well prove impossible to pass on the Knavesmire.
4:10 Newmarket – Discover Newmarket Handicap
CHAIRMANOFTHEBOARD
With just 4 wins from his 37 starts, Chairmanoftheboard has been a frustrating horse to follow at times but there were signs in his last start, when second to Paws for Thought in the Scottish Stewards Cup at Hamilton, that he was ready to win again. Having raced down the centre of the course he made good late headway at Hamilton and although he was no match for the improving winner, he was clear of the rest. That was the first time that James Doyle had ridden him, and he has been booked again here. He won over this course and distance in July 2020 and has shown all his best form on straight tracks with a stiff finish, so these conditions should setup perfectly for him. The handicapper has left him on a mark of 89 after his latest run, which leaves him 2lbs below his last winning mark and with 3 of his 4 career wins coming in Class 3, he makes a lot of each-way appeal to run his race again.
Selections:
*Prices subject to fluctuation.
