Saturday, the final day of Newmarket's July Festival, and a fine afternoon for the ratings, headlined by a perfect result in the 1:40 at Newmarket. Here is how it went, race by race, with the result grids and how our selections got on.
One quick word before we start, because this review is not shy about the riding. We will always call a ride as we see it: a poor ride, a very poor ride, and once in a while a terrible one, because how a horse is ridden is a genuine part of reading its run. What we will never do is make it personal. There is a clear line between saying a ride was poor and abusing the person who gave it, and we stay firmly on the right side of it. You will not catch us name-calling, or suggesting that someone should not be riding at all, the kind of thing we saw far too much of online today. Criticise the ride, respect the rider: that is how we do it.
Our review of the opening two races is free to read below. The rest of the card, from the 1:48 onwards, is for Premium and Pro members.
1:35 Chester, Excell Supply Maiden Fillies' Stakes (7f)
A quick word on a filly here. Secret Oath ran another really good second, behind Dream Vega, and she did it after three hundred and seventy nine days off the track. To return from an absence like that and run to that level is good form, and she looks a decent filly in the making. We will be keeping a close eye out for her handicap mark, because once she goes into handicap company she could be really well treated. One to keep firmly onside.
1:40 Rossdales British EBF Maiden Stakes (7f)
A fantastic result for the ratings, and about as good as it gets: not only did our top-rated win, we got the perfect one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, with all seven home in exactly the order the ratings had them. The winner, Haffner, made virtually all the running and slowly had the field off the bridle behind him. The last pair to come off the bridle were the Godolphin colt Al Wathba and Velociraptor for Hugo Palmer; both ran on into second and third, but Haffner's experience at the head of affairs told and he was strong at the finish, winning relatively comfortably. It looks a good result for the winner, and a good run too from Al Wathba in second on the back of not having had a run, which gives a nice rank to Abraham Lincoln, who had previously beaten Haffner. And do not forget one of our eyecatchers from the Curragh maiden a few weeks ago, Anchor Road, who ran a never nearer fifth that day when meeting all sorts of trouble; he is still the horse we are looking out for from that race. A brilliant start to the day for the ratings.
