Cape looks one to follow

Top 40 Prospects entry Cape Byron made a successful reappearance when taking a competitive looking classified stakes at Ascot. Roger Varian's colt had impressed when winning his maiden at Newmarket last backend and was touted as a possible 2000 Guineas contender in the spring. However, he reportedly suffered a setback in the spring hence his absence. Racing off a mark of 90, he travelled strongly before being driven out to beat the in form Fire Brigade by a neck with seven lengths back to the third. Entered in the QEII and Champion Stakes at Ascot next month, he has also been given an entry in the Group 2 Joel Stakes at HQ. Regardless of what he achieves between now and the end of the season, he looks a smart prospect for next year.

The two year olds highlighted in the York Ebor Update (The Juvenile Scene)have been in good form in the last few days, albeit at short odds. Humble Gratitude scored comfortably at Hamilton last Saturday, while the Roger Charlton pair Clairette and Herculean produced good performances to win at Salisbury and Ascot respectively within the last twenty four hours. The former is a daughter of Al Kazeem and she confirmed the promise she had shown on her debut on the July course at Newmarket, while the latter is a full-brother to the stablemate's Group 3 winner and 1000 Guineas fifth Fair Eva. A big imposing colt by Frankel, Herculean took a few strides to engage top gear but once through a tight gap between two rivals, he always looked winning. His trainer believes ten furlongs may prove to be his optimum trip next year. It will be interesting to see where he goes next.

I added the final touches to One Jump Ahead at the printers this morning - ie. pages numbers for the 641 horses in the Index. All being well, the book will be ready in approximately ten days. I spoke to my web designer yesterday and full details of OJA and the Updates should be up on the site by early next week - please head to the Publications section.

I am working at Haydock Park tomorrow, where conditions are sure to be testing, so will update the Diary in the next few days and will confirm on here once the Publications section has been updated.