Productive day for Top 40

As discussed, I was working for Racing TV at York on Saturday and it was an excellent afternoon on the Knavesmire. I spoke to supremo William Derby before racing and they were expecting a crowd in the region of 18,000 on a sun kissed afternoon in Yorkshire. It proved to be a productive afternoon for followers of Ahead On The Flat with two winners for the Top 40 Prospects, namely Courage Mon Ami (6/4) and Quantum Impact (100/30). 

Courage Mon Ami was racing on turf for the first time and seemingly relished the step up to a mile and six for the first time on his handicap debut at Goodwood. Racing off a mark of 98 having recorded two wide margin wins on the all-weather last Autumn, he is entered in the Ascot Gold Cup and, while that appears fanciful, it will be interesting to see if he is entered in something like the Northumberland Plate at Newcastle (1st July). Quantum Impact appreciated the return to a sounder surface, plus the step up to a mile and he stayed on strongly to win the three year old handicap off a mark of 86. Ralph Beckett's charge almost certainly booked his ticket for the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot next month.

The Hampshire trainer also won the Group 3 Bronte Stakes earlier on the card with River of Stars. The four year old narrowly edged out the penalised Mimikyu who had beaten the same rival by over a dozen lengths in the Group 2 Park Hill Stakes at Doncaster in September of last year. By all accounts, John and Thady Gosden's filly has been working with leading Epsom Oaks contender Soul Sister with the younger filly showing her older stablemate a clear pair of heels at home, which bodes well for the prospects of the Lady Bamford owned runner next Friday.

Other winners during the day featured in Ahead On The Flat included Alsakib (6/4), Art Power (2/1), Boardman (6/1), Dramatised (4/1), Lady Rascal (11/4), Little Big Bear (Evens), River of Stars (4/1), Royal Mila (11/2) and Spirit of Applause (9/2).