Two smart novices

Haydock Park staged their first Flat meeting of 2023 and the fixture didn't disappoint unearthing a couple of highly promising three year olds. Twelve months earlier, the subsequent French Oaks and Nassau Stakes winner Nashwa landed the one mile fillies novice stakes. Gregory (5/2), who is featured in the Unraced Three Year Olds section in Ahead On The Flat, is bred to be smart being a son of Golden Horn out of Gretchen who won the Group 2 Park Hill Stakes. Rumoured to have worked well before the one mile three novice stakes, the John & Thady Gosden trained three year old didn't disappoint winning by a length and three quarters. Held up, he quickened up well inside the final furlong under Robert Havlin to win hard held. With three previous winners in behind, the form looks solid and the Normandie Stud owned winner can only improve with time and distance. The Group 2 Queens Vase Stakes at Royal Ascot in June looks a realistic target. He is an exciting prospect.

That comment also applies to Stormy Sea who won the fillies' novice stakes thirty five minutes later. A half-sister to Group 1 winning stablemate Bay Bridge, the daughter of Territories finished runner-up on her sole start at Kempton as a juvenile last Autumn. Having undergone wind surgery during the winter, her work had been good on the lead up to the race and she ran out a convincing scorer by four and a quarter lengths. Streaking clear late on, she wasn't hard pressed to win decisively and looks ready for a rise in class. The Listed Michael Seely Stakes at York (19th May) could be her next port of call and Sir Michael Stoute's filly is very much one to follow. The head of Freemason Lodge has his string in tremendous form with 6 winners from his last 11 runners, including some very promising three year olds - all six feature in the Stoute section in AOTF.

In the same event, the William Haggas trained Market Value shaped well in third position. Beautifully bred being a daughter of Siyouni out of the Ascot Gold Cup winner Estimate, she is crying out for a step up in trip and will be hard to beat over ten furlongs or further next time. She is the type to make her mark in middle distance Pattern events later in the campaign.

The other race of interest on the card was the seven furlongs handicap for older horses. Boardman was bidding to win the event for a second consecutive year off an eight pounds higher mark and, while Tim Easterby's seven year old never really looked like following up, he shaped nicely and is one to bear in mind next time. Racing off a mark of 98, he could head to Chester for a 86 - 105 seven and a half furlongs handicap (12th May), which looks tailormade for him provided the ground isn't too quick. A dual winner at the Roodeye, the Kingman gelding is one to bear in mind. 

The curtain came down on the National Hunt season in Britain and Ireland on Saturday with Paul Nicholls crowned champion trainer for a fourteenth time and Brian Hughes claimed his third jockey's title, which is a terrific achievement. Across the water, Willie Mullins was presented with his seventeenth trainer's championship following 236 domestic winners during 2023/2024, including 17 at this week's Punchestown Festival (from 91 runners). Top 40 entry in One Jump Ahead, Lossiemouth rounded off her juvenile hurdle career with another Grade 1 win in the Champion Four Year Old Hurdle at Punchestown with a gutsy performance. Forced to challenge on the outside on the hometurn, the ex-French filly stayed on strongly to lead before the last and driven out to beat stablemate Zarak The Brave by a length and a half. She was providing owners Rich and Susannah Ricci with their fourth winner of the week and their second at the highest level. The Great Pretender filly has been superb this winter and unlucky not to be unbeaten.