Top 40 Prospects winner Cosmic Year

The three day Guineas Festival at Newmarket got underway on Friday with Andrew Balding continuing his tremendous form with a treble, including Bellum Justum in the Group 2 Jockey Club Stakes. Zgharta set the ball rolling in the opening ten furlongs fillies' maiden with a narrow win under Hollie Doyle. Placed in her first two starts, including at the Craven meeting last month, she raced keenly early on but dug deep in the closing stages to beat the highly regarded Pearla. Despite her victory over a mile and a quarter, her trainer feels she may be suited by dropping back to a mile with the Sandringham Handicap at Royal Ascot her likely target. The runner-up, who features in the Top 40 in AOTF, showed plenty of promise and it won't be long before he goes one better. Owned by Wathnan Racing and trained by William Haggas, the Sea The Stars filly is beautifully bred and has a big long stride. Given a positive ride by Tom Marquand, she will be suited by stepping up to a mile and a half and has Pattern race aspirations. 

Cosmic Year provided the Top 40 with another winner when maintaining his unbeaten record in the Listed King Charles II Stakes. Partnered by Ryan Moore, the Harry Charlton trained colt travelled strongly throughout before being pushed out to beat Marvelman by a length and a half. His connections indicated afterwards that the Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh (24th May) is likely to be his next port of call. A son of Kingman out of Passage of Time, his pedigree suggests he will have no trouble staying a mile even though he evidently possesses a huge amount of speed. Indeed, he wouldn't look out of place in the July Cup. He is a most exciting prospect.

Finally, the Top 40 in One Jump Ahead have endured a lean spell since the Cheltenham Festival but twenty four hours after Majborough's demolition job on Thursday, Soldier of Milan (5/2) landed a major gamble on his Rules debut at the Punchestown Festival. Absent for 397 days, the former point winner was having his first start for Emmet Mullins and raced prominently throughout under John Gleeson. Leading early in the homestraight, the ex-Cormac Doyle trained powered away inside the final quarter of a mile to register a near five lengths victory. The six year old is a terrific prospect for hurdles and fences in the future.