Top 40 Prospects winners Elmalka (28/1) & Friendly Soul (10/1)

Thank you very much to those clients who have emailed during the last 24 hours following the victories of Elmalka (28/1) and Friendly Soul (10/1) at Newmarket on Sunday, it is much appreciated. The pair both feature in the Top 40 Prospects of Ahead On The Flat and it was a superb double in the 1000 Guineas and Pretty Polly Stakes respectively. The Top 40 have made an excellent start with 9 winners from only 20 runners - long may it continue throughout the summer. 

Friendly Soul set the ball rolling when making virtually all in the Listed Pretty Polly Stakes which kicked off the card on the Rowley Mile on Sunday. A beautifully bred daughter of Kingman who is related to a host of Group 1 winners belonging to owner George Strawbridge, she had won her sole start last year at Kempton a few days before Christmas. Ridden by prominently by Kieran Shoemark, the John and Thady Gosden trained filly had the field at full stretch approaching the bushes and wasn't hard pressed to see off the late challenge of Kalpana who had won a handicap at the Craven meeting by ten lengths on her previous start. A length and a quarter separated the pair with a dozen lengths back to the third. John Gosden suggested afterwards that ten furlongs is likely to prove Friendly Soul's optimum trip and the Prix de Diane at Chantilly (16th June) is more likely to be on her agenda rather a trip to Epsom at the end of this month. She is an exciting filly who has only raced twice and looks ready for a step up in class.

Elmalka is also a daughter of Kingman out of the stable's first Group 1 winner Nahrain who excelled over ten furlongs. Twenty three years ago, the Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum owned Ameerat won the 1000 Guineas for the late Michael Jarvis. Roger Varian was assistant to the former head of Kremlin House Stables and it was therefore fitting he won the same prestigious event for the same patron courtesy of this lightly raced filly. An impressive winner of a fillies' novice stakes over seven furlongs at Southwell in late November, she finished well over the same distance on her reappearance in the Fred Darling Stakes at Newbury in April. Silvestre De Sousa took over in the saddle and, despite a slow start which found her at the back of the field in the early stages, she showed a sparkling turn of foot to quicken up inside the final furlong and reel in French raider Ramatuelle to prevail by a neck. Even though she is bred to stay further, Elmalka will remain over a mile for the time being with the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot (21st June) nominated as her next target.

It is remarkable to believe the two Guineas winners, namely Notable Speech and Elmalka, plus Friendly Soul began their careers on the all-weather in the depths of winter - the trio debuted on the 27th January, 24th November and 20th December respectively. 

The three day Guineas Festival at HQ proved a productive one for the Top 40 Prospects with 3 winners from 7 runners - Sea Just In Time (11/2), Friendly Soul (10/1) and Elmalka (28/1). Three exciting fillies to boot and plenty to look forward to over the course of the next few months.