Featured winners look Royal Ascot material

The odds may have been prohibitive but it was pleasing to see Top 40 entry Bowmark regain the winning thread in a valuable novice stakes on the final day of York's Dante Festival on Friday. The John & Thady Gosden trained colt had run well when finishing a close second in the Listed Buradon Stakes at Newcastle on Good Friday. Officially rated 103, the son of Kingman's task was simplified when the highly regarded Crown of Oaks was withdrawn. However, he still faced a useful rival in Newbury winner Point of Contact and, having been sent immediately to the front, William Buick upped the tempo inside the final quarter of a mile before bounding four lengths clear in an event his stable have dominated in recent seasons. Entered in the Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, his jockey felt he would benefit from stepping up to ten furlongs with the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes (19th June) appearing to be his most likely port of call at the Royal meeting. Either way, he is an exciting prospect and one to look forward to.

The Maidens In Waiting section in AOTF was also amongst the winners at Newbury with Raafedd (11/4) showing his true worth in the second division of the seven furlongs novice stakes. William Haggas' charge had run below par on his reappearance at Newmarket's Craven meeting last month but put that performance firmly behind him here. Racing handily, he was sent to the front with two furlongs to run before being pushed clear. Cieren Fallon was able to ease him mount down inside the final hundred yards to win hard held by two lengths. Despite being eased off in the closing stages, he recorded a faster time than the first division which was won by the unbeaten Montpellier. The Teofilo colt hit a topspeed of 41.45mph in the fifth furlong, which he covered in 10.94 seconds. While he is quick enough for seven furlongs, his pedigree suggests he will be even better over further - his jockey feels he will stay ten furlongs. The Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum owned winner has got Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot (19th June) written all over him. 

There were a couple of other featured runners from AOTF who didn't win on Friday but caught the eye. Noble Horizon was well supported for his reappearance in the novice stakes over a mile at Newmarket but never looked like threatening the all the way winner Bedouin Prince. Slowly away from his wide draw, the Kingman colt raced on the outside and wasn't subjected to an aggressive ride. Keeping on in third, William Haggas' runner is out of an Irish Oaks winner and will benefit from stepping up in distance. He ought to be hard to beat in a ten furlongs maiden / novice stakes next time before developing into a decent middle distance three year old.

Stablemate Crown Imperial was expected to improve for the experience on his racecourse bow at Newbury in the ten furlongs maiden. Once again, he was in rear during the early stages showing signs of greenness. Keeping on inside the final half a mile, he finished fifth only two and a quarter lengths behind the more experienced winner Meblesh. A half-brother to the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe winner Waldgeist, the son of Frankel will come into his own over a mile and a half and is another name for the notebook. He is another smashing long-term prospect for Somerville Lodge.

Finally, it worth watching the performance of Favorite Memory in the one mile novice stakes at Newmarket (2.52)- the same race in which the aforementioned Noble Horizon finished third. Trained by Ralph Beckett, she is a big rangy daughter of Frankel and was the only filly in the line up. Green during the first half of the contest, she was the first off the bridle and looked in trouble at an early stage. However, the penny dropped in the dip and she finished well in fifth - nearly nine lengths behind the winner Bedouin Prince. Indeed, she was the quickest during the final furlong covering it in 12.23 seconds. She will have learned plenty on the Rowley Mile and is an interesting filly going forward.