Black-Type Analysis: Rashabar Looms Large In Saturday’s Greenham Stakes

[Wandering Eyes]

Saturday, Newbury, Britain, post time: 13:25, DUBAI DUTY FREE FINEST SURPRISE STAKES (JOHN PORTER STAKES)-G3, £85,000, 4yo/up, 12f 0y

Field: Ancient Wisdom (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}), Bellum Justum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Dallas Star (Fr) (Cloth Of Stars {Ire}), Feigning Madness (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}), Sunway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}), Tabletalk (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), Divina Grace (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}).

TDN Verdict: One of Britain's re-entry points for the hardcore mile-and-a-half merchants and beyond sees last year's G1 Irish Derby runner-up and G1 St Leger third Sunway back in action, tackled by the 2023 G1 Futurity Trophy winner Ancient Wisdom and GIII Nashville Derby Invitational scorer Bellum Justum. While the King George seems an ambitious target for all three at this juncture, they are probably all slightly better than this grade and will help to shape the older middle-distance category over the next few weeks.

Saturday, Newbury, Britain, post time: 14:00, DUBAI DUTY FREE STAKES (FRED DARLING STAKES)-G3, £85,000, 3yo, f, 7f 0y

Field: Betty Clover (GB) (Time Test {GB}), Bright Times Ahead (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), British Blue (GB) (Blue Point {Ire}), California Dreamer (GB) (Mehmas {Ire}), Duty First (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), Ellaria Sand (GB) (Sands Of Mali {Fr}), Enola Holmes (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), Formal (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), Greydreambeliever (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), Heavens Gate (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}), Hey Boo (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}), Maw Lam (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), Mountain Breeze (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Nardra (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Simmering (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}), Time For Sandals (Ire) (Sands Of Mali {Fr}).

TDN Verdict: It is fair to say that last year's juvenile fillies were a cut above the colts and there is every reason to expect they will continue to be so in 2025. This year's 1,000 Guineas looks hot even if Lake Victoria (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) misses out, so the onus is on this cast to put down a marker with a serious performance. One who has very little to prove is the G2 Prix du Calvados and G3 Princess Margaret Stakes winner and G1 Moyglare Stud Stakes runner-up Simmering, while Heavens Gate may be in the second tier at Ballydoyle and a typical “sighter” for the stable but still carries significant weight in this context. Cheveley Park looked to have a real live Classic contender in Formal last term and while it all went wrong for the illustriously-bred TDN Rising Star in the G2 Rockfel Stakes, she wouldn't be the first to put a disappointing juvenile finale behind her and re-establish her aura ahead of the Spring Classics. As ever, William Haggas's prospects demand close attention and in what could be another big year for Night Of Thunder, Nardra is the one unexposed filly that stands out on her 8 1/2-length win in a soft-ground six-furlong Haydock novice in September.

Saturday, Newbury, Britain, post time: 14:35, WATERSHIP DOWN STUD TOO DARN HOT GREENHAM STAKES-G3, £100,000, 3yo, c/g, 7f 0y

Field: Al Qudra (Ire) (No Nay Never), Aurora Majesty (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Chancellor (GB) (Kingman {GB}), Diablo Rojo (Ire) (Pinatubo {Ire}), Jonquil (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Noble Champion (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Rashabar (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), Rogue Allegiance (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), Saracen (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), Yah Mo Be There (GB) (Mohaather {GB}).

TDN Verdict: More successful than the Fred Darling as a Newmarket pointer but still without a 2,000 Guineas winner in 11 years if you don't count Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) who unseated Frankie Dettori coming out of the gates here in 2023, this time-honoured prep is dominated by the G2 Coventry Stakes winner and G1 Prix Morny and G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere runner-up and iron-clad standard-setter Rashabar. Apparently more likely to take in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains than the Guineas according to Brian Meehan, he is on the same path as Isaac Shelby (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) who also sported the famed Sangster silks when capitalising from the mis-hap to Chaldean in 2023. Speaking of stalls incidents, Cheveley Park's TDN Rising Star Chancellor is no stranger to misfortune in that sphere having broken through them before the G2 Champagne Stakes in September. As a result, the regally-bred son of the 2014 Greenham hero and subsequent A-lister Kingman (GB) was denied the chance to translate the immense promise of his two Doncaster wins into pattern-race achievement, but that's all water under the bridge at this point and he remains very much one of the key British-trained Guineas contenders. Another TDN Rising Star to misfire last term, Juddmonte's Jonquil just has to be a lot better than his no-show in the Listed Flying Scotsman Stakes and he is another who arrives with a clean slate representing the same team as Chaldean, while the exciting debut winners Rogue Allegiance, Saracen and Noble Champion add mystique to a bang up-to-scratch renewal. Noble Champion, the half-brother to the seven-furlong star Pogo (Ire) (Zebedee {GB}), received notable attention from our own Adam Houghton in his excellent Winter Watch.

Saturday, Curragh, Ireland, post time: 15:25, LODGE PARK STUD IRISH EBF PARK EXPRESS STAKES-G3, €41,400, 3yo/up, f/m, 8f 0y

Field: Azada (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}), Bright Thunder (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Fleur De Chine (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}), Mexicali Rose (GB) (Zoffany {Ire}), Naomi Lapaglia (GB) (Awtaad {Ire}), One Look (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), Princess Child (Fr) (Dariyan {Fr}), Whirl (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Ecstatic (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), Garden Of Eden (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}), Spicy Margarita (Ire) (Earthlight {Ire}).

TDN Verdict: On the European Flat season's first big Saturday of the year, Ballydoyle test a trio of Classic hopes against some hard-knocking older fillies and mares. Ryan Moore is on Whirl, which probably isn't a surprise given that she won the G3 Staffordstown Stud Stakes over this course and distance in October, but the yard's TDN Rising Star Ecstatic gives the impression she has plenty to offer from here as a daughter of the indomitable Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

Saturday, Curragh, Ireland, post time: 16:35, TOTE.IE ALLEGED STAKES-G3, €36,000, 4yo/up, 10f 0y

Field: Jan Brueghel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Los Angeles (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), Tower Of London (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Crystal Black (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), Crypto Force (GB) (Time Test {GB}), Galen (GB) (Gleneagles {Ire}), Sons And Lovers (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}), Wahdan (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}).

TDN Verdict: Unusually, Aidan O'Brien puts two of his older heavyweights together for their seasonal bows, with Ryan Moore siding with the unbeaten G1 St Leger hero Jan Brueghel over the G2 Dubai Gold Cup and G2 Curragh Cup winner Tower Of London. Both are forced to carry penalties at a trip short of their optimum, but the stable's runners so far in 2025 seem fairly forward and it would be no surprise to see them dominate. There is no knowing the ceiling of Jan Brueghel as yet, while the time performance of Tower Of London when last seen marks him out as one who could excel on the international stage this year.

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