Juvenile Honors On The Line

[Wandering Eyes]

Two of the season’s most exhilarating juveniles take to Newmarket on Saturday and if all goes to script then the headquarters of British racing could witness the coronation of the leading colt and filly of their age in ‘TDN Rising Star’ Ten Sovereigns (Ire) (No Nay Never) and Pretty Pollyanna (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}). Both performers have shown a dynamism which has set them apart from their peers and with the dry spell lingering on into the autumn the odds are stacked against their respective rivals in the G1 Juddmonte Middle Park S. and G1 Juddmonte Cheveley Park S. While Ballydoyle’s Ten Sovereigns has yet to be seriously challenged as he killed off the opposition in an Aug. 25 maiden and the Sept. 1 G3 Round Tower S. by a cumulative margin of 10 3/4 lengths over this six-furlong trip at The Curragh, the Gredleys’ Pretty Pollyanna left a lasting impression with her seven-length romp in the G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. here July 13. Made to pull something from her considerable reserves when besting Signora Cabello (Ire) (Camacho {GB}) in the G1 Prix Morny at Deauville Aug. 19, she may be running at this trip for the last time. Trainer Michael Bell is not putting any undue pressure on the homebred, with her next step already being pondered.

“I have not over-trained her and she is still carrying condition, which should stand her in good stead next year,” he said. “She does hold an entry in the Fillies’ Mile and is joint-favourite for that race, but we need to get Saturday out of the way before thinking about that. I have always looked forward to stepping her up in trip. She does not look like a short runner and I am very confident that she will get a mile. All I would say is that if she has a hard race on Saturday, either in victory or defeat, it would make her running again less likely.”

Aidan O’Brien, who along with Ten Sovereigns also saddles the May 20 Listed Rochestown S. scorer and June 19 G2 Coventry S. third Sergei Prokofiev (Scat Daddy) in the Middle Park, said, “Obviously it’s not long since Ten Sovereigns’s last run, but we’re happy with him since. We’ve been delighted with his two runs and he couldn’t have done any more than he’s done. Sergei Prokofiev is in good form. He’s a fast horse and he was a little bit keen in the Phoenix S., so we’re hoping he’ll settle better this time.”

Ten Sovereigns meets another exciting unbeaten colt in Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ Jash (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), whose two outings on the July Course here Aug. 25 and at Salisbury Sept. 14 have yielded successes by a total of 13 1/2 lengths. There was the kind of vivacity in those displays usually reserved for the highly-talented, and Shadwell’s racing manager Angus Gold is keen to see how he shapes up. “I spoke to Simon [Crisford] during the week and he’s very happy with him. It’s a huge step up in class for him after winning a couple of small races, but he couldn’t have done any more than he has and we’ll see how he gets on,” he said. “Simon doesn’t think he’s an out-and-out sprinter. He’s a big, long, tall sort of horse who will hopefully step up to a mile at some stage, so it will be interesting to see whether he has enough pace for a Group 1 over six furlongs.”

If he is to get in the shake-up in a strong-looking Middle Park, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum’s recent acquisition Emaraaty Ana (GB) (Shamardal) has to improve on his latest half-length defeat of ‘TDN Rising Star’ Legends of War (Scat Daddy) in a renewal of York’s G2 Gimcrack S. Aug. 24 which looks no more than average at present. Trainer Kevin Ryan, who has twice completed the Gimcrack-Middle Park double, is full of confidence in his charge.

“Emaraaty Ana is a very uncomplicated horse who has come out of his Gimcrack win in good form. He is fresh and well,” he commented. “I have held him in the highest regard from a very early stage and he has never let us down. I don’t like to compare my horses from different generations; Amadeus Wolf and Astaire were both very good horses in their own right as is this fellow. This will be his last run of the year and he will be much bigger and stronger next season.”

Switching back to the Cheveley Park, Phoenix Thoroughbred and Zen Racing’s June 20 G2 Queen Mary S. and July 22 G2 Prix Robert Papin scorer Signora Cabello wears resilience like a badge and trainer John Quinn was never going to shy away from a rematch with Pretty Pollyanna. “There’s not a lot between them, it’s a different day on a different track and that’s the way I look at it,” he said. “She had an easy week after France and then we’ve just prepped her for Saturday. She did her last piece of work on Sunday morning and we were happy with her. It’s difficult to compare, but The Wow Signal was the best 2-year-old colt we’ve trained and she is by far the best 2-year-old filly we’ve trained.”

Despite the deterring presence of Pretty Pollyanna and Signora Cabello, Ballydoyle threaten to intervene once again with a pair of ‘TDN Rising Stars’ in Fairyland (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and So Perfect (Scat Daddy). Sporting the Evie Stockwell silks carried to success here by Brave Anna (War Front) two years ago, the former denied The Mackem Bullet (Ire) (Society Rock {Ire}) in the Aug. 23 G2 Lowther S. at York while So Perfect holds the distinction of being the last filly to beat the Irish sensation Skitter Scatter (Scat Daddy) in The Curragh’s G3 Grangecon Stud S. July 1. So Perfect was subsequently second to Advertise (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) in a renewal of the G1 Phoenix S. which is hard to rate at a high standard back at that Kildare venue Aug. 12, but like Fairyland is a filly coming from a stable whose runners may have been underperforming for most of the summer. Despite her exposure, she could yet have more to offer and Aidan O’Brien said he is hopeful. “We thought that Fairyland would come forward from York and she seems to be working nicely,” he said. “We’re looking forward to seeing her run again. So Perfect ran very well in the Phoenix S. and we were delighted with her run. We’ve been happy with her work since then as well.”

Another genuine Irish threat arrives via the Sept. 16 G1 Moyglare S. runner-up Lady Kaya (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}), who could find this stiff six furlongs ideal after her stamina was stretched beyond its limit last time. “I think Newmarket will suit her way of running. The only big worry I have is that it is soon after the Moyglare,” commented trainer Sheila Lavery on the eve of another red-letter day for the yard. “She came home from that, ate up and hasn’t turned a hair. Until you put them back on the track you don’t know, her being a 2-year-old and travelling over, but she is giving no indication she’s suffering from her racing.”

Last year’s G2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge S. saw the zippy Roaring Lion (Kitten’s Joy) upset the marathon runner Nelson (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), and Saturday’s renewal features a clutch who could fit into either category. There has to be significant substance in the fact that Phoenix Thoroughbred Limited’s newcomer Kadar (Scat Daddy) was able to subdue TDN Rising Star Waldstern (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in a mile novice stakes at Haydock Sept. 6 and the €700,000 relative of Kalanisi (Ire) has the world at his feet. “I’m very happy with him since Haydock, I haven’t over-worked him since,” trainer Karl Burke explained. “It’s always a concern stepping up in class like this, but he’s a high-class colt we think a lot of and this is the type of horse we think he can be. If we were in a different part of the year, ideally you’d like to put him into a stepping-stone race before going into a race like this, but at this end of the season we haven’t got many choices. He’s a lovely horse, a top-class horse in the making. Maybe throwing him into a race like this on his second start could be tough, but hopefully he comes through it.”

Another Scat Daddy colt with a bright future at this juncture is Roaring Lion’s stablemate Beatboxer, who also demonstrated his readiness for this kind of test when domineering rivals over this trip in a novice at Haydock Aug. 10. “He is in good form, he worked with Frankie on Wednesday and we are very happy with him. He is doing everything right,” trainer John Gosden said of Princess Haya of Jordan’s unbeaten Classic prospect. “We are going a mile on Saturday and the ground will be quick enough for all of them, but we are pleased with him. You know me, I take it one race at a time. We will see how he runs and what we want to do.”

Chasemore Farm’s homebred June 23 Listed Chesham S. winner Arthur Kitt (GB) (Camelot {GB}) was four-lengths second to TDN Rising Star Too Darn Hot (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in Sandown’s G3 Solario S. over seven furlongs at the start of the month and could potentially up his game over this extra distance. “We chose this race because he wouldn’t want soft ground and I think we are going to lose the current decent ground in a minute, and because I think he will be ideally suited to stepping up in trip and running over this straight mile,” trainer Tom Dascombe explained. “The further he goes, the better he will go–I think he will be a mile-and-half horse next year. He has the highest official rating in the race, although there are bound to be a few improvers in the field and Karl Burke’s horse is probably very good.”

View the full article