Mark Prescott is just about the most in-form trainer around right now and another winner looks on the cards with Miss El Fundi in the BetVictor Nursery Handicap at Newbury.
Prescott is traditionally a slow starter and then makes hay in the second half of the campaign, but this summer has been a real bumper harvest.
He is currently operating at a strike-rate of over 40% for the past fortnight and Miss El Fundi, who ran in the Chesham at Royal Ascot on her penultimate start, can add to his tally.
Not disgraced behind Bedtime Story, albeit the winner was in a different parish, she finished fifth, beaten 13 lengths – but if you take the freakish winner out, she was only four lengths behind the runner-up at 50/1.
The Sea The Stars filly then had little trouble in opening her account at Kempton, when surprisingly not even favourite, and she has been handed an opening mark of 82. Given the second and third from the Chesham are rated in the mid-90s, that looks very lenient.
Another yard in fine fettle is William Haggas’ and he runs the newcomer Jewelry in the Tom Mitchell 70th Birthday Celebration British EBF Fillies’ Novice Stakes.
The Wootton Bassett filly cost 280,000 guineas having surprisingly been sold by Coolmore, as she has several Group One winners in her pedigree.
Haggas can certainly ready one to win first time out, so it would be no surprise if she is tuned up and ready to go.
All eyes will be on Aidan O’Brien’s Isambard Brunel in the Join Us For Racing At Newbury EBF Maiden Stakes.
This colt by Justify is out of a full sister to Found and while he holds an entry for the Dewhurst, among other major juvenile races, the fact he is starting out over a mile means he may find those tests too sharp this season.
The feature on the card is the Listed Highclere Thoroughbred Racing St Hugh’s Stakes, which sees a rare runner in the UK these days for Andre Fabre.
He has booked Ryan Moore for Lady Of Andros, so certainly means business, but having won a small race on debut, she was comfortably beaten at this level at Deauville.
She is passed over in favour of Adrestia, who arrives on a hat-trick for Simon and Ed Crisford.
Mid-division in the Queen Mary, she then won easily at Yarmouth before overcoming a tardy start at Sandown to prevail with plenty up her sleeve and she more than looks ready for a race like this.
This Farh reappears only seven days after making a very promising debut at Brighton in the Best Prices Guaranteed At Vickers.Bet EBF Maiden Stakes at Thirsk.
That is quite a lot of travelling for a young horse but David Loughnane must think he is up to it.
He completely blew the start down on the coast but made up lots of ground to be beaten just three-quarters-of-a-length by an odds-on favourite.
Amy Murphy appears to have found an ideal opening for Creative Lady in the British EBF Restricted Maiden Fillies’ Stakes at Epsom.
Second on her debut at Lingfield, she missed the break, so it was a promising effort.
In Newmarket maidens it is not usually worth looking beyond Charlie Appleby and William Buick and that certainly appears to be the case in the Jenningsbet Newmarket British EBF Maiden Stakes.
Appleby runs two but Buick is on the 1,000,000 guineas purchase Arabian Poet, unsurprisingly as he is out of the prolific dam Shastye.
She has already produced Japan, Mogul, Sir Isaac Newton and Secret Gesture and this Dubawi colt is the next off the production line.
IRISH NEWS YANKEE
NAP
Miss El Fundi (2.05 Newbury)
DOUBLE
Jewelry (2.40 Newbury)
TREBLE
Isambard Brunel (3.15 Newbury)
YANKEE
Adrestia (3.45 Newbury)
