Newmarket

Newmarket's G2 Jockey Club S. is generally a tactical affair and Friday's renewal was no different as Godolphin's Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) was able to boss another uninspiring renewal and bound back to form in no uncertain terms. Leaving connections pondering retirement after a no-show in Newbury's G3 John Porter S. last month, the 2021 Irish Derby, Grand Prix de Paris and St Leger hero was understandably lacking believers as the 2-1 second favourite for this five-runner affair. With the even-money favourite West Wind Blows (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) giving...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Friday's Insights features Classic hopeful Infinite Cosmos. 16.45 Newmarket, Mdn, £15,000, 3yo, f, 10fT INFINITE COSMOS (IRE) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) is one of the most exciting Oaks hopefuls in the Sir Michael Stoute stable, with the Rothschild colour-bearer having shown abundant promise in her debut second to Sea...

   Heading into a weekend when celebration is the keyword in Britain, Newmarket's three-day QIPCO Guineas Festival begins on Friday with some action designed to build the intensity towards the main events. Fittingly, the fixture's opener is the Listed Newmarket S., the race once used by the Derby-winning icons Shirley Heights (GB) and Slip Anchor (GB) and this year hosting one of The King and Queen Consort's outside squeaks at a blue riband runner in Circle Of Fire (GB) (Almanzor {Fr}). Just a Salisbury novice winner at present, the colt...

Group 1 winner Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who races for Juddmonte, is reportedly in good order ahead of a start in the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas on Saturday, according to trainer Andrew Balding. The colt, who dislodged Frankie Dettori at the start of the G3 Craven S. before completing a circuit of the course, worked "extremely well" on Saturday, Balding noted. "We will only know on Saturday what we missed out on at Newbury and the benefits of having a run as obviously it would have been far more of...

Monday's email bulletin from the The New York Times told us that Britain is largely apathetic about Saturday's coronation. I guess they'd know, being on the other side of the Atlantic and all, but the bunting had already been strung through various Cambridgeshire and Suffolk villages by Sunday. In the leafy shires at least, the monarchists still hold sway. On Friday at Newmarket, the King Charles II Stakes will be run in honour of the 'Merry Monarch' whose patronage made the Suffolk town famous around the world as an important...

Juddmonte filly Juliet Sierra (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}) will not proceed to Sunday's G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas over Newmarket's Rowley Mile, according to trainer Ralph Beckett. The winner of the G3 Dick Poole Fillies' S. at Salisbury last autumn, the homebred ran fifth in the G1 Cheveley Park S. at the end of September. "We have decided not to run Juliet Sierra in the Guineas, as we feel she needs a little more time," said Beckett, who will still field Cheveley Park heroine Lezoo (Aus) (Zoustar {Aus}) and Remarquee (GB)...

Insurance broker Howden has extended its backing of British racing with mass sponsorship at this weekend's Guineas meeting at Newmarket. While QIPCO retains the sponsorship of the first two Classics of the season, the 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas, the Howden name is now attached to 13 races across the Saturday and Sunday of the three-day fixture that kicks off the QIPCO British Champions Series. These include the G2 Howden Dahlia S. and G3 Howden Palace House S. David Howden, who was profiled last year in TDN, is the founder of...

Eight races from the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas Day meeting at Newmarket on Saturday, May 6 will be simulcast by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the HKJC announced on Saturday. The Classic, which has been held since its inception in 1809, is the first leg of the illustrious original Triple Crown. The first race from Newmarket is set to go at 20:40 p.m. Hong Kong time with the Guineas expected to leave the gate at 23:40 p.m. Final declarations and the barrier draw for the 2000 Guineas Day races will...

Despite losing Frankie Dettori once the gates flew in the G3 Greenham S. on Saturday, Juddmonte's Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) remains part of the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas field. After Tuesday's latest scratching stage, 20 colts are still entered in the first Classic of the British season on Saturday, May 6. A winner of four of his six starts, the G1 Dewhurst S. hero is one of two in the one-mile race for Andrew Balding. Second in the Dewhurst, G2 Richmond S. scorer Royal Scotsman (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) will attempt...

At Newmarket last Tuesday, a fellow racegoer suggested that the racecourse really should up its game in encouraging more people to attend the Craven meeting. I disagreed politely. For a start, there was a decent enough crowd there, enough for atmosphere but not so many that it was tricky to manoeuvre between pre-parade ring, parade ring and racecourse. And secondly, marketing a midweek meeting accompanied by Arctic temperatures just as many people have returned to work and school after the Easter holidays is not the easiest task. I know we...

Beaten twice by Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) at two but evidently unbowed, the aptly-named Indestructible (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}--Shareva {Ire}, by Rip Van Winkle {Ire}) marked his debut for the Karl Burke stable with a win in Newmarket's G3 Craven S. to continue Amo Racing's strong start to the current campaign on Thursday. Able to get into some kind of fight with Andrew Balding's leading 2000 Guineas hope in York's G3 Acomb S., he was put in his place when last seen in the G2 Champagne S. at Doncaster in September...

There is no doubt that, in general, Newmarket's G3 Craven S. has lost much of its former relevance as a 2000 Guineas trial, but in the last two years it has enjoyed a revival with winners Master Of The Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) going close in the mile Classic. Godolphin and Charlie Appleby have another leading man this time in the GI Summer S. and G3 Prix Francois Boutin scorer Mysterious Night (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), but the one that really catches the...