The Flat is really back in full swing as the Classics approach and we will as always have tips for every day of the action. Below are ten horses our expert team have picked out that should be worth following this season.
1 Lah Ti Dar – 3yo bay filly – By Dubawi out of Da Re Mi
The season has only just begun but we have potentially already seen a star in the making. John Gosden’s filly is a beautifully bred full sister to the high class So Mi Dar and made a big impression when hacking up on her first visit to a racecourse at Newbury. Her sister won the Musidora and it looks likely that this lovely looker will follow in her footsteps by taking in a trial with her ultimate aim the Epsom Oaks. Her trainer has won that famous Classic twice in the last four years and could make it three, she is a very exciting prospect and certainly falls into the category of ‘could be anything’.
2 Mjjack – 4yo grey colt – By Elzaam out of Docklands Grace
Karl Burke had a fantastic season last year and a horse that won twice and ran a number of excellent race in top handicaps was Mjjack. He rose in the handicap from 80 to 100 and has already run twice this season. On his first start he looked rusty and blew away some cobwebs but was then well-backed when winning a decent looking handicap at Newmarket second time up. He is now rated 105 so will be pitched into Listed and Group company as well as the top handicaps and looks a type who will get better with age so is one to keep a keen eye on.
3 Mary Tudor – 3yo grey filly – By Dawn Approach out of Antiquities
It took this beautiful looking filly four tries to get off the mark which wouldn’t fill you with confidence until you take a closer look at her form. She was beaten just a head behind Group 2 winning and 111 rated Magical on her first two starts and then was a respectable fourth if a little disappointing in a Group 3 on her final start of the season. She reappeared at Navan recently and was easy enough in the betting but defied any market concerns by quickening away from a useful field which included some decent fillies including Listed winner Bye Bye Baby. She looked a strong stayer on that occasion and could be one that heads to the Irish Oaks for William McCreery.
4 Tocco D’Amore – 4yo bay filly – By Raven’s Pass out of Spirit Of Tara
Dermot Weld had a less than satisfactory time of it last year with a virus plaguing his stable but he has a potentially very exciting filly in the shape of this daughter of Raven’s Pass. She was very impressive when beating Clongowes (now rated 96) without coming off with the bridle on her debut and followed up that success when comfortably winning a Listed contest next time up. She has already beaten some very solid yardsticks in just two starts without ever looking in trouble and looks an exciting prospect for the middle distance races for older horses this year.
5 Addeybb – 4yo chestnut gelding – By Pivotal out of Bush Cat
The 32Red Lincoln is the first major handicap of the flat season and it was won in brilliant fashion by William Haggas’ Addeybb. He travelled like an absolute dream throughout and quickened impressively on bottomless ground to put his rivals to the sword. The class horses were all placed in behind so the form looks reliable and he is a potentially smart horse. He has only had six starts in his career so far and has been successful on four occasions, with his jockey James Doyle was waxing lyrical after his demolition job last time out. He is entered up in the bet365 Mile which looks his likely next target and if taking that he could step up in class again to the Lockinge, which he also holds an entry for.
6 Defoe – 4yo grey colt – By Dalakhani out of Dulkashe
This Roger Varian trained colt was nothing special as a two-year-old when he won just a maiden from three starts and was well down the field in the Zetland but transformed into a really classy horse at three. He won four on the trot including a Listed contest and a Group 3 before a bitterly disappointing run in the St Leger. After that disappointment, it would have been easy to write him off but his trainer was adamant that wasn’t his running and he was back with a bang on his first start this season when cantering through a Group 3 contest to beat Danehill Kodiac with consummate ease. He looks a horse that will only get better with age and should be a force in the staying contests this season.
7 Sergie Prokofiev – 2yo bay colt – By Scat Daddy out of Orchard Beach
High-class Coolmore sire Scat Daddy is sadly no longer with us but before his untimely death he had already sired some brilliant horses, the likes of Mendelssohn, Lady Aurelia, Caravaggio and more. He may have left another brilliant one behind in the shape of the Aidan O’Brien trained Sergei Prokofiev who was narrowly defeated in a Dundalk maiden before bolting up by a street at Navan with a previous winner in behind. He cost a whopping $1.1m and will likely look to begin paying that price tag back in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot which was, of course, won in 2016 by his half-brother Caravaggio in devastating style.
8 I Can Fly – 3yo bay filly – By Fastnet Rock out of Madonna Dell’Orto
It would hardly be a list of 10 horses to follow for the flat without a few from the master of Ballydoyle and the second of those is the filly I Can Fly. She was well found in the market when making a successful debut in a Dundalk maiden last season and ran well to be third behind the useful Altyn Orda in the Oh So Sharp Stakes at Newmarket on her final start of the season. She made her reappearance at Leopardstown in a Group 3 and ran well considering most of her stablemates have needed the run this season and in past seasons. She will be aimed at the 1000 Guineas where her trainer has an excellent record with fillies who have had a run and she could follow in the footsteps of Winter and Minding as recent winners of the season’s second Classic for Coolmore.
9 Young Rascal – 3yo bay colt – By Intello out of Rock My Soul
William Haggas has some useful horses in his care and this Intello colt was very impressive in a Newbury maiden on his first start as a three-year-old and second in total. He was well beaten on debut but still finished a good second and showed marked improvement to win last time out. He probably beat a decent field that day and he did it in striking and professional fashion stretching right away under James Doyle. He is clearly well regarded as he holds a Derby entry and he will likely take in a trial before taking a shot at the big one at Epsom.
10 Stradivarius – 4yo chestnut colt – By Sea The Stars out of Private Life
This lovely looking chestnut colt was a revelation in the staying division last season. He started off in handicaps off a mark of 78 and ended up rated 118 with a Group 1 win in the Goodwood Cup to his name. He was beaten just half a length a very strong looking renewal of the St Leger and ran again more than respectably behind the high class Order Of St George in the Long Distance Cup on Champions Day. John Gosden is aiming him at the new Stayer’s Million programme so he’ll be contesting all the top races and if improving with age like his great sire, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with.
Our horse racing tips are completely free and posted every day – we’re sure a few of these will crop up in our tips throughout the season!