A decent quality 0-90 fillies handicap over a mile on the July course on Newmarket’s Friday night card. There are some nice prospects in here but one in particular caught the eye at the five day stage and we are delighted to see her in the final runners.
IN SUMMARY: The James Tate yard have been in decent heart in recent weeks and their representative CEASELESS should find this a little easier than when contesting Listed races since she broke her duck. She has a bit to prove after her seasonal debut run but a much more realistic task could see her go close here at a big price. Both City Chic and Shafafya represent powerful connections and are unlikely to be done improving yet but with one having her first run of the season and the others improvement coming on a softer surface and over further, they may both be best watched. John Gosden is often a place to turn to in fillies races and in Dazzling Rose (non runner) he would have had a prime candidate before her withdrawal.
1 Up In Lights – Not seen until the June of her three year old campaign, she has the look of a typical James Fanshawe type. Brought along steadily, she is open to further improvement having been lightly raced up to now but she has to give weight away all round to some younger rivals receiving the 7lbs weight for age allowance.
2 Ceaseless – Acquitted herself well when pitched in at a deeper level since breaking her maiden on the Rowley Mile in April 2015. She put in a frankly abject performance the only time that we have seen her in 2016 so has a bit to prove but back in handicap company could be the spark she needs for a better display at a price.
3 Dazzling Rose (non runner) – A win over C&D last time was a little hard to weigh up at the time with the front pair split by the width of the track. The runner up fairly dotted up at Salisbury on Tuesday and while that wasn’t a strong race it was a timely form boost. John Gosden had this filly entered at Haydock on Saturday in a Listed contest which gives an idea of the esteem she is held but takes in the easier handicap option instead and we are more than happy to take the hint!
4 Yeah Baby Yeah – Exposed compared to the other three year olds in the lineup, her best performance came when runner up at Yarmouth to the decent Singyoursong. She won her only start in cheekpieces in France back in February and the headgear returns to try to eek out a little more improvement.
5 City Chic – Godolphin have attacked 2016 with renewed passion and this filly is a full sister to a Group 3 winner and a half sibling of a Grade 1 winner in the States. The market is likely to be informative about the chances of Charlie Appleby’s charge on her return from almost a year out of action.
6 Shafafya – Probably didn’t quite get home when tried over a mile and a half at Doncaster last time, having previously been successful over 10f at Ripon. It is a bit of a surprise to see her dropped back to a mile here given her recent form at further for all that this is a relatively stiff 8f. She appears to have upped her game with cut in the ground this season and may not want the ground to dry out too much down in trip.
7 Aqua Libre – Has kept decent company so far in handicaps and given that she has been keeping on over 7f in recent starts, it’s no surprise to see her back up to a mile now. She has the assistance of Silvestre De Sousa in the plate which will no doubt tempt some and looks to have sound each way credentials off just a pound higher than when a close runner up on the Rowley Mile last September.
8 Ejayteekay – Relatively exposed and up three pounds for a well beaten 9th in a Sandown Listed race would leave her with quite a bit to do on the face of it. Her maiden win came on deep ground at Windsor and being by Big Bad Bob, she may need a downpour to help her.
9 Invermere – The sole Richard Fahey representative sent to Newmarket would have been an angle into the contest last year with a 22% strike rate for 41 points profit to level stakes. His raiders this season however are 0/19 and this is a fair bit tougher than races she has been turned over in most recently.