Newmarket yard in Clover

Celcius ridden by Andrea Atzini winning at Haydock

The first week and a bit of the turf season has thrown up some great stories. One that may get overlooked is the form of Newmarket trainer, Tom Clover. Five winners since lockdown and three out of three on Tuesday has the master of Kremlin House sitting as the hottest trainer in the country.

1,242/1 success

Three runners, three winners for the Tom Clover yard on Tuesday. That followed on from his only runner on Monday also winning to make it four in a row. Two at Haydock and one at Wolverhampton yesterday kicked off with a 40/1 shock in a novice contest.

Termed as a “nice surprise” by the trainer, Rogue Assassin may have been a big price but there was no fluke about his debut win. From a smart line, it will be interesting to see how he progresses. He added another string to the growing bow of the excellent Cieren Fallon in the process.

One of the stars of 2019 for the yard was Celcius, climbing from 58 to 86 courtesy of four wins. He picked up where he left off in the five furlong handicap and after just ten career starts, it’s easy to see him picking up a big pot later in the season and perhaps even make an impression at pattern level.

The clean sweep was completed by Cheng Gong on the Tapeta. A beaten favourite in four of his last five runs, he clearly has the ability to be a little better than that Class 6 level. He has won on heavy on turf as well so looks an adaptable type for the future.

Wednesday’s runners

Two runners for the yard on Wednesday. Monsieur Lambrays goes in the 3.50 at Pontefract and Surrajah in the 8.15 at Yarmouth. Both of them have chances to add to Clover’s exceptional start, with the latter already seeing some support in the market.