Royal Ascot, the York Ebor Festival and the Doncaster St Leger Festival has been and gone. However, there are more big days to come and we have a good idea as to what juveniles might be worth following in the coming weeks and months.
Adrian Wall, Matthew Newman and Owen Goulding each give one two-year-old to follow in this article.
Caught the eye in fourth on his Newbury debut. That is a traditionally strong maiden, won by Quadrilateral in 2019 and the two 2020 divisions by Alanquer and Varian’s own Baradar who ended his juvenile campaign when third in the Group 1 Vertem Futurity.
Pause that Newbury race two and a half furlongs out and the three who beat him were the three closest to the middle of the track. Varian’s horse ended up making his challenge one off the stand rail, away from the action but keeping on well.
He holds no fancy entries but a bit of a knee action suggests autumn ground won’t be an issue. The fifth, sixth and tenth have won since while the ninth and twelfth have finished second to suggest it’s solid form. – Matt Newman
A horse that really impressed me on debut was Straight Answer, a son of Kodiac for Ger Lyons. He comes from a smart Juddemonte family that includes Zafonic and he showed a blistering turn of foot to settle his Curragh debut in a few strides.
Connections will have plenty of options with him and speaking after that race, assistant trainer Shane Lyons said: “Straight Answer is one we have always liked. It’s all about next year with him but he has always showed us something.”
He’s likely to strengthen up over the winter and I’m very excited about his career moving forward. – Owen Goulding
Very well-bred son of Gleneagles who has had a very decent campaign already, making a winning debut at Leopardstown prior to twice finishing second to one of the top juveniles in Europe, Point Lonsdale, in Group company.
He was well fancied for the Group 2 Golden Fleece at Leopardstown over a mile but ran a flat race. He shouldn’t have any issue with a longer trip and possibly might be seen to best effect on ground with a bit of juice in it.
Maritime Wings has some lofty entries coming up and he should be a juicy price next time out. He’s worth keeping on side. – Adrian Wall
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