We visit Doncaster and Sandown Park for our three selections on a fabulous Friday afternoon…
For our first selection, we head north to Doncaster for the 1m4f Class 2 Jamie Downey Takepayments Novice Stakes (3:30).
It is a competitive novice stakes and King Of The Plains appeals at a general 10/3. Expectations are probably high for this Roaring Lion colt as he is the second raced foal out of Golden Lilac, who won the Group 1 Prix de Diane and Group 1 Prix d'Ispahan.
Trained by Charlie Johnston, he's performed well on all three outings so far and finished second behind subsequent Royal Ascot runners Ruling Dynasty and Ghara on his last two runs. It's taken him down to get to grips with racing as a concept, running green on debut before rearing in the stalls on his second start and it seems only a matter of time before everything clicks and he puts it together.
SELECTION – KING OF THE PLAINS – 10/3
The Coral-Eclipse meeting commences at Sandown, and we're keen on Kylian in the 5f Listed Dragon Stakes (2:30) to overturn the favourite Born To Rock. He started a short-priced favourite on his first two starts when beaten into third and second respectively but both defeats came behind very useful juveniles – Mon Na Slieve ran a fair race to finish eighth in the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes and Emperor's Son is considered one of the best of the Fahy juveniles despite a defeat at Royal Ascot.
The son of Invincible Spirit switched to the all-weather for his third racecourse start and impressed with a four length success at Newcastle when partnered by P J Mcdonald, with the favourite beaten seven-and-a-half lengths. The yard boasts a 21% strike rate for juveniles on turf this season and they've secured Ryan Moore for the ride.
SELECTION – KYLIAN - 11/4
We stay at Sandown Park for the 5f Class 2 Cavani Menswear Sartorial Sprint Handicap (1:55), where Clarenden House is favoured. He posted an eye-catching performance to finish third in the Dash at Epsom Downs at the start of June and was not disgraced when stepped up to Listed level subsequently, where he finished fifth.
Billy Loughnane's three pound claim offers weight relief and he has the first time tongue-tie applied. If the headgear can eke out a small amount of improvement in him, the five-year-old should be competitive in a six-runner field. The form of trainer Robert Cowell (0% last fourteen days) would be a small concern, but he's not had a runner for the best part of a week.
SELECTION – CLARENDEN HOUSE – 9/4
