2011 Craven Meeting at Newmarket Thursday Preview

While a number of major early-season races claim to be the de facto kick-off of the flat, the Craven Meeting is always the one that gets it well and truly underway across the board. Wednesday’s action produced some very interesting results and the impact will likely be felt in the ante post markets over the next two and a half weeks or so – primarily in the 1000 Guineas market.

Thursday’s contests at Newmarket look quite interesting and we’ll be attempting to navigate our way through the day’s card – not an easy task considering all of the debutantes set to line up.

1:50

The opener is a tricky 5f dash for debutante females – only one has a race under her belt at this point. It’s certainly up in the air but Tea Cup (Danehill Dancer) boasts quality connections and gets a nice outside draw. Princess Banu (Oasis Dream) didn’t get it exactly right at Ripon on her career debut but it was a decent effort on the day. Connections will have learned a thing or two from that one and the switch to Chris Catlin could prove a correct move. Be sure to keep your eyes on Dettori, who gets Royal Blush (Royal Applause) and is out of a Rahy (Blushing Groom) mare – always a good sign.

2:25

A pair of Juddmonte-breds face off against some extremely promising-looking contenders in this one as we have to deal with another field of debutantes. Godolphin are here with Midsummer Fair (Medaglia D’Oro) a high-profile acquisition trained by Mahmood Al Zarooni. These types of races are usually a toss-up but it’s really tough to overlook the green, pink and white brigade who turn out Air Traffic (Dansili) and Arch Fire (Arch). Henry Cecil and Sir Michael Stoute along with Tom Queally and Ryan Moore could make this one a sharp 1-2 for the Abdullah team.

3:00

An absolute bundle of cash awaits the winner of this 1m2f contest for three year-olds. Godolphin saddles Janood (Medicean) who was a beaten favourite last time out at Meydan. Dettori remains for the trip here and the pair of them will have learned a thing or two last time. He has been out over the Newmarket surface before but it was a rather tame effort last October. Sadler’s Risk (Sadler’s Wells) made a nice statement to win on the seasonal debut was Joe Fanning up, he’ll need a quality trip to be able to pull off the late move he did in his last race, so it will be interesting to see how they deploy his tactical speed. If you’re looking for an outside shot try a go on the filly Lucky Legs (Danehill Dancer) who outran expectations to finish 2^nd in a handicap against males last time out. She’s still looking for the maiden score and this is certainly ambitious, but the race lacks a genuine stand-out.

3:35

We’ve got a listed contest going 6f here and it’s tough to overlook the in-form Iver Bridge Lad (Avonbridge) who has been heavily-campaigned this season with a mediocre stint in Dubai setting him up nicely to run 121 since his return to British shores. He put in a very credible second place finish to one of the best horses on the planet right now JJ The Jet Plane (Jet Master) back at Meydan in a handicap sprint that served as a prep for the Al Quoz. He looks a strong play based on that reference and his current form.